Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

I Served the King of England

R Released Aug 29, 2008 1h 58m Comedy Romance War List
80% Tomatometer 88 Reviews 81% Audience Score 5,000+ Ratings
After serving 15 years in a Czechoslovakian prison, Jan Díte; (Ivan Barnev) looks back on his life as an aspiring millionaire. As a young man, Jan comes to believe that wealth and prestige are the ultimate source of happiness. He works his way up from a lowly train attendant to a series of jobs in prominent hotels with wealthy guests. While in constant pursuit of money, Jan has a string of affairs and a relationship with a fanatical Nazi that lead him towards temptation and social ruin. Read More Read Less
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

I Served the King of England

Fandango at Home Prime Video Apple TV

Rent I Served the King of England on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

I Served the King of England

What to Know

Critics Consensus

With charm and an eye for life's bittersweet moments, Czech New Wave master Jiri Menzel paints a picaresque story with whimsy and intellect.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (88) Critics Reviews
Hank Sartin Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 16, 2011 Full Review David Fear Time Out Rated: 4/5 Nov 16, 2011 Full Review Wally Hammond Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 16, 2011 Full Review David Lamble Bay Area Reporter It's a gently amusing, surreal vision that dishes up hard truths in an unsentimental but never brutal fashion. Jun 2, 2020 Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row A captivating, heartwarming, and ultimately life affirming celebration of what makes us human. Rated: 3.5/4 Jul 6, 2019 Full Review Steve Erickson Gay City News ... the film dishonors the history it glides through by lacking any sense of real danger. Mar 8, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (289) audience reviews
Audience Member Nothing compares to the dry slow magic of Closely Observed Trains, or perhaps nothing compared with its effect on first watching amidst a sea of lesser films when it came out. This is a worthy follow-up from the same mind, cast across a long timespan and with colour and a delicious wickedness which was not open to the director when he was younger and in those times. Czech films are not simple, Czech minds are not simple, this is a crowning example of Czech humour, dark and light in the same moments.. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Visually sumptuous, splendidly acted, and thoughtful all at once. How sad that "Grand Budapest Hotel" gets so bally-hooed while this far more interesting work remains largely unknown to N American audiences. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Not only is this a hilarious adaption of the novel by Bohumil Hrabal, but it has great actors, cinematography and a great musical score. The story takes place during the rise of Hitler, but don't let that turn you off as there are lessons to be learned from this horrible time in modern history. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Frances H Enchanting beautifully filmed movie that seems lighthearted in tone, but really carries a very profound message about life. The acting by Ivan Barnev is superb and the Busby Burkely meal serving scene blew my mind. I loved it! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/13/13 Full Review kevin w An short old man wryly recalls his days of short wily youth when he dreamed of making the big time come hell or high water, only there was that damn war standing in his way ... World War ll, dammit. Set mainly in Prague, the Paris of Eastern Europe, this comic tale of accidentally acquiring wisdom while actually trying to acquire wealth doesn't take itself too seriously and there's plenty of beauty to while that wisdom acquisition time away. Loved it, but its not for the kiddies though. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Great cinematography .. Jaromír Sofr he is my teacher at school .. great cinematographers are horrible teachers ! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
I Served the King of England

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

You Kill Me 79% 59% You Kill Me Gigantic 35% 34% Gigantic The Guru 57% 40% The Guru Dedication 40% 64% Dedication The Ugly Truth 14% 60% The Ugly Truth Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis After serving 15 years in a Czechoslovakian prison, Jan Díte; (Ivan Barnev) looks back on his life as an aspiring millionaire. As a young man, Jan comes to believe that wealth and prestige are the ultimate source of happiness. He works his way up from a lowly train attendant to a series of jobs in prominent hotels with wealthy guests. While in constant pursuit of money, Jan has a string of affairs and a relationship with a fanatical Nazi that lead him towards temptation and social ruin.
Director
Jirí Menzel
Producer
Robert Schaffer, Andrea Metcalfe
Screenwriter
Jirí Menzel
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Barrandov Studio, TV Nova, In Film Praha
Rating
R (Sexual Content|Nudity)
Genre
Comedy, Romance, War
Original Language
Czech
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 29, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 12, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$617.2K
Runtime
1h 58m
Most Popular at Home Now