My Featured Movie

My Featured Movie

Jungle book (1942)

I. About the Film

Jungle Book is a 1942 independent American Technicolor action-adventure film by the Hungarian Korda brothers, based on a screenplay adaptation by Laurence Stallings of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle book about a wild boy who is kidnapped by villagers who are cruel to animals as they attempt to steal the jungle's lost treasure that possesses people.

The film was directed by Zoltán Korda, produced by his brother Alexander and art directed by their younger brother Vincent. The cinematography was by Lee Garmes and W. Howard Greene and the music was by Miklós Rózsa. The film starred Sabu Dastagir as Mowgli. Because of the war, the British Korda brothers had moved their film making to Hollywood in 1940, and Jungle Book is one of the films they made during that Hollywood period.

II. Versions of the Film

III. About the Lead Actor - Sabu Dastagir

Sabu Dastagir (or Selar Shaik Sabu, depending on your resource) was born on January 27, 1924, in the little town of Mysore, India, which is nestled in the jungles of Karapur. The son of an elephant driver (mahout) in service for the Maharajah of his town, the young stable boy learned responsibility early in life when, at age 9, his father died and Sabu immediately became the ward of the royal elephant stables. As with many Hollywood success stories, good timing, and dumb luck allowed the impoverished youth a chance for a better life. By sheer chance the timid 12-year-old orphan was discovered by a British location crew while searching for a youth to play the title role (an elephant driver!) in their upcoming feature Elephant Boy (1937). Quite taken aback by his earnest looks, engaging naturalness and adaptability to wild animals and their natural habitat, the studio handed the boy a film career on a sterling silver platter and was placed under exclusive contract by the mogul Alexander Korda himself.

His third film for Korda is considered one of the great true classics. In the Arabian fantasy-adventure The Thief of Bagdad (1940), Sabu plays Abu the Thief and is not only surrounded by superb actors -- notably June Duprez, John Justin, Rex Ingram (as the genie) and Conrad Veidt (as the evil Grand Vizier) -- but exceptional writing and incredible special effects. Sabu's name began stirring international ears. His last pairing with Korda was the excellent adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's classic book Jungle Book(1942) playing Mowgli, the boy raised by wolves, who must adapt to the ways of mankind after being returned to his mother. The movie was directed by Alexander's brother Zoltan Korda.

Almost 20 years old by the time he became a citizen of the U.S. in 1944, he enlisted in the Army Air Force and earned WWII distinction in combat missions (Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, among others) as a tail gunner. By the time Sabu returned to Universal and filming, the charm of his youth had worn off and the boyish stereotype impossible to escape.

Sabu died unexpectedly at age 39 of a heart attack on December 2, 1963, at his home in Southern California and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills. Son Paul Sabu developed into an accomplished songwriter and even formed a rock band called Sabu; daughter Jasmine Sabu, who died in 2001, was a noted horse trainer whose skill was utilized occasionally for films. Although he went the way of too many of our former stars, Sabu continues to enchant and excite newer generations with his unmatched athletic skills and magnetic charm in those early adventure fantasies of yesteryear.

V. My Reaction

A. Reaction Point - point of view

・Characters are persons, or animals or natural forces represented as persons, in a work of film or literature.

・Animal characters from the books like Bagheera and Shere Khan and Kaa appear as supporting characters instead of main characters. Mowgli’s main conflict is with members of the human village who see him as savage or demonic or who want to steal the natural and hidden treasures of the jungle. The movie also ends on an environmentally friendly note, with Mowgli returning to live in the jungle where he grew up.

・The movie also ends on an environmentally friendly note, with Mowgli returning to live in the jungle where he grew up. Also, the movie sets up Mowgli’s story as a meta-narrative being told by the elderly Buldeo in retrospect. He was one of the villagers who antagonized Mowgli but he has since come to appreciate his experiences with the wild youth and the wonders of the untouched jungle.

B. Reaction Point - theme

・Theme is the central idea of a work of literature.

・Jungle Book (1942) was directed Zoltán Korda, produced (in Technicolor) by his brother Alexander, and starred Sabu Dastagir as Mowgli

・The plot is loosely based on the story “Tiger! Tiger!” in so far as it’s mostly about Mowgli dealing with the human world after he reaches manhood. But that’s pretty much where the similarities end.

C. Reaction Point - characters

・Characters are persons, or animals or natural forces represented as persons, in a work of film or literature.

・Mowgli is the most recognizable character from The Jungle Book

・Mowgli’s main conflict is with members of the human village who see him as savage or demonic or who want to steal the natural and hidden treasures of the jungle

My General Opinion

I love action and adventure movie.

Jungle book is very famous.So I have been seen it many times.

If you have never seen it, you should see it :)