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| Unusually many people flock on this poster for Richard Attenborough's Gandhi around the titular character, whom it thoroughly touts |
Mahatma Gandhi's life was remarkable, for he was a remarkable man: From the formative rebellion in British-controlled South Africa to his non-violent insistence upon independence for his country India, he was a key figure in 20th century history.
Gandhi is written by John Briley (Enigma (1982)) and directed by British master filmmaker Richard Attenborough (Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)), whose 5th feature it is. Mahatma was an honorific name given to Gandhi in 1914 in South Africa, a Sanskrit word that means 'great-souled' and 'venerable'.
Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast (2000)), who is partly of Indian heritage, gives a masterly performance as the diminutive Indian, who more than once in his life turns to fasting and sticks with it to the point where he nearly dies to remind his fellow man of his wisdom that "an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind", - and other such valuable lessons. The principled strength and brilliant logic of Gandhi's humanism inevitably touches most audiences deeply, and Attenborough's vast epic thereby becomes an unmissable film as a cinematic study in the best of humanity.
Related post:
Richard Attenborough: Top 10: Best UK movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
A Bridge Too Far (1977) or, Epic Shit Hits the Fan
Cost: 22 mil. $
Box office: 127.7 mil. $
= Huge hit (returned 5.80 times its cost)
[Gandhi premiered 30 November (New Delhi, India) and runs 191 minutes. Attenborough was contacted by an Indian-born civil servant and devout Gandhi follower in 1962, who persuaded him to pursue a film of the man's life. 18 years passed before it came to fruition: India's prime minister Indira Gandhi was by the late 1970s persuaded to put up the first 10 mil. $ of the film's budget from the country's National Film Development Corporation of India fund. Shooting took place in the UK, including London, and in India, including Delhi, from November 1980 - May 1981. SPOILER More than 300,000 extras were used in the funeral scene, setting a new Guinness World Record. The film opened #14 to a 131k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #2 (on President's Day weekend), spending a total of 11 weeks in the top 5, grossing 52.7 mil. $ (41.3 % of the total gross). It was the year's 3rd highest-grossing film outside of North America, the highest-grossing film of the year in the UK and one of the highest-grossing imported films in India ever, adjusted for inflation. It was shown tax-free in Mumbai and Delhi. Goldcrest Films made a profit of 6.3 mil. £ on their participation in the film. It was nominated for 11 Oscars, winning 8: For Best Picture, Actor (Kingsley), Director, Original Screenplay, Cinematography (Billy Williams and Ronnie Taylor), Art-Set Direction, Costumes and Editing. It lost Best Makeup to Quest for Fire, Score (Ravi Shankar and George Fenton) to John Williams for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Sound to also to E.T.. It also won 5 Golden Globes, 5/16 BAFTA nominations, 3 David di Donatello awards, was nominated for a Grammy, won 3 National Board of Review awards and many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. The film has been criticized for idolizing Gandhi and leaving out his less flattering sides and development as a person. Attenborough returned with A Chorus Line (1985). Kingsley returned in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1982, TV movie) and theatrically in Betrayal (1983). Gandhi is certified fresh at 85 % with an 8.15/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
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