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King Rat

1965 · 134 min

A grim, claustrophobic descent into moral compromise, where survival strips away civility and leaves only uneasy questions.

Directed by
Bryan Forbes
Genres
Drama, War
Tagline
They Made the Toughest Among Them... King!
Overview
When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. Among the American prisoners is Cpl. King, a wheeler-dealer who has managed to establish a pretty good life for himself in the camp. King soon forms a friendship with an upper-class British officer who is fascinated with King's enthusiastic approach to life.

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Rent or buy in the UK
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Bryan Forbes
Genres
Drama, War
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • survival
  • power
  • corruption
  • friendship
  • morality
Places
  • prison
  • small town
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror2
Humour3
Realism8
Romance0
Tension6
Darkness8
Complexity7
Emotional weight8

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Cast

Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, war
Directed by
Bryan Forbes
Written by
Bryan Forbes
Starring
George Segal, James Fox, Tom Courtenay, Patrick O'Neal, James Donald, John Mills, Denholm Elliott, Leonard Rossiter
Music
John Barry
Cinematography
Burnett Guffey
Runtime
134 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English, Japanese, Malay

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