Movie #97 - Gandhi

"His Triumph Changed The World Forever."

With the Academy Awards ceremony soon approaching, I figured I would get some more entries into the system to allow readers to look back and reflect at some of the great movies that were recognized as Best Picture during my lifetime (1980-current).

Gandhi ranks up there as one of the greatest movies ever made, not only because of the epic nature for which this film was shot, but for the life of the man portrayed. Sir Ben Kingsley won the award for Best Actor and the film was recognized in a number of other important categories such as Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, and Costume Design.

However, looking back at this film, Director Richard Attenborough attempts to stay as true to the story of the life of Mohandas Gandhi that by the end of the film, many viewers are compelled by the performance of Kingsley as the great man. Kingsley gives a riveting performance here in this film, only to be compared to one of his other great roles in Schindler's List. However, his role as Gandhi will definitely be his crowning performance as an actor.

There are some other strong performances by the supporting cast that make this film a must watch. Although somewhat long in comparison to current movies being churned out in Hollywood, this is a movie that you cannot miss. In support of Kingsley's performance, you have solid appearances from Candice Bergen, John Gielgud, Martin Sheen, and Roshan Seth to name just a few key actors.

A bonus with this film are some of the epic panoramic shots of the landscape combined with the major action sequences requiring thousands of extras - typical for an epic motion picture. This movie is one of those films that you need to watch in your lifetime as a biopic of Gandhi's influential life and his impact on society today.

In an unrelated Gandhi viewing story, I am reminded of a certain fraternity brother protesting to my friends and I at the time for his preference to stay at home and watch Gandhi instead of going to the bars to pick up women. Considering we were all in our early 20's, I still cannot respect this person's decision to stay at home with Sir Ben Kingsley... I mean, the movie is spectacular and all, but not to the point where you can justify missing a night out with the boys.