7 Things You Should Know About All the King’s Men (2006)

I recently watched All the King’s Men and this post contains seven things you should know about the film. The film made it into my DVD Netflix queue when I added all of Kate Winslet’s available titles after I wrote a post for “Inside the Envelope” on the most-rented Kate Winslet movies.

All the King’s Men isn’t one of the 10-most rented Kate Winslet movies, and she has a secondary role in the film, but it’s well worth watching for its merit. There a not a few critics who would disagree with me. That’s not unusual.

All the King’s Men had a terrible reception, but the story is compelling, the cinematography is breathtaking, and Sean Penn is brilliant, with every vulnerable emotion playing on his face. 

Here are seven things to know about All the King’s Men before you rent it (and I hope you do):

1. The story is loosely based on Huey Long, the unconventional, and arguably corrupt, Louisiana politician who was assassinated in 1935.
2. Some critics think they should have left well enough alone because the 1949 version was so good that it was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won best picture, best actor (Broderick Crawford), and best actress (Mercedes McCambridge).
3. Both the 1949 and 2006 film versions are based on the 1946 Robert Penn Warren, Pulitzer Prize winning, novel of the same name.
4. The 2006 film featured an all-star cast, including Jude Law, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, Anthony Hopkins, and of course, Kate Winslet. 
5. One of the filming locations was the Albania Plantation House in Jeanerette, LA, which was owned at one time by the daughter of Paul N. Cyr, former lieutenant governor of Louisiana. He hated Huey Long, and Cyr’s daughter, Emily, forbade Long’s name from being spoken in the house.
6. Anticipation was high before the 2006 version was released, and Oscar rumors were rampant. 
7. According to IMDb, Ebert & Roeper ranked All the King’s Men as number one in the worst movies of 2006 and Forbes Magazine listed it as the biggest flop from 2005-2009. 

I’ve seen a lot of bad movies, but this is not one of them. It’s beautifully shot, the story is compelling and the acting is superior. Decide for yourself and let me know what you think.

Of course, now I have to rent the 1949 version and compare the two. That’s what I like about DVD Netflix. It’s taken me down many wonderful research rabbit holes.

I am a DVD Netflix top influencer, which earns me rewards but does not influence my opinions on movies. DVD Netflix has hundreds of thousands of movies to choose from, many that you won’t find on streaming services.