The Dalai Lama (XIV) Movies

As the curtain rapidly fell on the 20th Century, his holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, grew so deeply troubled by the state of the modern world that he invited 40 pivotal Western thinkers to his secluded home in Northern India's Himalayan Mountains, for a lengthy and pointed brainstorming session on the problems of contemporary society and how to solve them most effectively. Foreseeing the importance of this event, documentarist Khashyar Darvich joined the group with an 18-member, 5-camera crew in tow (sponsored by the Wakan Foundation for the Arts) and sought to capture the event on film. This yielded some 140 hours of video footage, edited down to feature length for Darvich's documentary Dalai Lama Renaissance. The film preserves, in 80 minutes, the most insightful, illuminative and engaging dialogues from Gyatso's conference. Oscar-nominated actor Harrison Ford (Frantic) narrates. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Everybody has their own unique vision of Heaven, and in this release famed journalist Barbara Walters talks with some of the most respected religious leaders on the planet to explore both their views of the afterlife from a number of religious vantage points. Death is one of life's biggest mysteries, but what waits for us beyond the wall of eternal slumber? Now viewers can find out just how different religions view the afterlife, and what we can do to ensure that we gain entry into the pearly gates by speaking with such respected religious figures as the Dalai Lama, Imam Feisal Abdul Dauf, Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, and Dr. Calvin Butts. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Filmmaker John Halpern turns his lens toward central Asia to focus on the spiritual developments that have occurred in the West following the 1959 siege on Tibet with this film, which contrasts the Western gravitation toward Buddhism with the journey of Tibetan Buddhists to seek refuge in the West while also highlighting the differences between Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan culture. By placing interviews with such famous filmmakers as Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Oliver Stone alongside interviews with such Buddhist figures as Tibetan meditation master Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Shambhala leader Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, English Tibetan Buddhist nun Ani Tenzin Palmo, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Halpern underscores the state of Buddhism in the Western world, and looks in on those who have journeyed to the West to see how far they have come in both their spiritual and physical travels. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Buddhist leader His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet is the focal point of this panel discussion, in which a group of political, environmental, and spiritual activists discuss the dangers and dilemmas that face the global community at the dawn of the 21st century. Ethics and the World Crisis: A Dialogue With the Dalai Lama features discussions of ethical issues and how they relate to the media, global economics, the peace movement, and the environment. In addition to the Dalai Lama, panelists include U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Rev. Al Sharpton, Susan Sarandon, Russell Simmons, Amy Goodman, Ben Cohen, and more; the discussion is moderated by Robert Thurman. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The epic quest of a concerned peace activist seeking to convince the United Nations of sanctioning an official day of global cease fire is profiled in this documentary showcasing filmmaker Jeremy Gilley's efforts to open a constructive dialogue on the merits of peace. Over the course of five long years, Gilley would meet heads of state, freedom fighters, Noble Peace Laureates, media moguls, and anyone at the U.N. willing to consider his proposal to discuss the prospect of eschewing all forms of violence for a scant 24 hours, once every 365 days. Though his tireless worldly travels eventually resulted in U.N. member states adopting a worldwide day of cease fire fixed on September 21, tragedy intervened when, on the very morning Gilley was in New York City awaiting Secretary General Kofi Annan's official announcement of the global cease fire day, two terrorist hijacked jetliners slammed into the World Trade Center and the press announcement that was to be held that morning was abruptly canceled. Gilley still hadn't given up his dream though, and now viewers can find out just how much positive impact one person can make when they truly put their mind to it. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Shortly after graduating from the University of California at Santa Barbara, filmmaker Tom Peosay and his wife Sue (an Asian Studies major) set out on a tour of Asia that culminated in an extended stay in the Chinese-occupied nation of Tibet. With that formative visit, the Peosays became actively interested in the small Himalayan nation's tempestuous history and, over the course of the next decade, made a number of return visits to document Tibet's story, as well as interview a number of its residents and higher-profile participants of the "Free Tibet" movement. Their completed documentary, entitled Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion, encompasses a brief history of China's invasion and subsequent five decades of rule, as well as the various uprisings that have occurred over the years -- with particular emphasis on the 1987 riots. A number of high profile Hollywood actors lent their voices to this project, including Martin Sheen (who narrated the film), Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Harris. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

This documentary explores the plight of Tibetan refugees and the current state of Tibet through interviews with many of the refugees themselves. Despite China's insistence that religious citizens of Tibet are fairly treated, the 4,000 refugees that flee Tibet each year claim otherwise, detailing horrifying stories of torture and abuse. This documentary, which was recognized as outstanding by Amnesty International, features an appearance by the Dalai Lama and live music and prayers by the never-before-recorded Nechung Monks. ~ Dana Rowader, Rovi

For three days in 1988, at Roseland Auditorium in New York City, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama delivered a discourse on the three principle elements of the wisdom path in Mahayana Buddhism. This four-tape collection, In the Spirit of Manjushri, with commentary from famed American Buddhist scholar Robert A.F. Thurman, was the result. In the final video, the Dalai Lama conducts an initiation before going on to debate Sheng-yen, master of the Ch'an Buddhist lineage (a Zen tradition), over the meaning of these wisdom teachings of the Buddha. ~ Sean Hurley, Rovi

For three days in 1988, at Roseland Auditorium in New York City, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama delivered a discourse on the three principle elements of the wisdom path in Mahayana Buddhism. A four-tape collection, In the Spirit of Manjushri: The Wisdom Teachings of Buddhism, with commentary from famed American Buddhist scholar Robert A.F. Thurman, was the result. On this video, part one, the Dalai Lama introduces the background necessary for understanding the ancient teachings on emptiness. ~ Sean Hurley, Rovi

This release presents the May 29, 1997 speech of His Holiness, Tenzin Gyasoto, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, as he delivers an inspirational speech on the state of the world - and mankind's future - before a packed audience of dignitaries and laypeople at St. John the Divine Cathedral in Manhattan. In this sensitive and moving homily, Dalai Lama discusses the growing spiritual, racial, and cultural diversity of the human race, and the peaceful co-existence that can emerge if we learn to embrace this diversity by building our societies on common beliefs and goals. When this occurs, he says, we will in time become a "human garden," breathtakingly resplendent in our differences, and can move toward a more advanced era, free from violence, bloodshed and strife. The Dalai Lama speaks with great wisdom, poignancy, profound insight, and occasional traces of humor; his words will move all who hear him. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi