Gandhi (1982)

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writer:

John Briley (writer)

Release Date:

8 December 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

His Triumph Changed The World Forever.

Plot:

Biography of Mahatma Gandhi, the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British through his philosophy of non-violent protest.

Plot Keywords:

One Word Title | Political Activism | Politics | Asia | No Opening Credits

Awards:

Won 8 Oscars. Another 26 wins & 16 nominations

Cast

Ben Kingsley	...	Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
Candice Bergen	...	Margaret Bourke-White
Edward Fox	...	Gen. Reginald Dyer
John Gielgud	...	Lord Irwin
Trevor Howard	...	Judge Broomfield
John Mills	...	Lord Chelmsford
Martin Sheen	...	Vince Walker
Ian Charleson	...	Rev. Charlie Andrews
Athol Fugard	...	Gen. Jan Christiaan Smuts
Günther Maria Halmer	...	Dr. Herman Kallenbach (as Gunter Maria Halmer)
Saeed Jaffrey	...	Sardar Valabhhai Patel
Geraldine James	...	Meerabahen
Alyque Padamsee	...	Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Amrish Puri	...	Khan
Roshan Seth	...	Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

Also Known As:

Richard Attenborough's Film: Gandhi (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

188 min

Country:

UK | India

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Iceland:L | Spain:T | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (video rating) | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Ireland:PG | Norway:11 | Norway:12 (1983) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Aga Khan Palace, Nagar Rd, Pune, Maharashtra, India

Company:

Carolina Bank

Trivia:

London, so of course it was a coincidence, and not a cute reference by the filmmakers. When Gandhi (played by Ben Kingsley) travels to London, he stays at Kingsley Hall.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The car burned in the Calcutta riot scenes (some time between 1946 and 1948) is an Ambassador, an Indian-made copy of a 1954 Morris Oxford.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Gandhi: [Godse shoots Gandhi in the chest] Oh God!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy (2003) (V)

Better than you'd think...

Thinking back, I suppose I have now seen many (sometimes good) films that follow the same recipe: One man makes a difference.

But this film is an exception in so many ways:

1) It was made in 1982, so it came before many of them.

2) It has amazingly well-displayed historical significance.

3) Great performances in a near-flawless, frank scrpit.

This film does not bother the viewer with an opening montage of scenes of the main character at various ages ("Dragon", I'm looking at you). This is an amazing film that anyone of any religion, race, or nationality can and should appreciate. With its subtle relevance to today's situations in that part of the world, this is a history buff must-see.

Watch this film and see great performances (an obvious oscar went to Ben Kingsly), excellent cinematography, and a wonderful inspiring story, whose essence soars well above the corny, do-gooder mentality of other pitiful efforts of "bio-pics".

10/10