Farewell to the King is a 1989 American action adventure drama film written and directed by John Milius. It stars Nick Nolte, Nigel Havers, Frank McRae, and Gerry Lopez and is loosely based on the 1969 novel L'Adieu au Roi by Pierre Schoendoerffer. Longtime Milius collaborator Basil Poledouris composed the musical score. Plot During World War II, American deserter Learoyd escapes a Japanese firing squad. Hiding in the wilds of Borneo, Learoyd is adopted by a head-hunting tribe of Dayaks, who consider him divine because of his blue eyes. Before long, Learoyd is the reigning king of the Dayaks. When British soldiers approach him to rejoin the war against the Japanese, Learoyd resists. When his own tribe is threatened by the invaders, Learoyd decides to fight for their rights and to protect their independence. Main cast Nick Nolte as Learoyd Nigel Havers as Captain Fairbourne James Fox as Colonel Ferguson Marilyn Tokuda as Yoo Frank McRae as Sergeant Tenga Aki Aleong as Colonel Mitamura Marius Weyers as Sergeant Conklin William Wise as Dynamite Dave Gerry Lopez as Gwai Elan Oberon as Vivienne Choy Chang Wing as Lian Richard Morgan as Stretch Lewis John Bennett Perry as General Douglas MacArthur Michael Nissman as General Sutherland Wayne Pygram as Bren Armstrong Production Original novel Pierre Schoendoerffer originally wrote the story as a film script. He then turned it into a novel, which was published in 1969 and became a best seller in France, selling over 300,000 copies in hardback. He made the lead character Irish because "the Irish are mad and I like mad people." "I was wanting to make a great symphonic book on life and death: on how a man can struggle until the very end, without hope and without reason, just to be alive, even though half dead., even though suffering terribly, because life is so powerful. But on the other hand I was wanting to show that if suddenly a man discovers that he is not fulfilling his dream, then he does not want to live anymore." The story had some basis in historical fact - Tom Harrisson's stay with the Dayaks during the Second World War was the inspiration for much of what happened in the novel along with the allied drop behind Japanese lines known as Operation Semut. Development The film was originally going to be made in 1972, directed by Schoendoerffer and produced by Robert