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Siddhartha More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 22 reviews in total |
24 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
Finally on DVD. A beautiful rendition of Hesse's Siddhartha, 19 December 2002
Author:
gabravo123 from New York
After seeing this movie again in New York recently and noticing that it
was
going to be available on DVD, I ordered it immediately through Amazon.com
and decided to send the following comments, which were posted in the
"customer reviews" section:
1. The plot. The Nobel Prize winner, Hermann Hesse, wrote Siddhartha
in 1922. It is a novel about Eastern spirituality (many Indian scholars
consider it as one of the few successful examples of Indian philosophy
presented by a Western author). Siddhartha is one of the names given to
the
Buddha himself. The novel narrates the pilgrimage of the son of a
Brahmin,
his struggle to find his own destiny; his friendship with Govinda (his
"shadow"); his encounters with many different people: the Samanas (the
ascetics that practice self-denial); Kamala (a courtesan who claims that
she
can teach and provide love as an art); Kamasawami (a rich merchant who
becomes his boss); and Vasudeva... - note Vasudeva is another name given
to
Krishna, the teacher/driver of Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita).
2. The Movie. In 1972, Conrad Rooks (an almost unknown movie director who
made "Chappaqua" in 1966) came out with a 94-minute movie transcription
of
Hesse's novel. He engaged Sven Nykvist (the famous Swedish
cinematographer
of Igmar Bergman) and a mainly Indian cast, including Shashi Kapoor
(Siddhartha), Simi Garewal (Kamala), Romesh Sharma (Govinda) and Zul
Vellani
(Vasudeva). The beautiful music was composed by Hemanta Mukherjee (I hope
the soundtrack will be available soon). It will be particularly enjoyable
for those who have read the book. In many of the scenes the synergism
produced by the photography, the music and the acting is superb. And with
few exceptions, the movie is a good transcription of the book. The book
and
the movie became part of the "cult culture" of the West coast of the
early
seventies, but it never got the attention of the general public. With a
condescending tone, Leonard Maltin refers to the movie as "too arty, but
on-location photography ... is often dazzling".
After seeing the DVD transfer I was very happy with its high quality.
There
are 27 interesting minutes of comments made by Conrad Rooks about why and
how he made the movie 30 years ago. With the DVD technology I am able to
enjoy my favorite scenes and particularly the music of Hemanta Mukherjee
on
texts from another Nobel Prize, Rabindranath Tagore. Because of these
unforgettable moments, I give a rating of 10, absolving Rooks from his
"youth sins".
13 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
A "biograph" of one mans`s journey on the most significant quest of all quests., 25 October 2001
Author:
(shane_eastwood@hotmail.com) from Asia-Pacific
It would be easier to write the following comment if the copyright owners,
made the film accessible to individual consumers...I`m trying to remember
the thematics of this film!!
I saw this film 2 years ago on the big screen. This film is far from being
about a pointless quest, those are words of a mind that has lost the way ,
the way to self knowledge, through such questions as: "who am i?"" where
did
i come from?", and "where am i going?". These might seem irrelevant to
the
impatient mind but given ample time, the relevancy to all people will
become
very apparent.
What this film conveys is one man`s journey on such a path of
"self"knowledge. An indepth appreciation of indian thought or , philosophy
or likewise may prove invaluable in terms of understanding , some of the
seemingly fleeting or trivial scenes, or more culturally esoteric moments
in
the film, thus,enabling one to be more fully consummated by its story,
however I am sure it is not a prerequisite for the artfully
minded!.
Among the the features of this film, is the music, of a musician singer who
is legendary in India(I cant remember his name right now!)and is certainly
legendary in this film, and is certainly a beautiful record of the 'Indian'
spirituality alive and breathing to this day in India.
If anyone can tell me where i can get the soundtrack or some compilation of
the music in this film i would be very appreciative, (this request is a
long
standing one)
This film would appeal to those people who see or find or sense themselves
on a similar"path" or quest, and may give much confirmation or food for
thought about the possible turning points, or unknown or unexpected
"detours" that one finds themselves engaged in along the way. This film
offers a message, a very sound message about the quest of the human spirit
its struggle for higher fulfillment, which i add Is the quest of the human
being.
13 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
For the beauty of it, 11 May 2000
Author:
(sprengerguido@hotmail.com) from Taipei
I used to love Hermann Hesse and this book in my teens. Still, I love this
film, even because I consider it to be a very appropriate filming.
Hesse's characters are mostly soul-searchers wandering around in rather
artificial surroundings - which is true in the case of this timeless,
ancient India. As he is prone to put all the meaning into lengthy,
philosophical dialogues, this makes him utterly difficult to turn into film.
This film manages to capture both: the artificiality of the setting as well
as the philosophical sincereness - plus that certain naive sense of beauty
that makes Hesse so appealing and disgusting at once. A good deal of the
films success is due to Sven Nykvist's marvellous camera work, done mostly
with natural light. (The few scenes with set light are awful.) The beauty of
the landscapes is not only the superficial one of a postcard, but the
philosophical one that tells you that a beautiful world is essentially a
good, complete, happy world: a world in which you can afford to completely
focus on your personal search for meaning and spirituality. Well, personally
I don't believe this, but this movie had me suspending my belief for 90
minutes. What a comforting experience.
14 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
National Geographic search for enlightment is a step down from "Chappaqua", 26 July 2002
Author:
Chris Knipp from Berkeley, California
This is much smoother but less interesting than Conrad Rooks' other
earlier
and more cultish film, his drug autobiography `Chappaqua' (1966), which
has
cameos by Allen Ginzburg, William Burroughs, and jazzman Ornette Coleman
in
it. The trouble is `Siddhartha,' beautiful as it is, is a simplification
of
a simplification, and a spiritual quest isn't something you necessarily
understand better through lush visuals, though unquestionably some of Sven
Nykvist's watery landscapes with trees are unforgettable, the color is
deep
and rich, the music is pleasing, and the principals are awfully good
looking
people. Not surprisingly the high point cinematically is the sequence
showing erotic encounters between the handsome lapsed sadhu, Siddhartha
(Shashi Kapoor), and the lovely courtesan, Kamala. Simi Garewal, who
plays
Kamala, is a gorgeous creature whose lovely eyes, long aristocratic nose,
and pouty lips remind one of the all-time arch teaser and sexy
sophisticate
of English films, Joan Greenwood. But Ms. Greenwood never was got up in
the
kind of exquisite gilded see-through gear Simi wears in her scenes with
Shashi Kapoor. She's something to look at.
When his buddy Govinda decides earlier to follow the Buddha, Siddhartha
leaves Govinda bereft by deciding to go off on his own lone search,
without
a guru. It seems that the point is you must pursue your quest on your own.
But Siddhartha's splitting with Govinda seems somewhat meaningless since
at
the end of the movie, Siddhartha has joined up with the peaceful boatman
he
met years earlier toward the end of his sadhu period, and he winds up
spouting the boatman's words of wisdom: live in the present, stop
seeking,
don't worry, be happy, and watch the river. The Buddha apparently hasn't
helped Govinda all that much either, since he meets Siddhartha again and
also needs to be taught the boatman's simple doctrines. One can't help
thinking they'd both have done better staying with the Buddha, who did,
after all, found one of the world's great religions.
It's rather amusing that during the two men's youthful sadhu period, when
they're on the road with a group of penniless holy men, `meditation' is
represented as singing rhythmically and passing a bong. My picture of
this
activity was different, but `Chappaqua' shows how obsessed with and
involved
in drugs Conrad Rooks was.
This is a lovely, but empty and ultimately not very cinematic film. Sven
Nykvist's photography is at the service of a vision so generalized
(Siddhartha is a universal type, not an individual), that too often the
images look like something out of `National Geographic' with mise-en-scène
by Bollywood. The scenes are not as exotic as those Pasolini created for
his
`Arabian Nights' (1974), nor are Rooks' depictions of Indian rural life
ever
remotely as real as Satyajit Ray's in the `Apu Trilogy.' For a trippier
film version of Hermann Hesse, see Fred Haines' `Steppenwolf,' which came
two years after `Siddhartha,' in 1974. For a more original film depiction
of a spiritual quest, see the story of G.I. Gurdjieff as done by Peter
Brooks in `Meetings with Remarkable men' (1979).
12 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
Hauntingly Beautiful, 4 March 2003
Author:
yespat from st. louis
This film is stunning in its beauty. The music is transcendent. For the longest time I tried to get the soundtrack. To save you the trouble, be aware that they never made one! There is one scene in which a woman blows on a shell that was so powerful I still remember 30 years later. Mesmerizing. If you have not seen it yet, rent it today.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Excellent movie, direction, acting and music, 31 January 2006
Author:
rcansaa from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This excellent work(1972) of an American director Conrad Rooks made me
fall in love with India and its spirituality all over again.
I am so glad I could borrow and watch this movie from a public library
(Dow library in Midland Michigan). The cassette claims that it has been
recovered in 2002. This movie is based on a Nobel prize winner novel by
Hermann Hesse. The music composed and sung by Hemant Kumar who is well
known for singing Tagore(Nobel winner). The song tracks are Tagore's
compositions. Very melodious.
The story is about a young Brahman of a priest family. The father is a
sacred priest of a temple. Next to the temple flows river Ganges.
Siddharth grows up with his close friend/follower. Their early
childhood is shown to be bathing in the river and performing rituals in
the temple. Being fed-up with his father's routine life, Siddharth
decides to get out of the town and wishes to become a 'sadhu' and
attain nirvana (eternal-peace). His father consents half-heartedly. The
best friend Govinda follows him like a shadow. During their journey
they both come under the influence of many accomplished sadhus and a
Guru. Inspite of serving the Guru, Siddharth is not satisfied and does
not feel even being close to attaining nirvana. In the meantime Govind
influenced by Buddha himself, joins Buddhism leaving Siddharth alone
with his path. The main aspiration of Siddharth is to achieve nirvana
without a teacher. He claims why do we need teachers to attain nirvana,
a seemingly conflicting belief to Hinduism, which preaches without a
Guru its impossible to attain eternal peace. Hinduism is esoteric and
abstract. The conflicting facts are not conflicting at all..As Hinduism
goes far and teaches that one is the God himself(or herself)..Aham
Brahmasmi. At one stage a soul out-stands or out performs the teacher.
So he continues his wandering. In the meantime gets attracted to the
pleasure gardens of a beautiful, soulful,courtesan by name Kamala.
Siddharth wants to learn the art of love from her. She induces him into
materialistic world. He learns all worldly business in order to gain
the love of Kamala. Kamala, true to herself, teaches him all he wants.
Eventually he gets tired of all of it and leaves that place to become a
ferry man. During that time he learns a lot of philosophy from the
river. Kamala who now has a son from Siddharth, gets bitten by a snake
and dies in the arms of Siddharth. Siddharth tries to bring up his son
but the son turns out to be defiant and so on and so forth...From the
comment I learned that the ferryman who taught him about truth was none
other than Budha himself.
The passionate scene between Shashi Kapoor and Simmy Grewal heats up
the screen..I never had imagined that in the best hands of director and
photographer, Shashi Kapoor could be so sizzling sensuous. I always
find him boring and cold in almost all his movies..
The conversation between Kamala and Siddharth is very touching. After
sharing a very passionate, artistic love making, both of them settle to
think that they do not love each other. What a disappointment. Two
people in true love, sometimes are unable to make passionate love due
to situations and two people who after all share passionate physical
love are not in love..what an irony of life..The consummation of love
(passion + spiritual + commitment) happens only in imaginations ??? I
hope not.
For Siddharth, the journey of spirituality is reverse (seem to happen
to many people)..Its from "vairagya" (renunciation) to "bhoga"
(materialistic luxury) and back again..Some simple men and women who
follow simple philosophy and travel from bhoga to yoga and to
nirvana(eternal peace), seem to be doing it right...However, there is
nothing right and nothing wrong in this journey...Like a meandering
river, we all trace(carve) different paths, suitable to our mind and
our body. Also, the "chakras" control our actions at different points
of time and determine at one point of time what is predominant for us.
The significance of ferryman is not an old concept. In Kannada
literature(16th century ?), Purundara Dasa calls God as "ambiga"
(ferryman)..God is the ferryman who helps cross this river called life
and the ferry is our own body with nine holes. What an artist he must
have been to help cross the river in such a perforated boat...:-)
Coincidentally I remember this funny incident from Ramayana..Rama
requesting a ferryman(kevat in Hindi) to help him cross river Ganga.
Before Kevat lets him in his boat, runs and gets a pitcher of water to
wash Rama's feet off..When asked why, he narrates the reason which
seems so hilarious...He says, if I let you get in my boat with the dust
of your feet, there is a fear that the boat may turn into a maid just
like stone turning into Ahilya...thats why had to wash your feet..cause
I have no other means of living ('main gareeb naiya meri naari naa hoya
pade')...:-)
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Beautiful film of a story which plays in Buddha's time., 7 June 2000
Author:
gunther40 from Offenbach, germany
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Story in legend form of a Brahmin's son at the times of The Buddha who sets out on a journey to find himself. He tries living with the samanas, an ascetic sect, then with the followers of Buddha, but decides that he cannot follow any particular path which he has not found and experienced by himself. He crosses the river, the symbol of the division between the realm of the spirit and the realm of nature/life. After he has experienced the life in the city and become a successful business man, he returns to the river. If you want to be a complete human, you need to integrate the realm of the spirit with the realm of life. Siddhartha becomes the ferryman, the facilitator, on the river who enables others to share in his own experience by traveling back and forth between the two river banks which symbolize spirit and nature. The film does a beautiful job with stunning photography. The original English version with its archaic language often strikes the modern viewer as somewhat odd. The recent German version includes dubbed German which was edited skillfully by Ursula Michels-Wenz. The film is distributed in Europe by Winkler Films of Vienna, Austria. The German publisher of Hesse's works, Suhrkamp Verlag of Frankfurt, presently is still limiting a wider distribution and the release of a video version.
9 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
An excellent philosophical work, 3 February 2005
Author:
pinoj18 from United States
I saw the movie Siddhartha some time ago because when I first saw the
title, I recognized it as a philosophical work from my college days
when I study Hesse's work from my philosophy class.
It is a great film: I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the book by
Hermann Hesse. As a philosophy major, the philosophical underlinings in
the movie are most appropriate. It is by all accounts, a true Hesse's
commentary on the meaning of life and man's condition on earth.
I especially liked the music although the lyrics were foreign to me. I
wish I could get a translation of the songs that made the film even
more enjoyable.
A great philosophical work of art.
5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
a beautiful and haunting movie, 6 May 2005
Author:
movinut from United Kingdom
I saw the movie twice, the first time in Sweden in 1974; I had read Herman Hesse's book before that, and the story had strongly impressed me. The movie was even better then the book! the photography was very poetic, the music (indian flutes, tablas) was very high in the aesthetics band, and the story conformed more or less with the book, but without taking away any of it's impact. there were 12 people in the theatre, and at the end as the credits were scrolling for what seemed at least 20 minutes, no-one moved from their seats as transfixed by what they had just seen. I am sure that all 12 of those people recall to this day the effect that this film created on them. I am not a Buddhist or even very religious, but i personally recommend it as part of a person's education in life....
10 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
A classic., 26 January 2004
Author:
wildzero
If you loved the book by Hermann Hesse, you will most likely love this film. At times, it seems rather disjointed - almost as though I had blinked and missed a scene. I really consider this film to be a great companion to a great book. I am curious to know what people who had not read the book would think of this film.
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