Rating: 
Summary: Spectacular scenery and little else
Review: When buying on the Internet and relying heavily on reviews, there's always a chance of getting duped into buying a real turkey from time to time. Alas, this is what happened to me with The Far Pavilions.The DVD cover describes it as a "haunting love story set in the India of the British Raj against the spectacular and epic sweep of battle, treachery and intrigue." It is in fact complete dross, unless of course you're a fan of Mills & Boon or Barbara Cartland. The baffling thing is that they went to the trouble of making it in the first place. The cost must have been phenomenal. The cast is ostensibly very strong (it includes John Gielgud, Omar Sharif, Christopher Lee and a host of other big names) and it's all shot on location (and the scenery IS sumptious), but the storyline is just awful. Some of the lines spoken were simply embarrassing. I watched all 303 minutes (303 wasted minutes). The script was unerringly dreadful throughout. To compound it, the two lead stars, Ben Cross and Amy Irving, were hopelessly miscast. It's a shame to see such fine actors so out of place. The best things one can say about this are that the scenery is wonderful and that it doesn't run to a 304th minute. If you like India, a good story and top-notch production standards, try watching "The Jewel in the Crown" - a truly excellent TV series.
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