The Mahabharata [DVD] [1989]

Peter Brook is amazing. And findng this DVD was a stroke of luck. I had tried streaming the production, but it was beyond the capacity of my internet connection. I am now watching it on my television monitor, but given my DVD player is 30 years old, I am getting some distortion. Never mind, I can still see the play. The Mahabharata is one of the world's great epic stories. I got interested when I read the novel "Palace of Illusions", which tells the outline of the tale from the point of view of Draupati, the wife of the Pandava brothers and is brilliant. The novel will give you an outline of the main plot -- an epic which takes twelve nights to recite has plenty of subplots. The play condenses the telling into 5 hours, but is told from the point of view of the Pandava brothers. (Of course, they won the war. We don't get retellings of the Illiad from the point of view of the Trojans, do we?) So, this play from the point of view of the brothers gives more depth into the characters of the males in the story . . . The acting, the direction, the casting, the stage settings, etc are wonderful for helping to visualise the story. We had some trouble finding the English subtitles and/or version that is dubbed, but I put that down to the age of my DVD player and the fact that the supporting leaflet for the DVD is all in German, which we don't speak. It was worth persisting. I am now looking forward to the third part of the story, the war itself, but waiting until I feel relaxed enough to deal with the violence and gore.

Not a Hollywood movie, but an English language film based on the theatre play, and in three parts, each just under 2 hours long. So don't expect SFX or even outdoor scenes. It is a religious allegory rather than an adventure story, and at times very wordy. Having said that, the staging itself is excellent and the dramatic elements are very powerful, conveying the characters' internal moral conflicts to great effect, I felt that the multi-ethnic cast was a positive, enhancing the universality of the underlying messages. Maybe not for the academic experts or the purists, but I would recommend it to anyone who is open-mindedly sympathetic to broadly religious, and especially Hindu or Buddhist philosophy. Hugely ambitious, and personally I loved it.

I saw this version of the Mahabharata first in my early twenties on Dutch public TV, broadcast in its entirety in one go (surely only possible before the advent of commercial TV). I remember that the sparsity of the production, the stylized elegance, the effectiveness of the international cast (do not expect BBC English pronunciation!), the incredibly sung score, and the philosophy of the last scenes left me deeply touched, even flattened. Seeing it again on my own copy some 25(!) years later, with of course more mature and more critical eyes, still makes me call this a unique masterpiece, with perhaps a slowish start. In the meantime I also own the Indian version by the Chopra brothers, completely different, probably much more complete (though there are elements in Brook that are in the original texts but not in the Chopras' version) and very interesting to get a more "Indian" and Hindu feel, and significant background. The Brook version has a transnational, trans-culture quality. Simply stunning. I would have loved to see the stage-play original of this TV production.

I'm living on Réunion island (10 000 km from UK) and the DVD takes 1 month to arrive : it's ok and i'm happy at last that it has been working : for 12 Pound it's a good job ... But, i love this story and the movie, that i've already seen several times and i was desesperatly looking for the full version (the french dvd is cutted). So i am really sorry and disapointed to discover that this DVD doesn't contains french version or even simples subtitle's (They are in english). After all it was a french and english coproduction ands the actor's did the twices versions. The point is not for me : how can i show this wonderfull movie with other people of my family who don't speak english ? So where can i found the full version in french or with french subtitles !? Je vis sur l'île de la Réunion (à 10 000 km de l'angleterre) et le DVD a mis un mois pour arriver : c'est bien et je suis tout de même content que ça ait marché : pour 12 Livre Sterling c'est du bon travail ... Mais , j'aime cette histoire et le film, que j'ai vu plusieurs fois et j'étais désespérément à la recherche de la version longue (le DVD français est coupé). Je suis donc trés désolé et déçu de découvrir que ce DVD ne contient pas de version française ou même de simple sous titres (ils sont en anglais). Après tout c'est une coproduction franco anglaise et les acteurs ont fait les deux versions. Le problème ne me concerne pas uniquement : comment puis je partager ce film fantastique avec d'autres personnes de ma famille et qui ne parlent pas anglais ? Où Puis je donc trouver la version complète en français ou avec des sous titre en français !?

I fell in love with this film in the mid 90's after discovering it on VHS (3 tapes) in my local library (Orlando, FL in those days). This is likely the most accessible production of an Indian epic for a Western / English - speaking audience. After looking for an affordable full version DVD of it (and encountering overpriced abridged editions! - I'm an American living in Japan) I suddenly had the revelation of checking Amazon UK !!! I just received my very nice 2 disc, BFI (British Film Institute) Region 2 DVD, w/ 312 minutes running time (w/ optional subtitles for the hearing impaired). It comes with a nice 22 page color booklet with words by writer Jean-Claude Carriere and Director/writer Peter Brook, a Synopsis of the story and it's 3 main chapters - The Game of Dice, Exile in the Forest, and The War. Yes, it is region 2 (playable on Europe and Japan DVD players). However, it does also play on my iMac computer; so I think it is a nice option for some American or other international fans who want the full version. Please visit Amazon UK and search Peter Brooks Mahabharata, you'll find it, and for a reasonable price (around $20 US). The DVD cover shows the character Bhishma being carried on an arrow -covered bier. Hope this helps some old fans who've been wanting this and some new fans too! Americans don't need be shy to order through Amazon UK, they can convert to US dollars at checkout. You can check the net to convert British pounds to US dollars beforehand also. If you have an interest in Indian or Oriental philosophy, religion or myth then this is essential viewing. Do not expect a splashy Hollywood (or even Bollywood) movie! This is an austere and simple set design, a 312 min. (Around 5 hour ) film production of what was originally a 9 hour play (over 3 nights). Do not expect wild special effects, musical numbers or blue painted gods dripping in pasteboard gold. This is all about the acting, which is great, and the story is brought to life by English speaking characters - the actors are the set pieces themselves. Stunning international cast truly gives this Indian epic a universal message to mankind. Suitable for viewing by all ages.

This film came up on a pub quiz and having watched this many years ago I decided to see if it was still available. In my memory I had found the film very enjoyable, but in watching it again I found that it was one that I had to be in the mood for. It probably helped that when seen originally it was not played as a single sitting.

Remarkable production with stunning soundtrack. As most know the book in its original form runs to 4 volumes and Penguin does an approachable version at over 900 pages. It is not merely a Sanskrit epic as often described but as Vyasa points out a history of the first times a type of cosmology outside that of Gilgamesh, Bible, et al. Aesthetically, the film stuns and sweeps you away with fantastic acting, directing and representation of the Bhagavad Gita.

I bought this DVD with an open mind, knowingly that this wasn't the other version which is of the 16CD Box set and was shocked at the casting and the acting. For a BFT presentation I expected better and purely bought this as it had their stamp and am astounded and disappointed. For those that may have watched the Ramayana aired in 1991. I watched it in India in 1988 (I think) which is now available as the 16CD box set, I would highly recommened that rather than this.