Rating: 
Summary: A passage to India
Review: Lets just get this straight: The reviewer from Anchorage is full of it! The movie is very good. It captures you and you want to watch it over and over again, especially if you understand foreign cultures a bit i.e. traveled there.(England and India) The movie isn't as significant as let's say Gandhi, but close. Definetly a must watch.
Rating: 
Summary: Still the worst movie I have ever seen!
Review: No offense to the viewer from Boston, but to correct them, this movie was nominated for something like nine academy awards and widely praised. It just didn't win most of the awards. One of the reasons I went to see it in 1984 was because of all the praise that was being heaped on it. It was the "English Patient" of it's day. So, fifteen years later, it is still the worst movie I have ever seen. It is also a running joke with family and friends, when describing a bad movie, "well, it's not as bad as A Passage to India." This movie is a good three hours spoiled.
Rating:
Summary: The most original of the Forster adaptations
Review: Of all the film adaptations of E.M. Forster's novels that came out in the 1980s and 90s, A PASSAGE TO INDIA is probably the most interesting because it veers the most strongly away from the original novel: rather than remain faithfully scrupulous to what Forster wrote, Lean recognized the difference between the film and novel media and offered his own intriguing interpretation of Forster. Whereas Forster's novel is primarily concerned with Fielding and Aziz, the protagonist of Lean's film is Adela Quested, and the film's central concern (as it is for so many of Lean's works) is the main character's sexual hysteria. Although this does at times skew things very strangely, nonetheless the film is really a masterpiece, held together by Judy Davis's brilliant performance as Adela. She doesn't play Adela quite like you'd expect (its hard to believe that her strongwilled character could be so easily bullied by the British during the trial scenes), but she pulls it off magnificently. In two of her best scenes--the famous sequence of her at the ruined temple during the bicycle ride, when she's aroused by the erotic statuary, and her great final moment reading the letter--she doesn't even have to say a word to get the audience thoroughly into her character's mind. Apparently she and Lean did not get along at all during the shooting of the film, which is a shame--it's still her best performance, and it may be the best performance he ever got out of an actor (Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard in BRIEF ENCOUNTER excepted).There are some things in the film to regret: Alec Guinness's absurd racial caricature of Professor Godbole, and the silly sequence in the Himalayas with Fielding and Stella looking at mountain peaks that slows the whole movie down. yet, too, there are also lovely scenes that bear watching and re-watching many times: the entrance of the train into Chadrapore (with the difficulty shared by Ronnie and the viewer alike in placing Adela--proleptic of the caves sequence), the refusal of the marriage proposal on the maidan, and of course the haunting climb up to the Marabar Caves.
Rating: 
Summary: Jewel in the crown ...
Review: People are oh-so critical of this movie (and the book), but let's face it ... it's just a movie! So let's just look at it from this point-of-view for just a few minutes ...
Judy Davis was just awesome in this movie, and I absolutely loved her! So subdued and so restraint. Her 1984 Academy Award nomination was well-deserved, as was Peggy Ashcroft's WIN for Best Supporting Actress. The cinematography was brilliant, and I didn't think the movie dragged on and on like so many others have said.
Yes, sure, movies are a form of art, but ... they're also forms of entertainment. And when I'm watching a movie, that's what I'm worried about.
But no worries with "A Passage to India."
Rating: 
Summary: A passage to deep sleep.
Review: Perhaps I expected more than a simple depiction of colonial oppression and a seemingly contrived plot intended to draw immediate sympathy to someone wrongly accused or a horrendous crime. It began with obvious caricatures of wealthy English oppressors and postcard like glimpses of a fascinating culture yet managed to hold my interest for about 40 minutes. Ultimately, the lack of complex characters and social situations proved the film could be little more than an attempt to manipulate the emotions of those who require despicable villains, innocent victims and self-righteous heros to provide them with good old fashion entertainment and easily consumed moral lessons. For those who desire thought provoking images of foreign cultures and a deeper exploration into the nature of human oppression, this film is insignificant.
Rating:
Summary: This is the kind of film DVD was invented for
Review: The brilliant colours of India burn across the widescreen. I have the video of "Passage To India" and the benefit of DVD changes the movie experience completely. Seeing the colours in its flawless widescreen format gives you the full impact and texture intended. Both the crowd scenes and the terrain shots i.e. the train's long journey jetting across Inida, the setting sun's tangerine blaze against the backdrop of familiar silhouettes, the forbidden and seductive caves, and Mrs. Moore's ocean view travelling home with the silver of the moon bubbling against the ocean as the ship speeds toward England. You'll easily be tempted to freeze frame them and get lost in their beauty. I've seen "Passage To India" a dozen or more times and this was by far the best viewing. The storyline (as it is always with Forster i.e. Maurice, Room With A View) gives you endless dialogue to chew on, and replay, again and again. All the parts were perfectly cast. Every character becomes someone you would care about. A perfect movie now on a eqaully perfect format.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and beautiful film.
Review: The British Viceroy of India at the time this film was set was a family member of ours and so I took my children to see this when they were younger. We all loved it, and not just for our connections via him to India. I thought this film was beautifully done and very moving. I feel sure this depiction of the India of the 1920's was very accurate.
Rating:
Summary: Clash of the Cultures
Review: The clash of cultures is certainly not a new theme in the movies, but David Lean's "A Passage to India" closely examines the tensions of British India. Behind the backdrop of political and social unrest in India unfolds a strange mystery of the accusations of a young British woman, Miss Quested (Judy Davis) against an Indian Doctor (Victor Banerjee). Quested has travelled to India to visit her fiancee, a high ranking British official in India. Accompanied by her travelling companion Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft), Quested longs to see something of "the real India." The fateful journey to the Mohabar Caves forever changes the lives of all the characters involved. Two very important "wanderings" take place that are essential to understanding the film: A nighttime walk through a garden by Mrs. Moore and a bicycle ride through the countryside by Quested. But, I've told you enough... Director David Lean was a master at painting lush, extravagant landscapes with the camera. Every single shot has been very carefully planned with meticulous detail and craftsmanship. Scene after scene, shot after shot, set after set, "A Passage to India" stands as one of Lean's greatest films. (No, I haven't forgotten "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Bridge on the River Kwai" ....this film should stand right alongside those two.) Do yourself a favor and view this incredible film from one of the masters.
Rating:
Summary: Clash of the Cultures
Review: The clash of cultures is certainly not a new theme in the movies, but David Lean's "A Passage to India" closely examines the tensions of British India. Behind the backdrop of political and social unrest in India unfolds a strange mystery of the accusations of a young British woman, Miss Quested (Judy Davis) against an Indian Doctor (Victor Banerjee). Quested has travelled to India to visit her fiancee, a high ranking British official in India. Accompanied by her travelling companion Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft), Quested longs to see something of "the real India." The fateful journey to the Mohabar Caves forever changes the lives of all the characters involved. Two very important "wanderings" take place that are essential to understanding the film: A nighttime walk through a garden by Mrs. Moore and a bicycle ride through the countryside by Quested. But, I've told you enough... Director David Lean was a master at painting lush, extravagant landscapes with the camera. Every single shot has been very carefully planned with meticulous detail and craftsmanship. Scene after scene, shot after shot, set after set, "A Passage to India" stands as one of Lean's greatest films. (No, I haven't forgotten "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Bridge on the River Kwai" ....this film should stand right alongside those two.) Do yourself a favor and view this incredible film from one of the masters.
Rating:
Summary: A journey into conflict
Review: The E.M. Forster movie begins with the arrival of Ms. Quested and Mrs. Moore in India. The timing is in the early 1900s when the Indian subcontinent was in the control of the British Empire. The stage is set for different levels of cultural conflict. One level of conflict is between the ruling British and the Indian population, which is getting restless for independence. Although the British citizens may be open to new ideas and cultures early in their arrival, after time, they generally become more authoritative and looked down upon the residents. As the character of Dr. Aziz notes early, if the British are given time, they will all be just alike in their arrogance. This conflict will rise to a crescendo in the courtroom. Another level of conflict is between man and woman. The young magistrate, Mr. Moore, comes into conflict with his betrothed, Ms. Quested, and with his mother, Mrs. Moore, over his attitudes to the local populace. Ms. Quested also deals with an internal conflict regarding love. The movie has several moments where we, the audience, see fate making its presence known. Although this could come across as trite, I really don't feel it was overdone here. An odd thing in the movie is the casting of Alec Guinness as a Hindu professor. I would have hoped for an Indian actor for the role, but Guinness does not distract from the movie. I would recommend viewing this movie, especially if you are a fan of period pieces.
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