Passage to India DVD

A Passage to India
A Passage to India, director David Lean's final film (for which he also received editing credit), breaks no new ground cinematically, but remains an exquisitely assembled harkback to such earlier Lean epics as Doctor Zhivago and Ryan's Daughter. Based on the novel by E. M. Forster, the film is set in colonial India in 1924. Adela Quested (Judy Davis), a sheltered, well-educated British woman, arrives in the town of Chandrapore, where she hopes to experience "the real India". Here she meets and befriends Dr. Aziz (Victor Banerjee), who, despite longstanding racial and social taboos, moves with relative ease and freedom amongst highborn British circles. Feeling comfortable with Adela, Aziz invites her to accompany him on a visit to the Marabar caves. Adela has previously exhibited bizarre, almost mystical behavior during other ventures into the Indian wilderness: this time, she emerges from the caves showing signs of injury and ill usage. To Aziz' horror, he is accused by Adela of raping her. Typically, the British ruling class rallies to Adela's defense, virtually convicting Aziz before the trial ever begins. Though he is eventually acquitted due to lack of evidence (in fact, director Lean never shows us what really happened), Aziz is ruined in the eyes of both the British and his own people-as is Adela. Woven into these proceedings is a subplot involving Adela's elderly travelling companion Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft), who through a series of plot twists too complex to describe here becomes a heroine of the Indian Independence movement. A Passage to India was nominated for several Academy Awards, scoring wins in the categories of Best Supporting Actress (Peggy Ashcroft) and Best Original Score (Maurice Jarre). A theatrical version of A Passage to India, written by Santha Rama Rau, was previously adapted for television by the BBC in the mid-1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Judy Davis as Adela Quested Victor Banerjee as Dr. Aziz Peggy Ashcroft as Mrs. Moore James Fox as Richard Fielding Alec Guinness as Godbole Nigel Havers as Ronny Heaslop Richard Wilson as Turton Antonia Pemberton as Mrs. Turton Michael Culver as McBryde Art Malik as Mahmoud Ali Saeed Jaffrey as Hamidullah Clive Swift as Maj. Callendar Ann Firbank as Mrs. Callendar Roshan Seth as Amritrao Sandra Hotz as Stella

Crew Herbert Westbrook - Art Director Ram Yedekar - Art Director Les Tomkins - Art Director Priscilla John - Casting Judy Moorcraft - Costume Designer Nick Laws - First Assistant Director Christopher Figg - First Assistant Director David Lean - Director David Lean - Editor Maurice Jarre - Composer (Music Score) Jill Carpenter - Makeup Eric Allwright - Makeup John Box - Production Designer Ernest Day - Cinematographer Richard Goodwin - Producer Lord John Brabourne - Producer David Lean - Producer John Heyman - Producer Hugh Scaife - Set Designer Robin Browne - Special Effects Nicolas Le Messurier - Sound/Sound Designer John W. Mitchell - Sound/Sound Designer Michael Carter - Sound/Sound Designer Graham Hartstone - Sound/Sound Designer David Lean - Screenwriter Robin Browne - Second Unit Camera Robin Clarke - Music Editor E.M. Forster - Book Author Santha Rama Rau - Book Author Santha Rama Rau - Play Author

A Passage to India
David Lean returned to the screen after a self-imposed absence of 14 years with this vivid, well-directed adaptation of the Forster classic. The director has slightly altered the focus of the novel, rendering its key event in a somewhat less ambiguous light, but, in general, stays faithful to its tale of clashing cultures. Lean perfectly captures Forster's satire of the smug insularity and poisonous racism of the British Raj of 1924, setting the myopia of its members against the exoticism and natural beauty of the subcontinent. Young Adela Quested (Judy Davis), something of a hothouse flower, is far more enlightened than her fellow Brits on matters of race, but also far more susceptible to such beauty, which induces in her a sort of subtly erotic fever. What actually transpired between she and the hospitable Dr. Aziz (Victor Banerjee) in the Marabar caves was left a mystery by the author, but Lean implies a fit of virginal hysteria on the part of Adela rather than any violation. This dilutes the complexity of Forster's novel, while reducing Aziz to the role of victim. Yet, as the ragedy gains momentum, the novelist's themes -- the destructiveness of colonialism, the unbridgeable differences between the two cultures, and the wisdom of the older civilization -- remain clear. Among a brilliant cast, Judy Davis seems particularly inspired, and Dame Peggy Ashcroft is memorable as well. The one glitch is the casting of Guinness as an unintentionally comic Godbole. Lean's characteristic visual splendor is nearly a forgone conclusion. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
 

David Lean: Academy, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) David Lean: Academy, Best Director (nominated) David Lean: Academy, Best Editing (nominated) David Lean: Directors Guild of America, Best Director (nominated) David Lean: Golden Globe, Best Director (nominated) David Lean: Golden Globe, Best Screenplay (nominated) David Lean: National Board of Review, Best Director (winner) David Lean: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Director (winner) Ernest Day: Academy, Best Cinematography (nominated) Ernest Day: British Academy Awards, Best Cinematography (nominated) Graham Hartstone: Academy, Best Sound (nominated) Hugh Scaife: Academy, Best Art Direction (nominated) James Fox: British Academy Awards, Best Supporting Actor (nominated) John Box: Academy, Best Art Direction (nominated) John Box: British Academy Awards, Best Production Design (nominated) John Mitchell: Academy, Best Sound (nominated) Judy Davis: Academy, Best Actress (nominated) Judy Moorcraft: Academy, Best Costume Design (nominated) Judy Moorcraft: British Academy Awards, Best Costumes (nominated) Les Tomkins: Academy, Best Art Direction (nominated) Maurice Jarre: Academy, Best Original Score (winner) Maurice Jarre: British Academy Awards, Best Score (nominated) Maurice Jarre: Golden Globe, Best Original Score (winner) Michael Carter: Academy, Best Sound (nominated) Nicolas Le Messurier: Academy, Best Sound (nominated) Peggy Ashcroft: Academy, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Peggy Ashcroft: British Academy Awards, Best Actress (winner) Peggy Ashcroft: Golden Globe, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Peggy Ashcroft: L.A. Film Critics Association, Best Supporting Actress (winner) Peggy Ashcroft: National Board of Review, Best Actress (winner) Peggy Ashcroft: New York Film Critics Circle, Best Actress (winner) Victor Banerjee: National Board of Review, Best Actor (winner)

Academy, Best Picture (nominated) British Academy Awards, Best Film (nominated) Golden Globe, Best Foreign Film (winner) National Board of Review, Best Picture (winner) New York Film Critics Circle, Best Picture (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Spanish Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DDS2.0: Dolby Digital w/ 4 channels of sound from a 2-channel stereo mix. Additional Features: Digitally mastered audio and anamorphic video Widescreen presentation Audio: English 2-channel [Dolby Surround] Additional languages: French, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish Reflections of David Lean Bonus trailers Talent files Interactive menus Production notes Scene selections DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 164 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 0. Side #1 -- 0. Scene Selections 1. Start [2:15] 2. Purchasing passage [7:11] 3. Arrival in Chandrapore [7:39] 4. Doctor Aziz [2:29] 5. In the Mosque [13:04] 6. Making himself at home [4:05] 7. Tea with Godbole [10:24] 8. The ruins [10:15] 9. Fielding visits Aziz [1:02] 10. At the station [6:44] 11. The tour begins [9:45] 12. The climb [5:11] 13. In the cave [5:05] 14. Sedated [6:18] 15. Aziz arrested [:40] 16. The evidence [4:50] 17. Godbole's indifference [6:09] 18. Club meeting [4:08] 19. The trial begins [7:06] 20. Second day of the trial [1:22] 21. Miss Quested testifies [4:21] 22. Exactly what happened [6:17] 23. Accusation withdrawn [5:55] 24. Godbole says goodbye [2:38] 25. An Indian at last [7:34] 26. Srinagar [2:23] 27. Bygones be bygones [6:02] 28. Letter to Miss Quested [4:37]