Ravi Shankar Movies
Classical sitarist, onscreen as himself from the '60s. ~ Rovi- 2010
This documentary takes an in-depth look at the life and career of influential sitar player Ravi Shankar during the 1970's, following him as he returns to India to see his personal guru Bengali, as well as musical peers such as Baba Ustad Alladdin Khan. The film also includes appearances by Western musicians like George Harrison. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi
- 2007
- NR
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Shine director Scott Hicks documents a year in the life of prolific composer Philip Glass in order to explore the work that goes into creating a symphony and offer a detailed overview of his subject's remarkable career. Glass may be a composer whose name is virtually synonymous with the minimalist music movement, but one shouldn't be so quick to pigeonhole the composer. A musician who is outwardly confident and at times unpredictable, Glass works tirelessly to create a composition entitled Symphony No. 8 for orchestra, as well as an opera entitled Waiting for the Barbarians. Additional conversations with Glass's family and friends highlight how the composer is able to retain his creative spirit while simultaneously remaining a devoted family man. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Philip Glass
Both as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist, George Harrison was one of the best loved and most influential musicians of his generation, and when he died November 29, 2001, after a long battle with cancer, it was a tremendous blow to the many great artists who were his friends and collaborators. A year to the day after his passing, a handful of pop music royalty who had known and worked with Harrison staged a special concert at London's Royal Albert Hall to play his music and honor his art and memory. Concert for George is a documentary which presents highlights from the Harrison memorial concert, featuring performances by Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty and the Heartberakers, Jeff Lynne, Billy Preston, Jools Holland, Sam Brown, and Joe Brown. A portion of the profits from the film's release will be donated to The Material World Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Harrison. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joe Brown, Eric Clapton, (more)
- 1993
Recalling George Harrison with his 1972 Concert for Bangladesh, master sitar player Ravi Shankhar (a key contributor to that earlier effort) mounted his 1993 'Concert For World Peace' in protest of global armed conflict, at London's famed Royal Albert Hall. The home video issue presents 92 minutes of live footage from the original performance set, with Shankhar joined by fellow world musicians Sarodist Partho Sarathy and Zakir Hussain. As an added bonus, the program features a short documentary on Ravi Shankhar, plus interviews with Ravi, his daughter Anoushka Shankhar, his sister-in-law Lakshmi Shankhar, Zakir Hussain and avant-garde composer Philip Glass. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ravi Shankar
"American Masters" offers this view of the work of Yehudi Menuhin, a famous conductor and violinist. ~ Rovi
- 1986
This is a simple, straightforward tale about the rise and fall of human civilization that focuses solely on four characters: a farmer (Naseeruddin Shah), a weaver (Om Puri), a trader (M.K. Raina), and a woman (Shabana Azmi). At the beginning of the story, the workers in a decaying village are offered food and water if they work for the local lords. The farmer and the weaver refuse. The farmer grows food for them both, and the weaver creates textiles that uses to barter with an itinerant trader. One day a frightened, lonely woman arrives on the scene and she is taken in by the two men. She cooks and cleans, and before long becomes a source of contention. Meanwhile, the trader is observing these events from the sidelines. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, (more)
- 1983
This eight part series follows the roles music has played in the development of mankind's culture and societies. ~ Rovi
It was Richard Attenborough's lifelong dream to bring the life story of Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi to the screen. When it finally reached fruition in 1982, the 188-minute, Oscar-winning Gandhi was one of the most exhaustively thorough biopics ever made. The film begins in the early part of the 20th century, when Mohandas K. Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British government, Gandhi adopts a policy of "passive resistance," endeavoring to win freedom for his people without resorting to bloodshed. In the horrendous "slaughter" sequence, more extras appear on screen than in any previous historical epic. The supporting cast includes Candice Bergen as photographer Margaret Bourke-White, Athol Fugard as General Smuts, John Gielgud as Lord Irwin, John Mills as the viceroy, Martin Sheen as Walker, Trevor Howard as Judge Broomfield, and, in a tiny part as a street bully, star-to-be Daniel Day-Lewis. Gandhi won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergen, (more)
- 1972
Organized by George Harrison after close friend Ravi Shankar alerted him to the plight of refugees seeking independence from Pakistan, this 1971 concert offers performances by both Harrison and Shankar in addition to featuring such legendary recording artists as Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Ringo Starr. Songs performed in this Madison Square Garden mega-concert include "Blowin' in the Wind", &Here Comes the Sun" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 1971
This documentary of the life of virtuoso sitarist Ravi Shankar helped satisfy the extraordinary curiosity this magnetic performer had aroused by successfully introducing classical Indian music to Western audiences. Classical Indian music, with its complex melodic development and unfamiliar rhythms, was (and is) quite a challenge for Westerners to master. This documentary enters into Shankar's daily life, his practice, his religion, and his devotion to his musical and spiritual gurus, and shows much of the spirit behind the music. Shankar is also seen giving music instruction to American and Indian students, which is a painless way for viewers to learn some lessons as well. Among the performances shown is a concert with classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
Oscar Collins (Jack MacGowran) is a professor who specializes in the behavior and collecting of butterflies. One day, he discovers he can watch his beautiful neighbor Penny (Jane Birkin) through a crack in the wall of his apartment. He is soon overtaken by his voyeuristic tendencies and engages in a series of psychedelic daydreams as he watches the beautiful woman in various stages of her life and lovemaking. The musical score is provided by George Harrison. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack MacGowran, Jane Birkin, (more)
The first concert film of the rock & roll era, Monterey Pop is an invaluable record of some of the major musical figures of the late 1960s. The organizers of the Monterey International Pop Festival, held June 16-18, 1967, wisely chose to record the proceedings on film for commercial distribution. Even if some of the festival's big acts -- The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, and Buffalo Springfield -- didn't make the final cut for various reasons, the roster of performers who did reads like a who's who of the era: Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin), Simon & Garfunkel, and The Mamas and the Papas (that group's leader, John Phillips, was one of the festival's principal organizers). The festival's "international" tag is well-earned by one performer in the film: Ravi Shankar, whose final-day performance was one of the festival's highlights and closes the movie on an exuberant note. Though the festival seemed to be anticipating nearby San Francisco's Summer of Love, the film chooses to concentrate on the musical performers, with only brief intimations of the burgeoning counterculture. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi
In 1961, Cliff Robertson starred in The Two Worlds of Charley Gordon, a TV adaptation of Daniel Keyes' story Flowers for Algernon. Determined not to lose out on the film version of this play as he'd done with Days of Wine and Roses, Robertson bought up the movie rights to Keyes' story so that he and he alone would star. This determination paid off in the form of the Best Actor Academy Award for Robertson in 1968. The star plays Charly, a 30-year-old mentally retarded bakery worker. Neurosurgeon Dr. Richard Nemur (Leon Janney) and psychiatrist Dr. Anna Straus (Lilia Skala) approach Charly and ask him to participate in an experiment. Previously, Dr. Nemur was able to accelerate the intelligence of a mouse named Algernon by performing a radical new form of brain surgery; could not such a procedure work on a human being? As a result, Charly not only achieves normal intelligence, but also becomes a genius. Emboldened by his new mental status, Charly proposes marriage to his very receptive special-ed teacher (Claire Bloom). Alas, Charly notices that Algernon has begun to regress, and he reasons that he also will return to his old developmentally challenged state. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cliff Robertson, Claire Bloom, (more)
You've seen the Disney classic, now experience the tale of Alice in Wonderland as never before in this live-action adaptation of the timeless tale from the BBC and director Jonathan Miller. Capturing all of the menace and wonder of Lewis Carroll's age-old classic while injecting the story with a pinch of subversive Victorian gothic satire, this surreal updating of the children's fantasy classic features an all-star cast including Sir Michael Redgrave, Sir John Gielgud, Leo McKern, Peter Cook, Peter Sellers, and Alan Bennett. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anne-Marie Mallik
The bizarre hallucinations of a heroin addict in withdrawal provide the basis for this unstructured, autobiographical film by director Conrad Rooks. It begins as he arrives strung-out in Paris for a sleep-cure. As the strange visions begin, the story jumps haphazardly between reality and his dream-world memories of growing up in Chappaqua, New York. The score was composed and played by sitarist Ravi Shankar. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Conrad Rooks, Jean-Louis Barrault, (more)
- 1964
An impoverished Indian peasant struggles to survive when his brother kills a sacred cow in this plodding drama. The man was supposedly jealous of the cow, but it is his brother who suffers the most from his actions. Although the feature takes a sympathetic look at the suffering of the poor man, it is hard to feel sorry for any of the characters. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Raaj Kumar, Shubha Khote, (more)
- 1962
One of a seemingly endless production of Tarzan movies -- still going strong decades later-- this tale by director and co-scripter John Guillermin places the hero in India. Tarzan (Jock Mahoney) is still physically musclebound, but his speech and attitude reflect more of his noble British origins than ape-man behavior. He is called to India to help save the many elephants that are endangered by the opening up of a new reservoir. The reservoir will flood the elephants' home territory, drowning them all. Tarzan not only has to do battle with recalcitrant businessmen interested only in the bottom line, he has to handle recalcitrant elephants as well. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jock Mahoney, Leo Gordon, (more)
- 1959
- NR
Originally released in India as Apur Sansar, The World of Apu was the last of Satyajit Ray's "Apu Trilogy." Pather Panchali (1955) covered Apu's early years in his native village, while Aparajito (1956) detailed his school years and the tragedy that temporarily brought him back home. Now Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee), having abandoned college due to lack of money, hopes to find success as a writer. He is sidetracked from this goal when he meets Aparna (Sharmila Tagore), whose impending wedding is canceled when the groom turns out to be mentally unstable. To save Aparna from a custom-dictated life of spinsterhood, Apu marries her himself. When she dies giving birth, the grieving Apu cannot bring himself to meet his son, and in fact deserts the boy for five years before learning how to gracefully accept his lot in life. Like the other entries in the trilogy, The World of Apu was based on Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhaya's semi-autobiographical novel Aparajito. In the manner typical of his earlier works, director Ray adopts a straightforward, realistic approach, avoiding any sort of attention-getting directorial techniques, the better to simply tell his story. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, (more)
- 1958
Better known as The Philosopher's Stone, Parash Pathar was Satyajit Ray's immediate follow-up to his celebrated Aparajito. The film bears the heavy (but never oppressive) influence of Ray's idol, French filmmaker Jean Renoir. Tulsi Chakravetry plays Parresh Dutt, an elderly clerk who comes into possession of a stone that can turn the humblest mineral into gold. Attaining vast wealth overnight, Dutt finds that he is still persona non grata in High Society. Taking revenge on his "betters," he uses his wonderful stone to destroy the economy. Realizing the damage that he's done, the clerk sacrifices himself to set things right again. When first shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 1958, Parash Pathar was greeted with amused indifference; critics and viewers alike preferred the profundity of Ray's "Apu" trilogy to this modest little fable. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tulshi Chakraborty
- 1957
Kabuliwala was adapted from a story by Indian novelist Rabindranath Tagores. The central character is a farmer who hopes to strike it rich in the big city. Forced to leave his daughter behind, the hero all but adopts the offspring of a renowned poet. Sentenced to jail for 10 years for resorting to violence with a crooked landlord, the farmer seeks out his daughter-substitute, only to find that she is irrevocably beyond his reach. Returning home, he learns that his natural daughter has likewise grown away from him. The honest sentiment of Kabuliwala is compromised by the film's substandard technical credits. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1957
Claude Jutra and Norman McLaren co-direct A Chairy Tale. In this ten-minute animated Canadian short from 1957, a chair that detests being sat upon attempts to evade the maneuvers and machinations of a young boy determined to use it as a resting place. A Chairy Tale boasts a score authored and performed by sitar godfather Ravi Shankar. Evelyn Lambart co-animates the piece, with Maurice Black providing additional musical accompaniment. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
