| | | | Gandhi
(1982) |
andhi is the biography of a lawyer turned freedom-fighter Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who became the leader of the Indian revolt against the British and drove them out of India using non-violent means.
It starts off in 1893 when Mohandas Gandhi(Ben Kingsley)arrives in South africa and witnesses the hostility and discrimination faced by the non-white communities known as Apartheid. He himself is thrown out of a train at Pietermaritzburg Station on his way to Pretoria because he sat in a 1st class compartment. He decides to fight for equal rights for the Indians and is helped by some important people like Abdullah Khan (Amrish Puri) ,Jan-Christian Smuts (Athol Fugard), Vince Walker(Martin Sheen),Rev Charlie Andrews(Ian Charleson) and his wife Kasturba(Rohini Hattangadi).
In 1915 when he returned to India he saw that the Congress Party which was the main rival to the British rule was too moderate in it's approach,he decided to take matters in his own hands and with the help of young Indian leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru(Roshan Seth),Sardar Vallabhai Patel(Saeed Jaffrey),Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (Vir Razdan),Kripalani(Anang Desai),Mohammed Ali Jinnah(Alyque Padamsee)etc even as he is mentored by Gopal Krishna Gokhale(Dr. Shreeram Lagoo),preached non-violent means of rebellion like non-cooperation with the British Government,broke the Salt Law in 1930 in Dandi and began the Quit India movement in 1942 which led to India becoming independent on 15 August 1947.
However just 6 months after India got Independence following a painful partition with Pakistan being created out of the Muslim dominated areas he was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic Nathuram Godse. He is therefore known as the Father of the Nation.
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"The object of this massive tribute died as he had always lived, without wealth, without property, without official title or office. Mahatma Gandhi was not the commander of armies, nor the ruler of vast lands. He could not boast any scientific achievement or artistic gift. Yet men, governments, dignitaries from all over the world, have joined hands today to pay homage to the little brown man in the loin cloth, who led his country to freedom."
This quote is from the funeral scene in the 1982 film "Gandhi". Richard Attenborough directed this massive epic about the man that freed India. The film opens with Gandhi's assassination. The next scene, his funeral, is one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history. Attenborough managed to recreate Gandhi's funeral on January 31st, 1981, the 33rd anniversary of the actual funeral. It is estimated that nearly 400,000 people were on hand to be a part of the filming the recreation. This film was made before CGI (computer generated images), so the funeral scene is probably the last live action crowd of that magnitude that will ever be filmed.
Mahatma Gandhi's message of non-violent resistance is delivered in an interesting and enthralling body of art. This film has made and will make millions of people aware of the little brown man that took on the British Empire and won. "Gandhi" serves both as entertainment and an important historical record of one of the most important figures in history.
Ben Kingsley played Gandhi. He was the perfect for the role. He resembled the real Gandhi. He was young enough to portray Gandhi as a young man. He is a British actor that nailed the British influenced Indian accent. He is a wonderful actor that was patient and humble with such an important part. And he was a relatively unknown actor at the time, so the "big-time actor" persona did not get in the way of viewing the film. He did win both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for best actor, for this role, which I agree he deserved. He became Gandhi.
The cinematography was outstanding. Attenborough filmed "Gandhi" on location in India. The scenes of India are spectacular, and India is very much another character in the film. This film is as much about India itself as it is about Gandhi. Attenborough shows the audience the people of India from its countryside to the vast city of Calcutta. It is suggested by Kingsley, on the DVD, that Attenborough had a difficult time with the elite class in India at the time of filming. They were against the making of such a film by an Englishman. Undeterred by their negative thinking, he persevered to enlist thousands of Indians to help make this film. Every crowd scene, he used real Indians from the area. Attenborough also won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for best direction.
This movie is a must see for everyone. It should be required viewing in high schools, as part of History class. The fight against prejudice will forever be relevant. It is also a beautiful work of art. This movie is not tainted by the embellishment of Hollywood (see "Pearl Harbor" for that). Of course, it would have been hard to screw up a movie about such a great man.
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Gandhi was nominated for 11 Oscars and won 8 Oscars including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture in 1983. It also won 5 BAFTA awards. 
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When Gandhi (played by Ben Kingsley) travels to London, he stays at Kingsley Hall. Coincidence?
Richard Attenborough first offered Candice Bergen her cameo role in 1966.
As a young girl, Candice Bergen aspired to be a photo journalist and while working as a Ford model in the 1960's, she delved into the subject. Among her subjects were Charlie Chaplin, Black Panthers, and Paul Newman. Attenborough approached Bergen for the role of Margaret Bourke-White while they were shooting "The Sand Pebbles" (1966). -Thanks to Robert Baum
In John Ratzenberger's brief scene, his voice is dubbed.
Ben Kingsley's (born Krishna Bhanji) paternal family was from the Indian state of Gujarat, which is the same state Mahatma Gandhi was from.
Daniel Day-Lewis made his debut in this movie as Colin, a South African street tough.
Om Puri who has a cameo in this movie was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2004.
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Find much more great trivia in the filmmaker's commentary on the Gandhi DVD.
Rediscover your favorites! If you like
Gandhi or 80's Drama / Historic classics, then be sure to
check out this list: ..... Outsiders ..... Elephant Man ..... Rain Man ..... Drugstore Cowboy ..... Stand By Me ..... Wall Street ..... Mask ..... Amadeus ..... Full Metal Jacket ..... Witness ..... Breakfast Club ..... Glory ..... Platoon ..... Scarface ..... Six Weeks ..... Urban Cowboy .....[More]
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300,000 extras appeared in the funeral sequence. About 200,000 were volunteers and 94,560 were paid a small fee (under contract). The sequence was filmed on 31st Jan 1981, the 33rd anniversary of Gandhi's funeral. 11 crews shot over 20,000 feet of film, which was pared down to 125 seconds in the final release.
Both Alec Guinness and Anthony Hopkins were originally considered for the role.
Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim owned a share of the rights in Britain's longest-running play "The Mousetrap" which they sold to fund the production of this movie.
Ben Kingsley was recommended for the role by Harold Pinter, who had seen him in a play; Pinter made the suggestion to Sam Spiegel, an associate of Attenborough's.
Ben Kingsley was actually recommended to Richard Attenborough by his son, Michael Attenborough.
Trevor Howard shot his cameo as Judge Broomfield in two days.
Michael Denison was originally intended to play the Ian Charleson part.
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|  |  |  | | Gandhi
Locations |
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The movie was shot in several locations around India including Amritsar, Punjab, Mumbai, Bombay, Calcutta, and New Delhi as well as Shepperton Studios, Surrey, England.
Can you help? Do you know any of the India filming locations used for Gandhi? [Please send them in]
|  | | | | ![[16:9 -Widescreen Enhanced]](16_9.gif) | ![[5.1 CH SURROUND]](dd5.gif) | Trailer, Commentary, Featurette |
| Our
Comments: 25th Anniversary Edition |
| | | | Trailer, Commentary, Notes |
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The soundtrack score was written by George Fenton. Released in 1982 the track listing is as follows:
1. 31st January 1948
2. South Africa - The Beginning
3. Bands Of The Raj (Scipio / Troop / Waltz / Sons Of The Brave )
4. Discovery Of India
5. Villages Of Bihar
6. Massacre At Amritsar And The Aftermath
7. Intermission
8. Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram And Reflections Of Early Days
9. Salt
10. Partition
11. End Of The Fast
12. Remember This Always
13. For All Mankind (Vaishnava Janato / Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram)
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Soundtrack Available:
Used On CD
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