SummaryBased on A. E. Hotchner's memoir, this coming-of-age story follows Aaron Kurlander (Jesse Bradford) as he struggles to survive on his own while his traveling salesman father is away and his mother is committed to a sanatorium with tuberculosis.
Directed By:Steven Soderbergh
Written By:A.E. Hotchner, Steven Soderbergh
King of the Hill
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
86
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.2
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
86
92% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
8% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
100
King of the Hill has all the rich satisfactions of a fine novel.
100
King of the Hill could have been a family picture, or a heartwarming TV docudrama, or a comedy. Soderbergh must have seen more deeply into the Hotchner memoir, however, because his movie is not simply about what happens to the kid. It's about how the kid learns and grows through his experiences.
90
Part period piece and part coming-of-age story, King Of The Hill balances an incident-packed script with muted tones, painting a rich, absorbing picture of one boy’s struggle to live by his wits.
90
With warmth, wit and none of the usual overlay of nostalgia, King of the Hill presents the scary yet liberating precariousness of life on the edge.
88
Fury, I Am a Fugitive, Wild Boys of the Road and Emperor of the North come immediately to mind as definitive Depression movies. This little gem, which may get overlooked, deserves to be on the same list. [20 August 1993, p.5D]
88
The narrative is presented in a straightforward manner; Soderbergh doesn't employ any unusual chronologies. His style is frank, not quirky, and lends itself to a number of powerful images.
25
Soderbergh has bathed the Depression in lovely, golden-brown hues - so lovely, so golden, that the flick seems to be unfolding from inside the delicious core of a burnished bran muffin. [20 August 1993]
User Reviews
User score
Universal Acclaim
8.2
87% Positive
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
13% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
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Production Company:
- Wildwood Enterprises
- Bona Fide Productions
Release Date:Aug 20, 1993
Duration:1 h 43 m
Rating:PG-13
Tagline:When the world turns upside down, the trick is coming out on top.
Awards
Young Artist Awards
• 4 Nominations
Cannes Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards
• 1 Nomination
