the gunshot, let's hear it.'" He was also unhappy the edit removed how Learoyd managed to unify the Dyak tribes by getting the women to hold a sex strike. He later said [The film] was thrown away. I, as usual, was attacked viciously but in time it's come to be regarded as one of my best. In a way - I don't know why - I guess this film is more heartfelt than anything I've done since Big Wednesday... The producers - Al Ruddy and Andre Morgan - who are friends of mine now - were lied to by Orion executives. They did a very careful divide-and-conquer and turned us against each other. They [Ruddy and Morgan] would love to recut it the way I wanted... We'd all love to recut that movie and rerelease it. Mike Medavoy, Milius' former agent who was head of Orion Pictures at the time, wrote in 2002 that: Many things stopped Farewell to the King from being successful. There were endless arguments between Al and John, and between John and us over the cutting of the film. John ended up being mad at me for years, but we've become close friends again. In the end, the film just didn't play. Perhaps audiences weren't ready to see a white soldier become the king of an indigenous tribe in Borneo. It was one of a group of daring Orion movies that didn't make money but, in retrospect, is a movie we are all very proud to have been a part of. Reception Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes retrospectively collected reviews from 11 critics and gave the film a score of 55%, with an average rating of 5.5 out of 10. Roger Ebert gave the film 3/4 stars. Ebert praised Nolte for his skill as actor, and his ability to inhabit a role rather than merely visit. Milius later said he felt he had made a "great film". DVD Farewell to the King was released to DVD by MGM Home Entertainment on 6 June 2006. References External links Review of film at The New York Times Review of film at The Washington Post Review of film at Los Angeles Times Review of film at the Quietus 1989 films 1980s action drama films 1980s action adventure films 1989 independent films 1980s war films American adventure drama films Films based on French novels American independent films Orion Pictures films