Rating: 
Summary: Exquisite passion at its best
Review: This movie was beyond exceptional. It had beautiful people, costumes as well as scenary. I like the fact that it wasn't a stereotypical sex movie that was overdone with lusty and premiscuous sex. It had a great story about love and passion. This movie is definitly in my top 10!
Rating: 
Summary: My heart is as wide as the sky. . .
Review: I loved this movie for a lot of reasons--cinematography, storyline, etc. However, it's the line at the very end that spoke to my heart. I've started to use it as a guide for my life--"Knowing love, I will allow all things to come and go. To be as supple as the wind, and take everything that comes with great courage. Life is right in any case. My heart is as open as the sky."
Rating:
Summary: Just more than the art of sex
Review: Pros
Excellent story, beautiful setting, Acting very good Cons
Didn't like the way women were treated and portrayed as just sex objects The Bottom Line
Want to learn more about India as far as society goes, not just in for counting how many ways they have sex as well as positions. See this movie.
Full Review
Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot. I've always loved and enjoyed learning about Indian culture. I first saw this movie on HBO and only caught part of it. The next time it came on I made sure NOBODY interrupted me. I was so impressed and moved by this movie that I knew I had to have it on tape. I don't think I could say enough about the setting it was absolutely breathtaking. What I also enjoyed where the stark contrasts of society. You see the rich in their kingdoms as well s the poor and their living conditions. Then there are the middle class who either work for the king or have some kind of trade of their own. This story is about two young girls one a princess the other a servant girl,who come from different backgrounds yet are the best of friends. Until the night of the princess's wedding. Because of her actions the servant girl is banned from the kingdom forced to live upon her own. She is determined to make her own destiny in life instead of having it made FOR HER. I really admired this woman's hopes and her attitude. She was not going to be ruled by any man. Not even the king but only by the man she loved. She knew how to use her body to get what she wanted yet still kept her pride intact. She wasn't what I would call the norm as far as a concubine would be or act. Yet even at the end when I thought she would truly break down, she becomes even stronger and walks out on the luxery she knew and finds herself a new path to walk in life. Like I said I enjoyed this movie so much I bought it on VHS and just a couple of months ago I just found it on DVD. So now I have the movie in BOTH formats. Of course I enjoy the DVD version better, you get background info on the actors in the movie. As well as a little history lesson on the kama sutra, and other interesting facts on India. Recommended
Yes Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age
Rating:
Summary: Full-frame DVD vs. wide-screen letterbox
Review: I believe that this film was shot in Super-35, and the full-frame side of this 2-sided DVD actually contains more information on the top and bottom of the frame that does the wide-screen theatrical version.
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't stand up to repeated viewings
Review: The colors on this DVD are washed out. On the big screen they were sumptious and epic but something has been lost in the transfer, as if they used a bad print or didn't spend the money to guarantee a worthy digitizing. That said, the movie itself was very good on its first viewing and less interesting with later viewings, because it wants to be epic but in truth illuminates very little about love and sacrifice. What would save it is how wonderful looking it is, but like I said -- the colors don't stand out on the DVD, which is a sad loss.
Rating: 
Summary: Beauitful, Enchanting India
Review: Directed by Mira Nair, the talented force behind the recent Monsoon Wedding, Kama Sutra is an earlier take of her beautiful vision of India. Ms. Nair has a flair for showing her native country with all its loveliness unfurled, entrancing people of all ilk with its endless vistas and melting sunsets. How can we resist her India, with its beguiling glimpses of beautiful women and passionate men as sculpted as the statues that adorn the Hindu temples (often used as incidental scenery). The colors in each frame, from the glinting edges of whirling saris to the flower petals that flow over the steps of the royal residence like a red river, are enchantingly brilliant. They draw the viewer into this Technicolor world without hesitation. With all this beautiful scenery, one wonders why Ms. Nair even bothers to have a plot. Unfortunately, once one is done watching this movie, the question remains unanswered. Many people will rent this movie for its title, known for the famous book of sexual positions so widely read by college dorm-goers. But if one is looking for a more visual reenactment of this lovely text, be prepared to be dispassionate. Though the movie is superficially about the life of a courtesan, its sex scenes are carefully choreographed to prohibit any real sensuality from coming out. Though the participants are beautiful, the end result lacks real passion, making these scenes a mere revel in the beauty of human form. Unfortunately, as the plot hinges on these incidental sex scenes, the rest of the movie really doesn't move along. We might care a little for Maya, the film's main figure, but her inability to free herself or her lover from their predicaments makes us wonder why the filmmaker made such a big deal about her supposed independence in the first place. If you would like a film to show you an ideal 15th century India abounding with glitter, look no further. If you're looking for a movie with plot, look elsewhere (try Monsoon Wedding on for size).
Rating:
Summary: Got to take a lok at this one
Review: I loved this movie is hit every thing i n my emitions from agnger to love to happy to sad to joy to missery. i loved this aa lot it gave the world a new look at the heart nad pros and cons of love. i wish the direction would make another movie that shows what happens to miyaand all the rest of the charectors
Rating:
Summary: It's not what you think.......
Review: Everyone sits down to watch this movie thinking it's going to be about sex and they're dissappointed when it isn't a kinky flick. There is some sex in the movie, however, it is about two young girls who are trying to find out who they are in a world where men control everything...even their bodies. As they become young women, they begin to take control of their own lives and take control of which man they choose to be with in life. I loved it. I bought it. All of the characters are really beautiful and the few lovemaking scenes that were shown were very intimate and classy. The first time I watched this movie I watched it with my mom and I wasn't totally embarrassed...and we both liked the movie. I say see it for yourself. While you're at it...try and see everything ever made by the director, "Mira Nair"...you will not be dissappointed.
Rating:
Summary: THE KAMA SUTRA IS BROUGHT TO LIFE...
Review: This is a lushy lavish, sensuously beautiful film, superlatively directed by Mira Nair, a world class director noted for such other cinematic masterpieces as "Salaam Bombay", "Mississippi Masala", and the more recent art house feature, "Monsoon Wedding". As are her other films, "Kama Sutra" is an intelligent and mesmerizing story, peppered with excellent performances by a stellar cast. Set in sixteenth century India, this is the story of Maya (Indira Varma), a servant girl and companion to Tara (Sarita Choudry), a Maharani destined to be Queen to a Raj. Childhood friends, they are to become palace rivals as the fates pit them one against the other, only to have them both become casualties of love. Maya, tired of being treated as a second class citizen and of receiving Tara's castoff clothing, makes a life defining decision on the eve of Tara's marriage to Raj Singh (Naveen Andrews). Sensing that the Raj desires her, Maya gives herself to him, later telling Tara that it is she who now has a cast off from Maya. After Tara departs with her husband, Maya's perfidy is revealed to the household by Tara's huntchbacked brother, who, coveting Maya for himself, had spied upon her and saw her in flagrante delicto with the Raj. Ousted by Tara's outraged family, Maya leaves to make her way in the world. She comes across a sculptor, Jai Kumar (Ramon Tikarum), of Raj Singh's royal household and falls in love with him. Unfortunately, timing is everything. By the time Jai realizes that he, too, is in love with her, it is too late, as Maya is now the favorite courtesan of the by now debauched Raj, who is obsessed with her and cannot seem to get her out of his system, much to the dimay of Tara, as well as Jai. Trained in the arts of love by the graceful and beautiful Rasa Devi (Rekha), Maya, as a royal courtesan, is a sensuous, beautiful sylph. Tara, now the Queen, is insanely jealous of her husband's desire for Maya, but must tolerate it, as must Jai, as it is a culturally accepted way of life. Unfortunately, when the Raj discovers that Maya and Jai are still in love, all hell breaks loose, and the piper must be paid. This is a wonderful film of a woman's journey to find herself within culturally imposed constraints. It is a tale of the vicissitudes of life that leave imprints on one's journey. Told in the context of carnal love and desire, it also tells of a love sublime. This is essentially a woman's film, sensuous and erotic in its imagery, a veritable sumptuous feast for the senses. While there is some nudity in the film, it is tastefully and beautifully filmed, as well as highly erotic. Indira Varma, in what is her screen debut, is sensational as the entrancing Maya, imbuing her with an impishness, as well as with a sinuous and provocative sensuality. Sarita Choudry, of "Mississippi Masala" fame, is excellent as the beautiful and exotic Tara, who appears to be relegated to a life of frigidity and jealousy. Rekha, the well known and exquisitely beautiful Indian actress, is hypnotic as Rasa Devi, teacher of the Kama Sutra. Naveen Andrews gives a good performance as the debauched Raj, and Ramon Tikarum is compelling as the conflicted artist. They both, however, take a backseat to the women in the film. Filmed on location in India, this is a film that should be watched for its sheer beauty. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: An erotic, hypnotic film
Review: Set in 16th century India, "Kama Sutra" is a seductive, sensual story of love, lust, and betrayal. Mira Nair's hauntingly erotic film brings us a low-caste girl named Maya, who functions as both a servant and companion to Tara, who belongs to the Indian nobility. Even as children, although Maya cleans up after Tara and wears Tara's cast-offs, it is Maya whose seductive charm entrances everyone who comes into contact with her; for all her family and financial connections, Tara is really living in Maya's shadow. Tara is destined for great things; she's engaged to be married to the spoiled and dissolute young king Raj Singh, while Maya is trained to be only a courtesan; but Maya knows how to put her training to good use; when Tara is formally introduced to her future husband, it is Maya's hypnotic eyes that bewitch him. But Maya is prepared to go even further than this; for once, she will make Tara know what it feels like to feast on someone's leftovers. Maya seduces Raj Singh on the night before his wedding. By taking such an enormous step, she may become a social outcast, but Raj Singh is hooked; he will keep Tara as his wife, since he has to have a wife, but since Maya is the woman he really wants, he will keep her as his courtesan. It's a mess all around; Tara can't win her husband's love, she's as cold and sexually frigid as Maya is enchanting; but Maya soon becomes disgusted with Raj Singh's dissipation, and at this point she meets her soulmate, the sculptor Jai Kumar. It's a love doomed from the start; the more Maya is repelled by Raj Singh, the more he desires her, and he'll never let her escape. Something has to give, and something does. "Kama Sutra" is not an especially deep movie; it doesn't have a convoluted plot and most of the characters are pretty two-dimensional; but as a straightforward tale of love and lust, it's eminently satisfying. The setting in pre-colonial India with its exotic atmosphere and lavish costumes makes for a stunning eyeful, and the actors play their parts to the hilt. Indira Varma makes a luminous Mayra; her sensuality steams up the screen; and Sarita Choudhury is convincing as Tara, the unloved and jealous wife. The male actors, Naveen Andrews as Raj Singh and Ramon Tikram as Jai Kumar, are good, but they don't stand out as much as the women because their roles are not as compelling; "Kama Sutra" is essentially a women's film, directed by woman and telling a woman's story. It's sultry, sensual, and very much worth seeing.
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