The Mahabharata (TV Mini Series 1989-1990) is an immense epic co-written and directed by Peter Brook. Brook is renowned as a very creative director, and I think that this movie supports that renown.
According to Wikipedia, The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem in the world. The TV series listed on IMDb is 5 hours 18 minutes long. We saw it on DVD, where is was 3 hours and 10 minutes long. I think the DVD version covered all the major points of the plot, but obviously we missed whatever was shown in the additional 2 hours 8 minutes.
The DVD also contained "The Making of The Mahabharata," which was fascinating. The movie is in English, but Brooks brought in actors from all over the globe. He knows what he wants in an actor, and their performances were outstanding.
We are accustomed to the epics we know--The Iliad and the Odyssey. Gods come down from Mt. Olympus and engage in conversations and give advice to humans. However, when that occurs in The Mahabharata, it appears strange to us.
Other matters in the film are unusual to us, but, I assume, they are not unusual to people from India. For example, a woman marries a blind king. In order not to be able to see what he cannot see, she wears a blindfold for the rest of her life.
A mother tells her five sons that they must marry the same woman. Muslims may practice polygamy, so why shouldn't Draupadi--a important character in The Mahabharata--practice polyandry? (In fact, if you look up polyandry in Wikipedia, you'll see an Indian painting of Draupadi and her five husbands.)
My guess is that someone educated in India will follow the intricacies of the plot. I was able to understand most of it, but sometimes I got confused about which cousin was killing which cousin. Very complex, but still very interesting.
There were so many actors in important roles that I can't single any out, with one exception. Mallika Sarabhai portrays Draupadi, and she is fascinating. (Ms. Sarabhai has a Ph. D., and she is a dancer and choreographer as well as an actor.)
This movie would work better in a theater, but it worked well enough on the small screen. The Mahabharata has a very strong IMDb rating of 7.8. I thought it was even better than that, and rated it 10.
According to Wikipedia, The Mahabharata is the longest epic poem in the world. The TV series listed on IMDb is 5 hours 18 minutes long. We saw it on DVD, where is was 3 hours and 10 minutes long. I think the DVD version covered all the major points of the plot, but obviously we missed whatever was shown in the additional 2 hours 8 minutes.
The DVD also contained "The Making of The Mahabharata," which was fascinating. The movie is in English, but Brooks brought in actors from all over the globe. He knows what he wants in an actor, and their performances were outstanding.
We are accustomed to the epics we know--The Iliad and the Odyssey. Gods come down from Mt. Olympus and engage in conversations and give advice to humans. However, when that occurs in The Mahabharata, it appears strange to us.
Other matters in the film are unusual to us, but, I assume, they are not unusual to people from India. For example, a woman marries a blind king. In order not to be able to see what he cannot see, she wears a blindfold for the rest of her life.
A mother tells her five sons that they must marry the same woman. Muslims may practice polygamy, so why shouldn't Draupadi--a important character in The Mahabharata--practice polyandry? (In fact, if you look up polyandry in Wikipedia, you'll see an Indian painting of Draupadi and her five husbands.)
My guess is that someone educated in India will follow the intricacies of the plot. I was able to understand most of it, but sometimes I got confused about which cousin was killing which cousin. Very complex, but still very interesting.
There were so many actors in important roles that I can't single any out, with one exception. Mallika Sarabhai portrays Draupadi, and she is fascinating. (Ms. Sarabhai has a Ph. D., and she is a dancer and choreographer as well as an actor.)
This movie would work better in a theater, but it worked well enough on the small screen. The Mahabharata has a very strong IMDb rating of 7.8. I thought it was even better than that, and rated it 10.