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King Rat
1965 134 min United States of America 12+
★8.0
Drama, War
Director: Bryan Forbes
🎭 Based on
«King Rat»
byJames Clavell
Trailers
Description
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.
Starring
George Segal
Actor
Patrick O'Neal
Actor
Todd Armstrong
Actor
Awards
Academy Awards 1966
— Best Cinematography (Black and White)
Academy Awards 1966
— Best Production Design (Black and White)
BAFTA 1966
— United Nations Award
Key opinion
King Rat is a stark and harrowing examination of human morality under extreme duress, set within the desperate conditions of a Japanese POW camp. The film is celebrated for its unflinching portrayal of how survival instincts can erode ethics, creating a compelling study of power dynamics and social stratification.
| Theme | The film offers a brutal, uncompromising depiction of moral decay, illustrating how starvation turns prisoners into 'rats' who sacrifice their humanity to survive. | |
| Screenplay | The narrative effectively explores the cynicism of power, contrasting George Segal’s manipulative, well-fed black marketeer against the starving population around him. | |
| Production | The production design authentically conveys the surreal and squalid conditions of the Changi POW camp, grounding the survival themes in a realistic environment. | |
| Culture | Initial critical audiences rejected the film's cold, bleak atmosphere, though it later found an appreciative following among counter-culture viewers during the late 1960s. |