"The Mahabharata" (1989) TV mini-series

Director:

Peter Brook

Writers:

Jean-Claude Carrière (adaptation)
Peter Brook (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 February 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy

Plot Keywords:

Religion | Stage Adaptation | Epic | Mythological | Massacre

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Erika Alexander	...	Madri / Hidimbi
Maurice Bénichou	...	Kitchaka
Amba Bihler	...	Virata's daughter
Lou Bihler	...	Young Karna
Urs Bihler	...	Dushassana
Ryszard Cieslak	...	Dhritharashtra
Georges Corraface	...	Duryodhana
Jean-Paul Denizon	...	Nakula
Mamadou Dioumé	...	Bhima
Miriam Goldschmidt	...	Kunti
Hapsari Hardjito	...	Abhimanyu's wife
Nolan Hemmings	...	Abhimanyu
Ken Higelin	...	Deathless boy
Ciarán Hinds	...	Ashwattaman
Gisèle Hogard	...	1st princess

Also Known As:

Le mahâbhârata (France)

Runtime:

318 min | France:55 min (6 episodes) | USA:171 min (theatrical version)

Country:

Belgium | Australia | USA | Sweden | Portugal | Norway | Netherlands | Japan | Ireland | Iceland | Finland | Denmark | UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Hungary:14 | Singapore:PG | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Studios Joinville, Joinville-le-pont, Val-de-Marne, France

Company:

Channel 4 Television Corporation

Quotes:

Duryodhana: A man says: I have enough to eat and wear. I need nothing more! Shame! He says: I don't know anger! Shame! I am like a dried up stream, like a wooden elephant. All because my father was born blind, because one does not give a throne to a blind man.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#3.2)" (1990)

a wonderful realization of one of the world's great religious-mythic epics

I can't recall anything Peter Brook has done that wasn't at least worthwhile, and most of his oeuvre is far more than that--including his Mahabharata. To my great disappointment I never got to see the stage version, but did see the film, as presented on TV. It was cut down (!) to a mere 6 hours, and the only word for it is stunning. The international cast is as good as any ensemble I've seen: they're always right on target, never over the top, and I think I could watch the whole 6 hours without ever getting restless. I've read the Mahabharata in a very good American adaptation that trims the enormous length--15 times the length of the Old and New Testament combined!--to manageable size. While some fine material was necessarily excised from Brook and Carriere's version, the essence seems to be there. By turns, it is amusing, touching gripping, and always absorbing. I believe it is still available on videocassette and may well be on DVD as well. .I notice that, with only one exception, all the users who have written appreciations share my feelings, and I suspect that most others will feel the same way. I won't bother to mention individual performers or scenes; it's all of a piece and a great accomplishment. Next time I watch it will be my seventh or eighth time, and it won't have lost any of its appeal. This is a work of art to savor and treasure.