The King And I

Of the three recent EMI-Angel R&H film soundtrack reissues, I find that this reissue of the King & I soundtrack is the best-executed. The King and I shows a new maturing of the R&H element and this superb 1956 film adaptation more than certainly does it justice. The superb soundtrack presented here includes the complete score, along with some of Alfred Newman's underscoring, and boasts splendid performances by Marni Nixon and Yul Brynner. And of course the orchestra is sumptuous and properly lush, enveloping us in sweltering renditions of some of Rodgers' most heartfelt melodies. I won't reiterate the critic-proof performances here. Other reviewers have covered them elsewhere. Nixon as a voice-dubber is in her element as Anna, and portrays her characterfully. Brynner is in his element as the King, as firm, commanding and authoritative as we've always known him to be. This performance shows him at his best, ripe, fresh and mature. Leona Gordon and Reuben Fuentes shine as the star-crossed lovers Tuptim and Lun Tha, bringing a melancholic quality to their brief numbers. It's really a treat to hear their renditions of the omitted songs My Lord and Master and I Have Dreamed. Rita Moreno as the real Tuptim acquits herself well when narrating the Uncle Tom's Cabin ballet sequence, presented for the first time on an official soundtrack recording. It's good to also hear Terry Saunders as Lady Thiang, in a heartfelt, humane and imploring rendition of Something Wonderful, and she is the icing on the cake of this superb soundtrack recording. This EMI-Angel R&H soundtrack offers an extra benefit in addition to the extra musical sequences. Unlike the companion CDs of Oklahoma and Carousel, it presents the extra material from the original unmixed studio vault masters, except for the Prayer to Buddha and the Uncle Tom's Cabin ballet. This means that this reissue is blessedly free of the extraneous sound effects that plague the Oklahoma and Carousel CDs. I know that the sound effects and little snippets of dialogue drown out the music, but at least these reissues are a start in presenting comprehensive R&H soundtracks worthy of their films. What a pity that none of these R&H soundtrack reissues aren't 2-CD sets, otherwise we would have been able to hear the underscore. In short, this is a superb presentation of a fine R&H film soundtrack.

Five Stars - why, because this brings back beautiful memories. This was one of the first movies I went to see. It was my introduction to musicals! I remember dancing around to the records (we had them on 45s back in the 1950s) to Shall We Dance in a costume my mother made for me to look like Anna's gown. But to this CD - the price was great, and the CD music quality is excellent. I will always love The King and I, and Yul Brynner will always be THE KING.

Family friendly....teaching tool ...you can discuss prejudice with kids.....classic singing & dance numbers...wonderful cast....after you watch it , get the kids to find Siam on the map and learn about another part of the world....I have loved this for years and have watched it over and over

Don't be put off buying this particular disk if you love the music of The King and I. But be careful, as one reviewer says there is more than one version around with similar material - or perhaps Amazon has lumped some product reviews together. The recording I got was marked "Angel 7243 5 27351 2 9 Total Playing Time 75:57." It's splendid, considering the limitations of the original recording media. Yes, there is a modest amount of dialog interspersed, and effects. But after all it's a film soundtrack. In my opinion you won't find the music better presented on any of the available disks, and the added material is much appreciated. Of course for many of us, this is the definitive version. It would be nicer to have a DDD recording of the original Broadway cast incl. Gertrude Lawrence. Absent time travel, it's not gonna happen.

This comment is for those looking for the original, unaugmented soundtrack, as on the original LP and re-issued in 1993. I apologize for these comments' being time-dependent; and I am independently notifying Amazon that it needs to change this listing. In the meantime, however, the reader needs to be aware of the fact that most of the other reviews under this listing refer to a substantially different re-issue, presumably The King and I (1956 Film Soundtrack) , which contains additional music, but also foley effects. This is an especially important consideration because at various times a particular reissue may command a very high price because of actual or presumed rarity. At the time of this writing the 1993 re-issue is not as rare as might have been assumed, and the reader should know that it is not necessary at this time to pay an extraordinary price to get the original release of all 3 (King & I, Carousel, & Oklahoma) as re-issued in 1993 version. (I had reconciled myself to the 2001 version, which for the most part gets excellent reviews here in spite of what some consider the intrusions of the foley effects. By fortuitous accident I received the 1993 release.) Unfortunately, I don't know how the prospective buyer can know in advance which version (s)he will receive when clicking under this listing. I hope that by the time most of you read this Amazon will have specified whether this is the 1993 or 2001 re-issue. I am not recommending one re-issue versus another; had I received it, I might well have enjoyed the extra material on the 2001 release. I suggest the customer read the competing opinions on this subject, as found in the reviews scattered among the various R&H soundtrack listings.

I grew up watching the king and I film, and while the meaning of many songs were lost on 6 year old me, I took great joy in running around my sound screaming the songs. Coming back and listening to these songs again years later, I find that I enjoy them even more. The cast does a wonderful job making each song stand out, the songs carry a lot of the films story in them and every time I hear one come on I either want to run to my dvd player and put in the movie immediately, or just sing along as loud as I can. The quality of the tracks holds up, and there is nothing quite as therapeutic after a stressful day than hearing track 12 where Anna snarls out exactly what she thinks of the king's behavior.

I originally got the " The King and I (1964 Lincoln Center Cast) " in a large set of musical releases - Broadway in a Box: The Essential Broadway...

Prompt delivery, CD in great shape, a rare find, thank you!