In the 1989 movie Farewell to the King, Nick Nolte plays an American deserter following the fall of the Philippines. Washed up on the Borneo coast, he is taken in by a native tribe and eventually becomes their king. And life is great there despite the war, until a British officer shows up with a radio, which eventually causes the remote "kingdom" to discovered by the Japanese.
In this scene, Nolte's a bit cheesed with Capt. Fairbourne after the Japanese strafe the village after they track his radio signals.
And the best lines of movie history come at about 1:09, when Learoyd is asked: "What do you want?"
Capt. Fairbourne: What do you want.
Learoyd: Freedom, to be like we are.
Capt. Fairbourne: Anything else?
Learoyd: Guns. So they can't take the freedom away.
Capt. Fairbourne: Well, I'll see what I can do.
Learoyd: And grenades, mortars and mines, so they can't take the guns away.
When I first saw this movie and heard that exchange, I jumped up and yelled "YES!!!"
My then-girlfriend was not amused, however several people in the theater seemed to be.
Great movie. A bit slow to start, and a bit choppy at times, story-wise, but some great gun scenes and lots of cool jungle combat. Find it and watch it.
Yep, that's a great movie and a great scene from it.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reminding us of it...
gfa
By "deserter" I presume you mean "escapee" from the fall of Corregidor and/or the Bataan Death March? I don't care how good the movie is, if the hero is a bona fide deserter I won't watch it. (I can't help it. I have a lot of strongly held opinions regarding my fellow hominids,and most of them are negative.)
ReplyDeleteYour description of his status is actually more correct than the french author of the original book that this movie was based on. Probably a little European bias there, or maybe just sour grapes. But it opens with Nolte and several other soldiers in a boat washing up on the beach after Corregidor fell. The others are quickly captured by the Japanese and shot on the spot, leaving him alone.
DeleteI have a vague memory of seeing this movie a long time ago. Sounds like something I should watch again.
ReplyDeleteVaguely familier...
ReplyDeleteI have to find this movie
ReplyDelete