Rating: 
Summary: Well worth a full evening's entertainment
Review: LAGAAN was released in the video stores a few days before it was released in the theatres and probably this fluke will encourage more people to take advantage of this beautifully produced epic Indian film. Subtitled "Once Upon a Time in India" this luxuriously photographed movie presents the struggle between Indian vilages and the occupying British Colonialists at he turn of the last century. And while the message of supression by outside forces is dealt with in a strong manner, LAGAAN seems more interested in informing us about the magic of Indian living by means of dialogue in Hindi and English and in spectacularly staged musical and dancing numbers that are so integrated into this film that they never appear like superfluous add-ons. The actors are all excellent, the panorama of India is brilliant, and the messages about the caste system, British "superiority" as displayed in a game of cricket that takes the whole of the last half of the film, and village togetherness play well indeed. Actor/Producer Aamir Khan proves a handsome, vital, fine dancing presence that binds together this 3 and 3/4 hour epic and makes it all move fast! Now to visit the theatre and see it where it belongs - on a very large and panoramic screen! Highly recommended in informative.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Film.
Review: A must see. Deserves 5+ stars. Great job by Aamir Khan. Should have won Oscar.
Rating:
Summary: The Season of Flowers will Also Come
Review: As the parched earth waits for the rain, the village girl Gauri (Gracie Singh) waits for the young village farmer Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) to discover her heart. Together they fight for freedom from tyranny as Gauri encourages Bhuvan in his quest to take on the most important challenge of his life. This is a story of triumph over oppression. A story of how the human spirit rises to new heights to overcome injustice. The plot is uncomplicated, which leaves room for fascinating choreography, discussions of cultural issues and moments of pure abandon. The dance sequences tell stories only dance can tell. It brings together the thoughts and feelings of the characters and creates a sacred space where the characters enter the realm of spirit. Set in the 1890s, the residents of a small farming village in rustic Gujarat, India are waiting for the monsoon when they discover they will now have to pay twice the amount of lagaan (agricultural tax) they normally have to pay. With just enough food to survive they are literally going to have to fight to survive. Captain Russel (Paul Blackthorne) almost overplays his part as the colonial officer (of the cantonment which rules over the neighboring villages) to emphasize the absolute absurdity of the situation. He demands complete obedience with no regard to the human suffering his laws will produce. He challenges Bhuvan to a game, knowing he has never played Cricket. If the village loses, they must pay triple the tax (lagaan). Bhuvan must not only gain the support of the terrified villagers, he must rally a team and train them within a few months. It is completely unfair and the officer's sister, Elizabeth (Rachel Shelley), takes pity on the farmers. Against her brother's will, she starts teaching the villagers how to play the game of Cricket. In the process she falls in love with Bhuvan. It is a shallow love at best. While she is beautiful, Gauri is completely captivating in her complete innocence. Gauri's jealousy over Bhuvan's attentions towards Elizabeth is spectacularly portrayed in dance. The sweeping cinematography creates a magical ambiance and seems to invoke a certain unity of purpose. The delicious wide shots are sumptuously filmed, completely captivating your entire being. This movie will hold your complete attention, even through the Cricket scenes. One you fall in love with Gauri and Bhuvan, you rally to their cause and the sheer tension of the moments during the Cricket games keeps you completely entranced. The love story is exotic, the choreography like you have never seen, the songs are intoxicatingly beautiful with poetic lyrics. I've never imagined anyone could combine so many elements into one movie. Sports and a musical? It is amazing how Ashutosh Gowariker knows how to appeal to the human heart in such a way as to combine a musical, political drama, universal emotions, poetry, community culture, romance, dance, artistic cinematography, patriotism and the brute strength of valor. A movie that emerges slowly and works its way into your heart. First peeking out of the ground and then bursting into full bloom in moments of sheer beauty that will take your breath away right up to the exciting climax. Story Telling at its Finest!
Rating:
Summary: I love this movie
Review: A simple story which is excellently executed. I think some people will not like this movie just because they do not understand the essence, beauty and culture that is India. The movie has some beautifully choreographed song and dance sequences too. If you do not understand the game of cricket i would advice you to go through some basic rules on a cricket website. But even if you do not understand cricket this movie should get your spirits high.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Hindi M`ovie I have seen
Review: hi ppl
i am no big fan of hindi movies though i am an Indian but this movie is a great change from the run-in-themill BOLLYWOOD movies. the best thing about the movie is the music. ARR has done it again. it is one of the best i have heard from him since ROJA. but the movie is not a oscar material. good though it might be it is just not it. i have seen better movies in tamil(NAYAKAN, KURUDHI PUNAL, MOUNA RAGAM, etc..), bengali, malayalam which are soooooo much better than this. it is time that these regional lang movies got recognition equal or even more(they deserve it) than the worthless(>95%) bollywood movies.
but i simply loved LAGAAN and being a very big fan of cricket i thoroughly enjoyed it and am yearning to see it again. the actors have done justice to their roles. gracy singh is graceful. the songs(chalechalo, mitwa, o rey chori the theme& ofcourse radha kaise na jale) and their lyrics were brilliant. the picturisation is brilliant. the direction is good. it is must see movie coz after a very long time an hindi movie has been made worth seeing (coz some effort has been put to make it watchable). i just wish more BOLLYWOOD directors will follow suit and stop making stupid and worthless commercial movies.
Rating:
Summary: all around great movie
Review: I'm not a fan of sports movies (which this movie is, in part) but I actually wanted to learn more about Cricket after seeing this film, and I appreciate the filmmakers keeping the game suspenseful to the very last- and perhaps a few seconds beyond.
I also enjoy contemporary musicals (rock-operas mostly) and the energetic musical sequences were a real treat, even tho the lip-syncing was a little too obvious and the flow from speaking to singing was occasionally stodgy. Still, I'm glad I saw this before watching the laughibly bad "Raaz" as an intro to Indian film!
Rating:
Summary: simply amazing!!!!!!!
Review: i never thought that such a long movie would ever be able to keep me engrossed but this movie can be described in a few words alone!!!!!!! SIMPLY AMAZING!!!!!A PERFECT MOVIE WITH A CORRECT BLEND OF JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING!!!!!LOVE,CRICKET,JEALOUSY,HAPPINESS,SADNESS,SOULFUL MUSIC,LOVELY KATHAK DANCES.I loved it and so will everyone else!!!!ENJOY!!!.
Rating:
Summary: All Aamir Khan
Review: The soundtrack is tired AR Rahman, the dancing is best when they do the garba dance with the song about radha being jealous (though the white woman's little "I love you" intrusion is kind of corny) but the rest of the songs are subpar. The acting is very good, especially Aamir Khan who just controls the screen, never overacts. The white people's control of hindi is pretty remarkable.The cripple is good, and the sikh and the muslim and the priest and the retard and the rest of the stock Indian unity characters, even the whiteys. If you're real nerdy you start wondering about postcolonial representations of colonial india and how they change and who's who. The old guys watching the cricket game that are really just into the cricket, they're alright, and the umpires never cheat. The game is pure. And the loser heads to (gasp) the african desert. And the white girl loves the indian boy and gets spurned. Don't get too deep, though. It's pretty damn long. It's always nice to see white people lose. Really, though, its an amir khan masterpiece, he makes the movie, he's my favorite hindi movie hero. I'd love to see him do some movies in the west sometime, though I know he's so successful in India he probably wouldn't bother.
Rating:
Summary: If you're going to watch one Hindi film, this should be it.
Review: I regularly watch Hindi films and find them to be a lot of fun. This film, however, goes beyond fun to fantastic! I was a little taken aback by the seeming "solution" to the problem of caste discrimination in this village by a simple speech. But, it's a feel-good scene in a feel-good film. It fits. Just don't be fooled that things are that simple... The deleted scene in the special features section was a delight to watch. But, I'll agree with other reviewers that I'd have liked to have seen something more. My all-time favorite Hindi film is Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, which is also the first one I saw. If I wasn't so sentimental, this film may have taken it's place! Bravo!!!
Rating:
Summary: Triple Tax
Review: One of the most charming films of 2001 comes to us from India. It is subtitled in English. It is almost 4 hours long. It devotes almost half of its time to the sport of Cricket. On occasion, it is a full-fledged musical. Even with all of that, the film succeeds considerably well. The culture and language of India are so different from that in say Ohio or Tennessee, much of what is seen in this film is strange. But, the themes and emotions in the film are truly universal and make for an international understanding. The story, divided into 2 acts by an Intermission clocks close to 3 hours 40 minutes but, it's strong story focus makes the time go by quicker then many Hollywood films that clock in at an hour and a half. And many of those Hollywood films shy away from the musical, even though LAGAAN doesn't show its true musical colors for over half an hour... The story involves a young man who accepts a challenge from the British rule to a game of Cricket. If his village wins, they are exempt from lagaan (or tax) for three years. If they lose, they must pay 3 times the tax. The catch: his ragtag village has never played Cricket and must create a team from scratch. Along the way come a couple love interests, first there is the beautiful young village girl who becomes obsessively jealous of the British expatriate who helps to introduce the team to Cricket. This is done behind the back of her brother, the head of the British Cricket team and controller of the region. Much of the second half of the film is devoted to the final Cricket challenge, which is filmed with amazing interest and clarity. The result: a wonderful underdog story with an extremely optimistic outlook. The performers are wonderful and the story is easy to follow with subtitles, although an English dubbed version is available on the DVD. There is also a 17-minute cut scene from the film available as a bonus. This scene could easily have been included, but it would put it over the four-hour mark. One of the best films of 2001 and an uplifting experience, LAGAAN is a welcome addition to my collection.
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