Jungle Book (1942)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Blistering performances.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Copyright 13 April 1942 by Alexander Korda Films, Inc. Released through United Artists. A Zoltan Korda film. Presented by Alexander Korda. New York opening at the Rivoli: 4 April 1942. U.S. release: 3 April 1942. U.K. release: 5 June 1942. Australian release: 7 January 1943. 9,521 feet. 106 minutes. Copyright title: RUDYARD KIPLING'S JUNGLE BOOK.SYNOPSIS: Wolf boy is forced to lead a trio of evil villagers to a king's treasure chamber in a lost city.NOTES: Negative cost: Sterling £250,000.Nominated for the following Academy Awards: Best Color Cinematography (lost to Leon Shamroy's The Black Swan); Best Music Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (lost to Max Steiner's Now, Voyager); Best Art Direction in Color (lost to My Gal Sal); Best Special Effects (lost to Reap the Wild Wind).COMMENT: The dialogue is atrocious and Mr Calleia gives an especially hammy performance, even affecting a ridiculously phoney accent (on top of his normal accent, would you believe?) which he was evidently persuaded to drop half¬way through the film. His co-conspirators, Puglia and Qualen, are upon us at this point - and they are almost equally appalling. These two do not figure in Kipling's stories, and Stallings has even introduced an old vaudeville wheeze (the barber places his foot over a dropped coin) to keep them occupied.The rest of the principal players, led by the redoubtable Sabu (who is in fine form and seems to do all his own stunts) are somewhat more capable, though hampered too by the dialogue. It must be admitted that Stallings has lifted a fair amount of this straight from Kipling. It reads more fluently than it sounds. But it doesn't really matter. For Jungle Book has four or five things going for it that elevate it to a pantheon of artistic achievement.It's difficult to decide between the music and the cinematography for first place. Jungle Book is one of the finest examples of Technicolor photography I've ever seen. The colors positively glow with such artistry as impart to forest and animals a three-dimensional life. The music is undoubtedly the most stirring score Rosza ever composed. He had the good judgment to utilize it (with a minimum of adaptation) for his famous "Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book Suite" (a recording originally issued on 78 rpm with Rosza conducting the Victor Symphony Orchestra, and narration by Sabu. I prefer the later version: Rosza conducting the Frankenland State Symphony Orchestra, with Leo Genn narrating).Add to the music and photography, Vincent Korda's truly magnificent sets and some spectacular animal footage directed by Andre De Toth, and you have at least four unimpeachable reasons why, despite the occasional clumsiness of dialogue, acting and direction, Jungle Book is a richly endowed masterpiece.

In an Indian village, elderly storyteller Buldeo tells a story of his youth to a passing British lady. Shere Khan the tiger attacked just as the villagers are about to start a new settlement. The man's cub survives the attack and wonders into a wolves' den. Mowgli is then raised by the wolf family. All the jungle is his playground except for Shere Khan. Twelve years later, he investigates the village and is captured by the villagers. His birth mother Messua doesn't recognize him but takes him in anyways as her own. Buldeo is adamant against the boy who he sees as evil like the rest of the jungle. On the other hand, Buldeo's daughter Mahala is fascinated with Mowgli. Mowgli takes Mahala back into the jungle to meet the wolves. She finds the King's Palace in the jungle and his treasure chamber guarded by the ancient father of the cobras. Despite the cobra's warning, she takes one coin which is discovered by her father. This looks terrific in Technicolor although the village doesn't look as good as the jungle. All the animal footage is very fascinating. The animals look great in color. The treasure chamber is also quite nice with the ancient city. It's most commendable that they cast an Indian boy as Mowgli. The animal characters don't have quite as much of a presence as the Disney cartoon. This is a little more grown up than the cartoon. It deals with some fairly adult subject matters. Overall, the story moves along with enough thrills and is a fun treat from another era. Although the ending feels like it ran on for a little too long.

I wanted to watch this movie from long, and the movie was on my DVD shelf from past since June 2011, right when i heard about the protagonist on a local newspaper. Sabu, who hails from Mysore, India was the first Indian to make it big in Hollywood. Yet, his descendents back in India are leading a poor life. The movie should be one like a King Kong of those time. The screenplay is realistic, you would find the movie to be an extraordinary being it made 70 years ago when there were no computers to graphic. My little nephew like the movie when the wild animals were there!The film is also a mixture of Indian Culture, it again proves that India is a land of Wonders! Those traditional beliefs, which oppose people movements, those supernatural guards all just elevate your thinking on India. This is be true even now in India, as there was vast treasure found recently beneath the temple. You can call it an amazing treasure hunt movie.One suggestion, i saw as a VHS print, but nowadays DVDs are available. Check in a DVD to view in a better quality.

The upside to animals raising your child is that they are totally self-sufficient by the time they're two.Unfortunately, feral children only wear loincloths, like the one in this adventure.Buldeo (Joseph Calleia) recants for a friend his time in the jungles of India with a boy named Mowgli (Sabu), who was raised by wolves after the tiger Shere Khan killed his father.When Mowgli and Buldeo's daughter (Patricia O'Rourke) return with a gold coin from a jungle treasure one day, Buldeo insists Mowgli take him to the hidden cache.But when Mowgli refuses, Buldeo ignites the jungle.Now, it's up to Mowgli's menagerie: a python, a black panther, a bear and elephants, to save his adopted village.Loosely based on Rudyard Kipling's omnibus, this skillfully shot Technicolor jungle tale from 1942 features real animals personifying the story's psychological archetypes.However, real jungle booty isn't lost gold; it's widespread deforestation. Green Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.com