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The Mahabharata

Play trailer Poster for The Mahabharata 1989 2h 51m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
This adaptation of the Indian epic poem and subsequent stage play tells the story of two warring clans. The Pandava brothers come into conflict with the Kauravas, as both tribes, descended from deities, feel they can lay claim to power. Yudhishthira (Andrzej Seweryn), the eldest of the Pandavas, is told by the god Krishna that his destiny is to be king. And his brother Arjuna (Vittorio Mezzogiorno) has a talent for battle. But is war inevitable? Krishna's actions are fraught with ambiguity.

Critics Reviews

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Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Rated: 4/5 Apr 15, 2008 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 4/5 Aug 16, 2005 Full Review Mark R. Leeper rec.arts.movies.reviews One of the great stories of world literature--fifteen times the length of the BIBLE--comes to the screen in a supremely boiled-down CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED format. Rated: 5/10 Sep 18, 2004 Full Review TV Guide Rated: 4/5 Sep 18, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member My Indian friends consider this enacting of the Indian epic history of mankind's origin to be a little bit campy. But it serves well to illustrate some of the central stories of Indian mythos. If you're curious about the context in which the Bhagavad Gita emerged, who Krishna was in Indian lore, what role dharma plays in our lives, then this dramatization will give you a broad overview. This is a far better yarn than the Ramayana, expertly rendered for the stage by British director Peter Brook. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member I saw it and it made me supremely and reverently unhappy. Why were there no Indian people? I feel like in the making of a movie that takes place in India, the casting of people who look even remotely Indian should be paramount. Why is it also just the most unattractive, albeit diverse, group of people I've ever seen. Also, since you decided not to narrow down your casting options by staying true to the script, you could have at least found good actors Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member One of my favourite films of all-time. The casting was intriguing and gave the story even more depth. Definitely a film that brings together art and philosophy. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Relied on acting, rather than computer generation. Imagine that! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member beyond evaluation... Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member You'll be a different person when you get to the end of this! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Mahabharata

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The Mahabharata

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Movie Info

Synopsis This adaptation of the Indian epic poem and subsequent stage play tells the story of two warring clans. The Pandava brothers come into conflict with the Kauravas, as both tribes, descended from deities, feel they can lay claim to power. Yudhishthira (Andrzej Seweryn), the eldest of the Pandavas, is told by the god Krishna that his destiny is to be king. And his brother Arjuna (Vittorio Mezzogiorno) has a talent for battle. But is war inevitable? Krishna's actions are fraught with ambiguity.
Director
Peter Brook
Producer
Michel Propper
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Nov 25, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$10.5K
Runtime
2h 51m