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27
Babylon A.D.
33
College
82
Dark Knight, The
42
Death Race
21
Disaster Movie
36
Fly Me to the Moon
54
Get Smart
49
Hancock
34
Happening, The
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
71
Horton Hears a Who!
55
House Bunny, The
61
Incredible Hulk, The
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
79
Iron Man
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
73
Kung Fu Panda
53
Longshots, The
24
Love Guru, The
51
Mamma Mia!
43
Meet Dave
35
Mirrors
31
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
64
Pineapple Express
53
Rocker, The
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
36
Space Chimps
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
51
Step Brothers
47
Swing Vote
60
Traitor
71
Tropic Thunder
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
93
WALL-E
64
Wanted
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
93
WALL-E
82
Dark Knight, The
79
Iron Man
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Tropic Thunder
71
Horton Hears a Who!
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
64
Pineapple Express
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
61
Incredible Hulk, The
60
Traitor
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
55
House Bunny, The
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
53
Longshots, The
53
Rocker, The
51
Mamma Mia!
51
Step Brothers
49
Hancock
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
43
Meet Dave
42
Death Race
36
Space Chimps
36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
35
Mirrors
34
Happening, The
33
College
31
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
27
Babylon A.D.
24
Love Guru, The
21
Disaster Movie
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

85
Alexandra
40
America the Beautiful
66
American Teen
73
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
xx
Bachna Ae Haseeno
62
Baghead
57
Beautiful Losers
xx
Beer for My Horses
47
Before the Rains
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
56
Bottle Shock
75
Boy A
55
Bra Boys
61
Brick Lane
64
Brideshead Revisited
61
Bustin' Down the Door
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
54
CSNY: Déjà Vu
xx
Cthulhu
86
Edge of Heaven, The
66
Elegy
52
Elsa & Fred
80
Encounters at the End of the World
64
Fall, The
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
83
Frozen River
68
Girl Cut in Two, A
62
Girls Rock!
xx
Goal II: Living the Dream
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
54
Hamlet 2
25
Hell Ride
44
Henry Poole is Here
76
I Served the King of England
72
I.O.U.S. A
63
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
67
Jellyfish
62
Kabluey
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
78
Last Mistress, The
50
Last Stop for Paul
70
Love Songs
61
Man Named Pearl, A
89
Man on Wire
87
Momma's Man
74
Mongol
46
My Mexican Shivah
80
Order of Myths, The
66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
72
Priceless
61
Red
71
Roman de gare
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
51
Savage Grace
57
Sixty Six
57
Sukiyaki Western Django
83
Tell No One
56
Then She Found Me
71
To the Limit
72
Transsiberian
80
Trouble the Water
83
U2 3D
86
Up the Yangtze
79
Visitor, The
61
Wackness, The
54
What We Do Is Secret
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
XXY
53
Year of the Fish
xx
Young People F**king
75
Young@Heart
89
Man on Wire
87
Momma's Man
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Edge of Heaven, The
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Frozen River
83
Tell No One
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Trouble the Water
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Order of Myths, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
78
Last Mistress, The
76
I Served the King of England
75
Young@Heart
75
Boy A
74
Mongol
73
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Priceless
72
Transsiberian
72
I.O.U.S. A
71
To the Limit
71
Roman de gare
70
Love Songs
68
Girl Cut in Two, A
67
Jellyfish
66
Elegy
66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
66
American Teen
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
Brideshead Revisited
64
XXY
64
Fall, The
63
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Kabluey
62
Baghead
62
Girls Rock!
61
Bustin' Down the Door
61
Wackness, The
61
Man Named Pearl, A
61
Red
61
Brick Lane
57
Sukiyaki Western Django
57
Sixty Six
57
Beautiful Losers
56
Bottle Shock
56
Then She Found Me
55
Bra Boys
54
Hamlet 2
54
What We Do Is Secret
54
CSNY: Déjà Vu
53
Year of the Fish
52
Elsa & Fred
51
Savage Grace
50
Last Stop for Paul
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Before the Rains
46
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer
46
My Mexican Shivah
44
Henry Poole is Here
40
America the Beautiful
25
Hell Ride
xx
Young People F**king
xx
Bachna Ae Haseeno
xx
Goal II: Living the Dream
xx
Cthulhu
xx
Beer for My Horses
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
King Is Alive, The
IFC Films
FILM:
MPAA RATING: R for sexuality and language
Starring
Miles Anderson,
Romane Bohringer,
David Bradley,
David Calder,
Bruce Davison,
Brion James,
Janet McTeer,
and
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Stranded in the heat of a barren African desert, eleven bus-passengers shelter in the remnants of an abandoned town. As rescue grows more remote by the day and anxiety deepens, an idea emerges: why not stage a play. However the choice of "King Lear" only manages to plunge this disparate group of travellers into turmoil as they struggle to overcome both nature's wrath and their own mortality. (IFC Films)
| GENRE(S): |
Horror
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Anders Thomas Jensen
Kristian Levring
William Shakespeare (play King Lear)
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Kristian Levring
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: November 19, 2002
Video: November 19, 2002
Theatrical: May 11, 2001
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
110 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
Denmark / Sweden / USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
91
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Janet McTeer displays Amazonian power while Jennifer Jason Leigh tears into her role as a high maintenance creature with a ferocity that leaves little room for her usual acting tics.

80
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
The cast, working in conditions that appear to have been only slightly less dire than those portrayed in the film, work together in a grim, convincing improvisatory rhythm.

75
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
To some, this will seem the height of aesthetic experimentation; to others, the most unendurable arty hogwash.

75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Paula Nechak
Isn't very pretty despite its extraordinary look. In fact, the film is downright queasy and unsettling.

75
New York Daily News
Jami Bernard
It's an excellent fusion of subject and style.
75
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
It doesn't make the slightest effort to cater to conventional appetites. But the more you appreciate what they're trying to do, the more you like it.

75
Chicago Tribune
Robert K. Elder
Stands as a successful cinematic experiment and a gripping -- though a little too long -- study of humanity's most primitive instincts.
75
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Distinguished less by its elements of melodrama and psychodrama than by its intense acting and the vivid immediacy of Levring's powerful imagery.

75
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
Forget the bug-eating, cow-spearing and one-upsmanship of TV's "Survivor." The real results of isolation and deprivation unfold in The King is Alive: madness, suicide and murder.
75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Desmond Ryan
Fascinating and strangely involving piece.
70
Variety
Lisa Nesselson
Simultaneously gritty and cerebral.

63
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
Sinks under the weight of its ever more inescapably apparent contrivance, and its forced parallels to ''Lear.''
63
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
Intrigues mainly for its spare style and brittle, sweat-soaked performances.
60
TV Guide
Ken Fox
wWhat doesn't entirely succeed as convincing psychodrama makes one hell of an acting exercise (it's great fun to see great actors purposely mangle the Bard's immortal words), and Levring's cast -- McTeer in particular -- run with it.

50
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas
Stylish and gritty, The King Is Alive lacks the impact of revelation that might have made the journey worth taking.

50
New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
Tendency to pretentiousness.

40
Mr. Showbiz
Kevin Maynard
The most obvious casualty ends up being Jennifer Jason Leigh, an actress known for her fearless choices, who is literally pissed on for her trouble.
40
Chicago Reader
Ted Shen
Most of the confrontations are shot in close-up, dragging us into the melee as the grungy-looking actors spit out their venomous dialogue.

40
Austin Chronicle
Kimberley Jones
Either you like your movies to be, well, movie-like: imitations of life, with musical accompaniment and artificial lighting and tracking shots and looped dialogue; or you like them to be re-creations of life, sans the artifice. The King Is Alive clearly falls into the latter camp.

40
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
A deeper problem in The King Is Alive is an almost total absence of spontaneity.
40
LA Weekly
Ernest Hardy
The tedium of the situation is felt by the audience, but too often in the wrong way: We don't empathize so much as suffer through the movie.

40
New Times (L.A.)
Luke Y. Thompson
The prettiest Dogme film to date may be the one that has the least to say.
30
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
Becomes a strung-together collection of interesting, semi-interesting, boring and sometimes embarrassing (seemingly improvised) moments from the cast.

25
San Francisco Chronicle
Wesley Morris
Builds into a shapeless riff on the existentialist misery of company.

20
Village Voice
Michael Atkinson
Endearingly pretentious -- as if it swallowed a thick brick of Beckett and can't pass the uncooperative Beckettian stool.


The average user rating for this movie is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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