The final film of the legendary David Lean is the first to show up in high definition. It may not be as classic as Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, or Bridge on the River Kwai, but even flawed Lean is better than most of the films that grace our screens today.
Miss Adela Quested (Judy Davis) is going on holiday to India with Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft) to see Mrs. Moore’s son Ronny (Nigel Havers), a city magistrate in Bangalore. The British occupy the city, represented by the staid Turton (Richard Wilson), but keep their ways of life separate from the locals since they consider themselves culturally superior and the rabble beneath them.
One Englishman, Mr. Fielding (James Fox), is more in tune with the fact that they’re occupying a country that far outnumbers the small British contingent and treats them with more respect than the others. One evening Mrs. Moore is bored with the evening’s play so she goes to explore a mosque. She meets Dr. Aziz (Victor Banerjee) and as they talk they both become fast friends.
To save taking Mrs. Moore and Miss Quested to his home, which he is embarrassed by, he proposes an expedition to the Marabar Caves. He has to scramble to get preparations in order and he also invites Fielding and Professor Godpole (Alec Guinness), but circumstances arise that Fielding and Godpole miss the train. Dr. Aziz and Miss Quested will find both of their lives forever changed by what happens at the Marabar Caves.
No one knew it at the time but A Passage to India would be the final film of legendary director David Lean. In some ways this film collects what makes a David Lean film one to treasure and in others it falls well short of the goal.
The film is based on the 1924 novel by E.M. Forster and has been considered unfilmable by some. I suppose that Lean saw it as a challenge to film it, but he only lives up to half his legend here. His visual eye is still as magnificent as ever and the vistas and shots of India are breathtaking (made even more so on the high-def transfer on this Blu-ray).
However, the story seems to drag along in places and the casting of one role makes you scratch your head. God bless Alec Guinness, an actor that I usually love in most everything, but he’s sadly miscast here.
From the sound of things Lean wanted his friends about him and cast Guinness as Professor Godpole. You can’t help but think of Al Jolson or lily white actors playing American Indians as the white Guinness is “Indianed” up for the role.
What’s even more criminal is that the character plays a larger role in the book but in the movie you probably could’ve cut Guinness out of the film and it wouldn’t have suffered. It feels entirely superfluous in the film and knowing its Guinness under the makeup only makes it more confusing when the other roles are populated with real Indians.
What makes it even sadder I suppose is that both Lean and Guinness appeared to have another falling out and never spoke to one another again after A Passage to India. He does come off better than Sandra Hotz, Mrs. David Lean, who plays the role of Stella and is seemingly not allowed to utter a word of dialogue but to just sit by and smile beatifically, which makes her character appear to be a mute!
She obviously thought so too since they divorced the year this movie came out. The rest of the cast is spot on and Peggy Ashcroft took home an Oscar as well as Maurice Jarre winning for best score. As a travelogue the film is an excellent affair, but the story seems not well thought out amongst all of those beautiful scenes.
The book goes into many details of life in India that feel skimmed over in this adaptation. However, even with those complaints the film still has many moving and enjoyable moments, earns a four star rating on its own, but doesn’t compare to the other epics on Lean’s filmography.
A Passage to India is presented in 1080p anamorphic widescreen (1.66:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. The image is gorgeous in high-def and well worth the upgrade. Speaking of high-def all of the special features, save one, are also in 1080p. The one that’s in 480i is from the first release of the title, the 8-minute “Reflections of David Lean” which is vintage reflections from the director about the film.
The 7 minute “E.M. Forster: Profile of the Author” is about the writer of the original book. The 11 minute “An Epic Takes Shape” looks at the production through the eyes of producer Goodwin, Richard Wilson, assistant directors Christopher Figg and Patrick Cadell, Nigel Havers, and actor Art Malik.
The 13-minute “Indian Affair” adds reminisces from casting director Priscilla John and James Fox. The 10 minute “Only Connect: A Vision of India” talks about editing, shooting at Shepperton Studios, the Oscars, and adds actress Ann Firbank. The 11-minute “Casting a Classic” talks about the casting process. The 13 minute “David Lean: Shooting with a Master” adds actor Saeed Jaffrey and all reminisce about working with Lean. There’s also a commentary with producer Richard Goodwin.
Finally there’s a 30 second commercial for Blu-ray technology and a 2-minute trailer for the David Lean Collection (both are also in high-def). Both Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai are playing on HDNet movies so I hope that their Blu-ray releases are coming soon.
Passage to India is flawed but and falls well below the classic films of David Lean, but it looks fantastic on Blu-ray. Lean and film fans will be delighted at the presentation, even if the film isn’t a classic.
A Passage to India [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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