Zoltán Korda

Jungle Book

Jungle Book

This Korda brothers film is the definitive version of Rudyard Kipling’s classic collection of fables. Sabu stars as Mowgli, a boy raised by wolves, who can communicate with all the beasts of the jungle, friend or foe, and who gradually reacclimates to civilization with the help of his long lost mother and a beautiful village girl. Deftly integrating real animals into its fanciful narrative, Jungle Book is a shimmering Technicolor feast, and was nominated for four Oscars, including best cinematography, art direction, special effects, and music.

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Film Info

  • United Kingdom
  • 1942
  • 106 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.33:1
  • English

Available In

Collector's Set

Eclipse Series 30: Sabu!

Eclipse 30: Sabu!

DVD Box Set

3 Discs

$31.46

Jungle Book
Cast
Sabu
Mowgli
Joseph Calleia
Buldeo
John Qualen
Barber
Frank Puglia
Pundit
Rosemary De Camp
Messua
Patricia O'Rourke
Mahala
Ralph Byrd
Durga
John Mather
Rao
Faith Brook
English girl
Noble Johnson
Sikh
Credits
Director
Zoltán Korda
Producer
Alexander Korda
From The Jungle Book by
Rudyard Kipling
Screenplay adaptation by
Laurence Stallings
Cinematography
Lee Garmes
Cinematography
W. Howard Greene
Art direction
Jack Okey
Art direction
J. McMillan Johnson
Editor
William Hornbeck
Special effects
Lawrence Butler
Music
Miklós Rózsa

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The Kordas

Director, Producer, Production Designer

The Kordas
The Kordas

During sound cinema’s first full decade, the Hungarian-born Korda brothers—Alexander, Zoltán, and Vincent—built a British empire. The mastermind behind their legendary company, London Films Productions, was producer, director, writer, and eventual mega-mogul Alex; born Sándor Kellner, he became interested in the art of silent cinema as a teenager in his home country, writing criticism and even founding a movie magazine before finding success making his own films all over Europe. In the late twenties, following a short stint in Hollywood, Alex was sent to England to head up Paramount’s British Production Unit; in 1932, he established London Films and brought aboard his younger siblings, Zoltán as a writer/director and Vincent as a production designer. Their first big hit was The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), which earned Charles Laughton an Oscar and the Kordas international attention. The rest of the thirties held highs (The Rise of Catherine the Great, Elephant Boy) and lows (The Private Life of Don Juan) for the company. But its films—often about historical personalities (Rembrandt) or the exploits of the British Empire abroad (Sanders of the River, The Four Feathers)—remain exemplars of a grand period of British cinema. In the forties, the Kordas only grew in stature—due not only to such immensely popular titles as The Thief of Bagdad and That Hamilton Woman but also to the selection of Alexander, the first film director to be so honored, for knighthood.

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