Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Jason My wife and I just finished watching this film on DVD (or I should say I finished watching, my wife bailed 20 minutes into it). We watch foreign films, we watch old movies, we watch indie movies, we watch a ton of movies.This movie came to me as a recommendation from a co-worker who is old enough to have served in the Vietnam war. I was born as that war came to an end.This film was okay. It might have been great in its day, but it holds up poorly now. Why? Well, there are other films I feel that have stood the test of time much better than "King of Hearts". Aside from Genevieve Bujold and Alan Bates, the rest of the cast are unknowns (even today). Alan Bates is supposed to be this great English actor, but I had not heard of him. I understand he does non-mainstream films, but still, he isn't that good. If he was, I would have heard of him. I know his contemporaries such as Peter Finch and James Mason.The film is droll, sure, but I felt detached, which is the worst thing a director can do to his audience. I want to be able to experience what the main character is feeling, but "King of Hearts" is so simple, and Alan Bates so one-dimensional, that in the end, there were just moments that were enjoyable. To me, this is a relatively forgettable film.The story was not complex or engrossing. A soldier is sent to disable a bomb in a town whose residents have fled. The residents of the insane asylum escape and become the town's residents. However, Alan Bates character knows they are from the asylum very quickly. He has dialogue with the patients, and there's an attempt to highlight that war is more insane than the mentally ill, and that the mentally ill are more humane and sane. Some other reviewer mention the theme of non-conformity, which I suppose was Alan Bates' character not being a part of the military in the end.This didn't mean much to me because I'd rather watch "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" which deals with mental illness more accurately, and non-conformity more poignantly. I'd rather watch "The Deer Hunter" or "Platoon" or "Born on the Fourth of July" or "Schindler's List" or "Saving Private Ryan" or "The Thin Red Line" or "Apocalypse Now" for the insanity of war. I get that "King of Hearts" is a light, gentle satire, but that also makes it boring in my book. As I said, I want more from a movie, and "King of Hearts" is just average--not bad, just average.As for the reviewer who suggested that the younger generations (which includes mine) isn't concerned with non-conformity, I have to say that in my observation, the people I know who have tried not to conform end up being even more conformist than those who accept that life is inescapably conformist. Alan Bates' character may not have decided to conform to the military, but he decided to conform to be a mental health patient in the end, which has its own set of rules. I'd rather watch "Into the Wild" for non-conformity, and wonder about the sanity of that character. It's far more interesting to me.In the end, it's all a matter of perspective and opinion and taste. I'm sure there are movies from the 1980's that have nostalgic value for me that do nothing for the generations younger than myself (or older than myself for that matter!) "King of Hearts" seems to have a place in baby-boomer's hearts.

blitzebill some here may say this film is outdated.but the story and its telling are superb.the subtleties, the wry humor, cinematography, acting are all great.genevieve bujold is gorgeous and moving.alan bates an excellent pick for the lead.the twists of plot and irony of war and the insane asylum as metaphor all mesh perfectly.there are many fine qualities in this film that will never be outdated.i suggest there's even an undertone related to the Vietnamese conflict raging in the year this was made.a must-see!

gerhardp I did not see this movie when it came out in 1967, I had just gotten out of the Army, I didn't need any additional anti-war encouragement at the time. Having watched it tonight (11-08-08) it evokes a very different reaction. The idea of having inmates of an insane asylum populate a town was probably very very funny in the sixties. But having W and Chenney in the Whitehouse and Gov. Palin running for Vice President made me long for those 'nuts' in the movie. They seem extremely sane compared to the politicians mentioned above, never mind Joe Lieberman. So yeah, taking off your clothes and getting a bird in cage seems like a good option, except I know better. The insanity of our leaders, starting with Nixon, has driven the ordinary person to the brink. So somehow. I didn't laugh that much during the movie, I got progressively sad and then at the end, yes, I had to wipe my eyes. The thought of how far we have deteriorated is enough to bring a tear.

pchandlerjetfan I watched this film initially in the 1970s, when as a student at UMaine, one of the local theaters ran it every night for several years. At the time, it seemed rather silly, but as Monty Python was pretty big on campus, it seemed to fit right in. Fast forward to 2006 when I saw it was being run on one of the movie channels. It was tremendous. Not a knee-slapper, but it was not intended to be.As the French village is emptied of the normal citizens during WWI in the wake of the German army booby trapping the town, the British Army sends in a solitary soldier after being tipped off about the plan. The only residents remaining are those who reside in the local insane asylum. The soldier takes on the role of the King of Hearts as he hides among the residents when some of the Germans double back to check on the booby trap.The residents leave the asylum and take on the roles of normal citizens in bright costume without a care in the world as the soldier strives to decode the secret of the booby trap in time. It is a good film to watch which can make you sit back and realize that maybe, just maybe. we all take life a little too seriously sometimes, instead of enjoying the moment.