...takes a very straight forward, no-nonsense approach to telling the story of Gandhi.
During World War II, Gandhi spearheaded the "Quit India" movement, pledging India would not enter the war effort until the British quit India and gave her independence. Again, hundreds were killed and imprisoned including Gandhi who would eventually be freed after he was stricken with malaria. After the war, Winston Churchill was defeated in the elections and his successor Clement Attlee brought about radical changes to the British Empire, finally granting India independence in 1947. However, freedom came at a heavy price. The Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, gained strong political power, getting into the ear of the British government. This led to the formation of Pakistan as a separate Muslim state, despite objection from Gandhi who did not want to see his country torn apart. As British forces divided India and Pakistan, Muslims struck out against Sikhs and Hindus who fought back likewise. An estimate of 500,000 were dead before the year ended.
On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a member of the radical Hindu Orthodox movement. Godse blamed Gandhi for the split between India and Pakistan. Millions mourned across the world and Gandhi´s ashes were scattered along the Ganges River.
This documentary is comprised of an amazing wealth of archival footage. We see photographs of a young Gandhi as well as footage of him and other historical figures such as Churchill and Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi´s deputy and the first prime minister of India. We also get some alarming footage of British forces retaliating against unarmed protesters. There´s nothing graphic, but it is disturbing to see these people brutalized and manhandled. The documentary lacks any type of commentary or talking head interviews, both of which you normally expect from a program such as this. Instead, we listen to a voice-over narrator with quite the stiff upper lip-style British accent. He does a commendable job, even if he comes off a bit dry at times.
VIDEO:
The video is presented in fullscreen. The majority of the footage is in black and white with some sections in color. Obviously, a lot of the film is in various states of quality. Most of it is grainy with some specks and blemishes. However, there aren´t any alarming scratches or distortions.
AUDIO:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. The narrator comes in crystal clear while the requisite background score never melds or overwhelms him.
EXTRAS:
None.
FILM VALUE:
This documentary is only an hour long so it´s not in-depth piece one would hope for. I´d say it´s about on par with an episode of A&E´s "Biography." "Mahatma Gandhi: The Life and Times of a Modern Legend" does pack quite a lot of information in that narrow time frame. Some might find it tedious to listen to the narrator throughout. This definitely feels like the type of program your history teacher would run in middle school or the type of documentary that would be rerun again and again on the History Channel.
On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a member of the radical Hindu Orthodox movement. Godse blamed Gandhi for the split between India and Pakistan. Millions mourned across the world and Gandhi´s ashes were scattered along the Ganges River.
This documentary is comprised of an amazing wealth of archival footage. We see photographs of a young Gandhi as well as footage of him and other historical figures such as Churchill and Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi´s deputy and the first prime minister of India. We also get some alarming footage of British forces retaliating against unarmed protesters. There´s nothing graphic, but it is disturbing to see these people brutalized and manhandled. The documentary lacks any type of commentary or talking head interviews, both of which you normally expect from a program such as this. Instead, we listen to a voice-over narrator with quite the stiff upper lip-style British accent. He does a commendable job, even if he comes off a bit dry at times.
VIDEO:
The video is presented in fullscreen. The majority of the footage is in black and white with some sections in color. Obviously, a lot of the film is in various states of quality. Most of it is grainy with some specks and blemishes. However, there aren´t any alarming scratches or distortions.
AUDIO:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. The narrator comes in crystal clear while the requisite background score never melds or overwhelms him.
EXTRAS:
None.
FILM VALUE:
This documentary is only an hour long so it´s not in-depth piece one would hope for. I´d say it´s about on par with an episode of A&E´s "Biography." "Mahatma Gandhi: The Life and Times of a Modern Legend" does pack quite a lot of information in that narrow time frame. Some might find it tedious to listen to the narrator throughout. This definitely feels like the type of program your history teacher would run in middle school or the type of documentary that would be rerun again and again on the History Channel.
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