Fois dhut.
Steven Spielberg—who, with George Lucas, cast him as Indiana Jones' father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (as the James Bond series inspired the "Indiana Jones" films)—called him the "the last movie star." There are so many stories to relate about Connery that one could legitimately call him "fabled," and there were so many lines that passed through my mind yesterday—all done with his Edinburghian burr that he never lost—that he made iconic and sealed in memory.
So much to say. But, I've already said it in reviews of some of his best—and not—films that are linked below:
One more thing specific to this scene: the song that is sung is to the tune of the "The Minstrel Boy" but the words are a variation from the Lutheran Songbook, "The Son of God Goes Off to War"—a brilliant choice.
The Set-Up: Late one night, while working at his offices for The Northern Star, Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer) is visited by a decrepit beggar, whom he recognizes as someone he once knew—Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine), non-commissioned officer in the British Army, who, with his brother-in-arms and fellow Freemason, Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) had set off on a grandiose mission to follow in the path of Alexander to Kafiristan "to become kings." As Carnehan relates, they became just that, with Dravot believed to be the reincarnation of Alexander himself. The subterfuge falls apart, however, when it is revealed that Dravot is all too human. The citizens and holy men turn on the duo...
Action.
Daniel Dravot: Out of bloody ammo.
Peachy Carnehan: Me, too.
[The villagers stop their attack when the High Priest arrives and they turn and listen to his commands]
[The villagers advance on Peachy and Danny]
[The mob take Peachy and Danny to the ravine and the newly constructed rope bridge and push Danny to the edge of it]
[Danny pauses and returns the crown to his head and, satisfied, walks like a king to his fate]
[The high priest orders the bridge supports cut]
...and mocked the cross and flame.
[Peachy can't help but join in...]
[As Peachy's voice echoes, we return to the present]
[Takes something out of the sack he is carrying and places it on a table]
Words by Rudyard Kipling, John Huston and Gladys Hill...and Reginald Heber
Pictures by Oswald Morris and John Huston
The Man Who Would Be King is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Warner Home Video.
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