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      Jinnah

      Released Sep 2, 1998 1h 50m History Drama List
      Reviews 83% 500+ Ratings Audience Score Mohammed Ali Jinnah (Christopher Lee), the founder of Pakistan, tells his guide in the afterlife about his experiences. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member It's a shame nobody in the West got to see this film. Some would see it as just another little known biopic. However it is Perhaps Sir Christopher Lee's most proud performance. Its the story of Pakistan. And Lee gives a convincing performance. He liked doing this film. Thanks to Dankula for bringing me here! All in all, interesting story. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member The most unconventional biopic ever to emerge outoff World Cinema.Biopics can be creative while being historically accurate.Jinnah is one of those rare gems Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Jinnah is a movie that proves ahead of it's time for 1998. It breezes through a variety of critical historic events while still managing to provide adequate detail and context for viewers with no historic knowledge of the subject matter. It also does a remarkable job at displaying the incredibly oppositional political points of view regarding the conflict, and not painting Jinnah as an idol or flawless individual. Especially pertaining to scenes in which the popular opinion of him was directly addressed and in some ways offered Jinnah a chance to justify his actions. I do think, however, that the subplot involving Jinnah being in a comedic state of purgatory was gimmicky and took away from the seriousness of the partition. I also feel this way about the scene in which Jinnah speaks to the younger version of himself. I think it added little to no relevance to the main storyline, was confusing, and felt misplaced for a topic so heavy. I was also not a fan of the lack of Urdu, Farsi, Punjabi or Hindi. For a movie based in India, it was surprising to see only hints of the native tongue being spoken â" especially only by "commoners" and people with no political position but rather just extras. In my opinion, the brief references to authorities figures by traditional titles was underwhelming for a country that was tackling how much influence the colonizer should keep in the country, but still used the language given to them by the colonizer. In addition, I also think the film did Fatima dirty as it made no effort in highlighting her incredible achievements but still focused on portraying her as a heroine who gave up marriage to support her brother's dreams and aide them in any way she could. Although I understand that this is a far cry from the typical portrayal of women, especially women of colour, it was disappointing that she was being portrayed as revolutionary with no real examples of why to support the claim. I also feel that her presence extended beyond the scenes that were shown, and there was no mention of how fundamental she was in the partition process as opposed to her portrayal in the movie as a strong female character who still acted in a relatively domesticated manner. Lastly, it seemed downright irresponsible to hint at a subplot involving Fatima as jealous of Rattanbai/Ruttie for her youth and influence on Jinnah. It went against everything that was being emphasized about her personality. Ultimately, I tolerated Jinnah. It's not a film that I'm particularly passionate about, even though the subject surrounding it is of great interest to me. I don't think it's a bad film, but I'm not sure if I would categorize it as incredible - especially considering that none of the actors were people of colour. It does, however, do a much better job than similar films about the topic. I don't know if I would watch it again, but I'm glad to have seen it once. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member The low budget and made-for-television production values that mount this film are difficult to not notice however Christopher Lee's central performance and Jinnah's story are demanding while carrying the film considerably well. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review anthony p Intriguing historical film about the independence of India from the British empire in 1947 and its partition into two countries, Hindu populated India and Muslim Pakistan. The film tells the story of the era from a Pakistani perspective focusing on its founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Jinnah in his later life is played by legendary and late actor Christopher Lee. It is unlike any Lee film I have seen. I have not seen Richard Attenborough's epic Gandhi that is from the Indian perspective. I must admit I have no knowledge of the history of this event so I can't comment on the historical accuracy of the events depicted. I was introduced to this film when reading an article about the 2017 film The Viceroy's House. Lee himself regarded his performance in this film highly. The more extreme military leaders of Pakistan less so perhaps. The performances of the actors (including James Fox as Lord Mountbatten, the Viceroy) are excellent. Apparently this film didn't receive much of a cinematic showing back in 1998 which was a shame as it really is quite a good film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review s r Long winded and repetitive. It was informative though. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Christopher Lee: 1922-2015

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      Critics Reviews

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      Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A compelling historical biopic on Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Rated: B Oct 7, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Mohammed Ali Jinnah (Christopher Lee), the founder of Pakistan, tells his guide in the afterlife about his experiences.
      Director
      Jamil Dehlavi
      Producer
      Akbar Ahmed, Nasim Ashraf
      Screenwriter
      Akbar Ahmed, Jamil Dehlavi
      Production Co
      Dehlavi Films, The Quaid Project, Petra Film
      Genre
      History, Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Sep 2, 1998, Original
      Runtime
      1h 50m
      Sound Mix
      Surround, Mono