Rating: 
Summary: Look in the dictionary under "rousing adventure"...
Review: ...and it should say, "See 'Gunga Din'.
From that hallowed year of film, 1939, comes yet another indispensable classic, George Stevens' "Gunga Din", loosely based on the poem by Rudyard Kipling.
OK. So you know all that already.
What you might not know is that this film feels pretty fresh for being, like, 75 years old. The only elements that truly "date" it are the sped-up, undercranked action sequences. In fact, there are whole sequences and images from "Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom" that are gleefully "borrowed" from this movie. Heck, the head bad guys could be twins!
The repartee between Cary Grant, Victor McLagen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is quick and witty. Grant's mugging only flirts with going over the top. Fairbanks' dashing good looks combined with his natural agility and amusing carping are a joy to watch. McLagen's character of McChesney (or as Fairbanks continually barks, "McCheesecake!") completes the perfect casting of the triumvirate of heroes.
Speaking of casting, Sam Jaffee...a Causcasian older guy...completely wins you over as the diminutive Indian Gunga Din. Apparently in the day, his casting was somewhat of a controversy...or what passed for controversy in 1939. Totally unheeded. He's terrific.
This movie is another one of those examples where you are conscious that there really were no special effects back then that current audiences are now used to...so the battle scenes and eye-popping set pieces are only that much more impressive.
The DVD features a sweet-looking print, a nice mini-doc featuring some of those still alive (at the time...it's a few years old...), and a few trailers. Given how wonderful the film is, it's a bargain at any price.
This is one of these great Saturday afternoon kind of movies...
Rating: 
Summary: A THRILLING TONGUE IN CHEEK HOLLYWOOD SWASHBUCKLER!
Review: 1939 was a bumper crop year for cinema magic and George Steven's "Gunga Din" is no exception to the rule. A sprawling, sweeping, comedy/action/adventure yarn with few equals; it is a masterful example of Hollywood's studio system hard at work. RKO pulled out all the stops; casting Cary Grant (Cutter), Victor McLaglen (MacChesney) and Douglas Fairbanks Jr.(Ballantine) as a trio of mischievous knockabout British officers who stumble upon the murderous Thugee cult in 19th century India (...one can see where Steven Spielberg borrowed his idea for `Temple of Doom'). When the inhabitance of a nearby village to their outpost mysteriously disappear this bombastic sect of musketeers set out for truth, justice and revenge - not necessarily in that order. The outstanding and poignant performance by Sam Jaffe as the turban and loin clothed title character, Gunga Din, is a naïve and imperialist incarnation, but carried off with such panache that its hard to resist. Joan Fontaine gets the thankless role of the romantic ideal for Ballantine, working against type as the sometimes headstrong, Emaline. A handsome and enthralling screen spectacle, "Gunga Din" is what Hollywood used to mean by grand entertainment!
Warner's DVD transfer is a mixed blessing. Though much of the film looked far younger and is more perfectly realized than ever before on any home video format, the print source material is riddled throughout with age related artifacts (dirt, scratches, tears and misregistration) and a considerable amount of film grain in spots. The gray scale has been very nicely rendered with solid blacks and generally clean whites. There are no digital anomalies (aliasing, pixelization, edge enhancement) for an image that is otherwise quite smooth. The audio is mono and, at times, somewhat muffled. Extras include a brief but comprehensive `making of' documentary, a fine audio commentary and two theatrical trailers.
Rating:
Summary: ROUSING ADVENTURE FROM THE GOLDEN AGE
Review: As a kid, I remember my dad stopping heaven and earth whenever Gunga Din was showing on TV and hearing him tell the same story over and over about how many times he saw it in the theater as a kid himself.
This old film just has some important elements the bulk of current films seem to lack: strength of character, genuine heroism and an understanding of what true altruism and sacrifice mean. And Sam Jaffe, a terrific (now-unfortunately-deceased) character actor breaks the viewer's heart as the "regimental bhisti, Gunga Din," who takes constant abuse and gives his all, including his life, to carry water to the men of the Queen's regiment even in the thick of battle.
Cary Grant,Victor McLaglen( who WAS a Bengal Lancer), and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. give superb comic performances. However, I want to note two other, less understood elements of this masterpiece. The Magnificent final battle sequence, as the wonderful Sam Jaffe climbs laboriously up to the pinnacle of the temple to blow his bugle and warn the regiment, is simply grand. It never fails to enthrall me. Yet another underrated element in the film is Eduardo Ciannelli's performance as the Guru.
This will be a great Christmas present for my dad!
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Summary: Gunga Din
Review: Based loosely on the poem by Rudyard Kipling, this takes place in British India during the Thuggee uprising. Three fun loving sergeants are doing fine until one of them wants to get married and leave the service. The other two trick him into a final mission where they end up confronting the entire cult by themselves as the British Army is entering a trap. This is of the "War is fun" school of movie making. It has the flavour of watching Notre Dame play an inferior high school team.
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Summary: FINALLY, CINEMA'S GREATEST ADVENTURE COMES TO DVD!
Review: Cary Grant. Douglas Fairbanks Jr....a great script...and a joyous sense of fun...it all falls into place with George Stevens' crisp direction of GUNGA DIN, a true classic long demanded on DVD, and now finally on the way!
I can't wait for this onw!
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Summary: Rollicking Adventure in Late Nineteenth Century India
Review: GUNGA DIN is a great story about British army life in India in the late nineteenth century. It contains plenty of military action reminiscent of BEAU GESTE and a lot of humor.Victor McLaglen, Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. are superb as they play three veteran non-coms. The supporting cast of Sam Jaffe, Edwardo Ciannelli, Joan Fontaine, Montagu Love and Robert Coote is excellent. Jaffe excells as the native water carrier and Ciannelli gives a memorable performance as the crazed leader of a group of rebel religious fanatics. The film received no Oscars mainly because the 1939 Academy Awards competition was dominated by GONE WITH THE WIND and THE WIZARD OF OZ. George Stevens is also remembered for his fine work as director of SHANE, GIANT and A PLACE IN THE SUN. He received Oscars for the latter two movies.
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Summary: Gunga Din: The Best of the Pre-Politically Correct Movies
Review: GUNGA DIN is the kind of rollicking, enormously entertaining film that most movie lovers have seen many times. The first time that they see it is likely to result in a nearly two hour fun-filled escape into a land filled with varying degrees of adventure, humor, male bonding, spectacle, terror, heroism, and warped history. Further viewings may lead the viewer to see the 1930s as an unfortunate period in racial stereotyping that did not mind subtly tearing down one dark race before elevating one member of that race into the spheres of heroism.
The plot seems simple, but the film's many layered subtexts suggest that the heroism that is most often genetically linked to the British may be found in other races too. Three British sergeants McChesney (Victor McLaughlin), Ballantine (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) and Cutter (Cary Grant) are stationed in mid-19th century India, and each dreams of locating gold and riches that they are sure lurk hidden, just waiting to be found by adventurers like themselves. And adventurers they are. Despite their constant bickering, they bond strongly on many levels: they watch each others' backs; they close circles against selected competing sergeants (the spiked drink scene with Sgt. Higgenbottom is a classic); they mask their basic heroic selves with petty personal disputes. There is a very minor subplot with Ballantine's wish to marry Joan Fontaine, who does little more than act as a symbolic lure to induce him to resign from the army. The basic plot is one based on greed. The three sergeants hear of a vast amount of treasure hidden in a temple run by a killing sect of stranglers called Thuggees and they determine to sneak in, steal the treasure, and in Cutter's words, open a bar 'bigger than the Crystal Palace.' As they pursue this goal, director George Stevens interjects the politically incorrect but probably the then widespread belief that Indians were a thoroughly untrustworthy lot, totally unable to overcome a British soldier in any one-on-one encounter. Stevens emphasizes this racially prejudiced notion as he shows Cutter, with sprightly music emphasizing a non-threatening aspect, single-handedly punching out a gang of swarthy turbaned Thuggs while McChesney sees this but is in no hurry to help since he is quite sure no help is needed. Along the way, they bring along the regimental bhisti Gunga Din (Sam Jaffi) as a guide. Toward the end of the film, the dramatic center shifts from the three sergeants to Din and to the leader of the Thugs, the Guru, played superbly by Eduardo Cianelli. Both Din and the Guru are equally impressive, though in quite different ways. Din's bravery is astonishing, given his earlier build up as a rather clownish character. But it falls to the Guru to provide one of the most impressive monologues in this or any other film. He finds himself an unexpected captive of the three sergeants, so he takes the time to explain his rationale behind his wish to unite India under his rule. As he describes his notion of honor and battlefield wisdom, he can see that his captors look at him as if he had snakes coming out of his head. Up till this point, he had been speaking in the calm and soothing cadences of one who knows that victory is within his grasp. Their looks anger him for the first time, so he shouts, 'I can see it in your eyes. Who is this little man (himself) to snarl so loudly at the British lion and pull its tail?' When he describes the onrushing torrent of a Thuggee revolution that is punctuated by a rising crescendo of music, he clearly establishes himself as far more than the deranged native the sergeants truly see him as. Din proves that bravery can reside even in a non-heroic setting. The Guru similarly proves that bravery and bloody fanaticism can also co-exist in unlikely looking settings.
GUNGA DIN is still eminently watchable as a tremendously enjoyable film. It has something for nearly everyone, and the various strands of humor, adventure, and spectacle are so seamlessly woven that the audience can be forgiven for overlooking the brutal historical truth behind the movie that many innocent people on both sides died needlessly to fight a war that ought never have occurred in the first place.
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Summary: A classic adventure movie...
Review: Gunga Din is truly a classic adventure movie. Furthermore, in addition to being very exciting, it is quite humorous and is perhaps the original "buddy" movie. Often imitated but never surpassed, Gunga Din is essentially the story of three British Army men stationed in India who get involved with an evil cult known as the Thugees (I'm not quite sure on the spelling), which worships their god, Kali, by strangling people. The movie features many exciting and funny scenes - and it also has spendid black-and-white cinematography. And it is well acted: Cary Grant is hilarious as the clownish Sgt. Cutter, and Victor McLagen and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. are very good as his brave companions. The other actors give good performances as well, especially the actors playing Gunga Din himself and the evil leader of the cult. My only complaint about this movie is that it condones, if not totally supports, British Imperialism in India and to some extent presents the natives as savages. Although this view is not totally surprising given that the movie was made in 1938 - before the days of politically correct movies - it is somewhat irritating to see the British Imperialists portrayed so heroically. Nevertheless, the sheer entertainment value of Gunga Din balances out its Imperialist tendencies and political incorrectness. It is a fun adventure movie the whole family can watch and enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: "The Best of the Best"
Review: How it took this long to have this classic put on DVD remains a great mystery but let's not dwell on the past but rejoice that a great film can now be enjoyed by the masses and especially the younger generation that has grown up on special effects.
This is a film that just gets better with age and no matter how many times you view it, it is always enjoyable. Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. How many "newer" movies can boast this great cast with not one but 3 very good actors that mesh so well together. Action, comedy, good story line and a black and white film that still holds its own on any level of standards.
This film is a definite "must have" for any film collection.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, "Gunga Din" on DVD!
Review: It seems that every year a film treasure finally makes it to DVD. Clearly, this year's treasure is George Steven's adventure classic "Gunga Din," loosely based on the traditional poems of Kipling ("Gunga Din" and "Sargeants Three"). Easily one of the best films of the great year 1939, "Gunga Din" sported an unbelievable cast, a timeless screenplay, and one of Alfred Newman's best film scores. Do not look for political correctness here, this is an unabashed tribute to the British "Raj" in India (except for an interesting line supporting Indian independence) making this something of a guilty pleasure, but take it for what it is and have fun. Indeed, along with a very poignant ending (thanks to the great Sam Jaffe), the emphasis of this film was fun and adventure and it scores very high marks across the board. The acting is solid, and the production values are first rate. The black and white tranfer to DVD is acceptable, though for such a great movie something more than a bargain edition would have been nice. Still, this is a great addition to any film buff's classical library.
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