Gandhi (1982)

Gandhi's character is fully explained as a man of nonviolence. Through his patience, he is able to drive the British out of the subcontinent. And the stubborn nature of Jinnah and his commitment towards Pakistan is portrayed.

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writer:

John Briley

Stars:

Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud, Rohini Hattangadi

Top Rated Movies #227 | Won 8 Oscars. Another 27 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Kingsley	...	Mahatma Gandhi
Rohini Hattangadi	...	Kasturba Gandhi (as Rohini Hattangady)
Roshan Seth	...	Pandit Nehru
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
Günther Maria Halmer	...	Herman Kallenbach (as Gunter Maria Halmer)
Athol Fugard	...	General Smuts
Saeed Jaffrey	...	Sardar Patel
Geraldine James	...	Mirabehn
Alyque Padamsee	...	Mohamed Ali Jinnah

Storyline

In 1893, Mohandas K. 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...

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Plot Keywords:

india | independence | hindu | peace | british india | 

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Taglines:

A WORLD EVENT It took one remarkable man to defeat the British Empire and free a nation of 350 million people. His goal was freedom for India. His strategy was peace. His weapon was his humanity.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK India USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Richard Attenborough's Film: Gandhi

Filming Locations:

Delhi, India

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$131,153, 12 December 1982, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$52,767,889

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$127,767,889

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: in selected threatres) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Black and White Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Ben Kingsley studied for the part by watching five hours of newsreel footage of Gandhi in one sitting.

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Goofs

The hoisting of the Indian flag on independence is shown to happen in broad daylight when in reality, it took place at midnight.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: No man's life can be encompassed in one telling. There is no way to give each year its allotted weight, to include each event, each person who helped to shape a lifetime. What can be done is to be faithful in spirit to the record and try to find one's way to the heart of the man....

NEW DELHI INDIA 30th JANUARY 1948

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Alternate Versions

In April 2005, Skoll launched the Gandhi Project in partnership with Silicon Valley entrepreneur Kamran Elahian. Working with Palestinian voice actors and artists, an award-winning director dubbed the epic film into Arabic. It is being screened throughout Palestine in order to advance civil society goals of peaceful resistance, self-reliance, economic development and local empowerment, and plans are underway to expand screenings throughout the Arab world.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Do You Think You Are?: Martin Sheen (2012)

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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

Old-Time Hollywood Epic Redux.

The life of the legendary man from India (dominant Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley, who was a total unknown theatrical newcomer at the time) who gave up work as an attorney to defy British rule throughout the first half of the 20th Century before falling to an assassin's bullet in 1948. Long, opulent, breath-taking and completely memorable take on one of the most important historical figures the world has ever known. Oscar-winning director Richard Attenborough obviously studied David Lean's epic film-making masterpieces from the 1950s and 1960s as we have similarities galore with "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and much more importantly "Lawrence of Arabia". An all-star cast of very old-time Hollywood legends (John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, John Mills) and relative newcomers who were on the rise (Candice Bergen, Martin Sheen, Edward Fox, Nigel Hawthorne and a super quick glance of a very young Daniel Day-Lewis) blend in a desert landscape of cinematic brilliance. Make no mistake of it though, "Gandhi" works because of Kingsley as he weaves a colorful tapestry of cinematic performing ungodliness with a totally convincing take on his role and the complex subject matter. Running nearly 190 minutes, "Gandhi" still just uses flash-points to under-score the importance and significance of the major topics within. Those familiar with advanced world history will likely get more out of the film, but still a movie whose glitter continues to shine as bright as ever. 5 stars out of 5.