Gandhi (1982)

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

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writer:

John Briley

Stars:

Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox

Top 250 #189 | Won 8 Oscars. Another 30 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Kingsley	...	Mahatma Gandhi
Candice Bergen	...	Margaret Bourke-White
Edward Fox	...	General Dyer
John Gielgud	...	Lord Irwin
Trevor Howard	...	Judge Broomfield
John Mills	...	The Viceroy
Martin Sheen	...	Walker
Ian Charleson	...	Charlie Andrews
Athol Fugard	...	General Smuts
Günther Maria Halmer	...	Herman Kallenbach (as Gunter Maria Halmer)
Saeed Jaffrey	...	Sardar Patel
Geraldine James	...	Mirabehn
Alyque Padamsee	...	Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Amrish Puri	...	Khan
Roshan Seth	...	Pandit Nehru

Storyline

In 1893, Gandhi is thrown off a South African train for being an Indian and traveling in a first class compartment. Gandhi realizes that the laws are biased against Indians and decides to start a non-violent protest campaign for the rights of all Indians in South Africa. After numerous arrests and the unwanted attention of the world, the government finally relents by recognizing rights for Indians, though not for the native blacks of South Africa. After this victory, Gandhi is invited back to India, where he is now considered something of a national hero. He is urged to take up the fight for India's independence from the British Empire. Gandhi agrees, and mounts a non-violent non-cooperation campaign of unprecedented scale, coordinating millions of Indians nationwide. There are some setbacks, such as violence against the protesters and Gandhi's occasional imprisonment. Nevertheless, the campaign generates great attention, and Britain faces intense public pressure. Too weak from World ...

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Plot Keywords:

india | indian | british | muslim | pakistan | 

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Taglines:

His Triumph Changed The World Forever.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK India

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Richard Attenborough's Film: Gandhi

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

SEK 12,044,631 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Film Investors, National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), Goldcrest Films International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

191 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) (as Dolby Stereo) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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 Mohandas K. Gandhi's funeral. 11 crews shot over 20,000 feet of film, which was pared down to 125 seconds in the final release.

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Goofs

In the scene at the cricket match, there are 12 fielders on the pitch (4 leg-side, 6 off-side, plus bowler & keeper.)

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hindu: He will be saying prayers in the garden. Just follow the others.

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Connections

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #18.6 (2005)

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Soundtracks

"God Save the King!"
(1744) (uncredited)
Music attributed to Henry Carey
Sung by Ben Kingsley
Reprised when India achieves independence

User Reviews

A great epic; Kingsley's best performance

As soon as I finished watching Gandhi, I thought to myself "This movie had to have won Best Picture." I think it's one of the best epics of all time. It masterfully tells one of the most important stories of the 20th century, that of India's struggle to free itself, spearheaded by one of the most extraordinary men of all time, Mahatma Gandhi. I would be hard pressed to name anything lacking about it. Direction, cinematography, costumes, they're all great. And Ben Kingsley! Without a doubt his portrayal of Gandhi is one of the best performances of his career, if not THE best. Playing the pacifist Indian lawyer-turned-leader couldn't have been an easy task, and I don't think anyone could have pulled it off as well as he did. This movie deserves all the praise anyone gives it and more. Excellent.