The Mahabharata (1989)

The Mahabharata (1989) (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Screened, competed or awarded at:
Emmy Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
Italian ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Italy ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
163 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.66:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)
Remastered

Movie filmed in 1989 and produced in:
Australia ( Australia, New Zealand )
Belgium ( France, Benelux )
Denmark ( Scandinavia, Iceland )
Finland ( Scandinavia, Iceland )
France ( France, Benelux )
Iceland ( Scandinavia, Iceland )
Ireland ( Great Britain, Ireland )
Japan ( India, Eastern Asia )
Netherlands ( France, Benelux )
Norway ( Scandinavia, Iceland )
Portugal ( Spain, Portugal )
Sweden ( Scandinavia, Iceland )
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Peter Brook

Written By:
Jean-Claude Carrière
Peter Brook

Actors:
Erika Alexander ..... Madri / Hidimbi
Maurice Bénichou ..... Kitchaka
Amba Bihler ..... Virata's daughter
Lou Bihler ..... Young Karna
Urs Bihler ..... Dushassana
Ryszard Cieslak ..... Dhritharashtra
Georges Corraface ..... Duryodhana
Jean-Paul Denizon ..... Nakula
Mamadou Dioumé ..... Bhima
Miriam Goldschmidt ..... Kunti
Hapsari Hardjito ..... Abhimanyu's wife
Nolan Hemmings ..... Abhimanyu
Ken Higelin ..... Deathless boy
Ciarán Hinds ..... Ashwattaman
Gisèle Hogard ..... 1st princess
Corinne Jaber ..... Amba / Sikhandin
Lutfi Jakfar ..... Uttara
Akram Khan ..... Ekalavya
Jeffery Kissoon ..... Karna (as Jeffrey Kissoon)
Sotigui Kouyaté ..... Bhisma
Joseph Kurian ..... Drishtadyumna
Tuncel Kurtiz ..... Shakuni
Robert Langdon Lloyd ..... Vyasa
Clement Masdongar ..... Gazelle
Leela Mayor ..... Satyavati
Vittorio Mezzogiorno ..... Arjuna
Bruce Myers ..... Ganesha / Krishna
Yumi Nara ..... Virata's wife
Tamsir Niane ..... Urvasi
Yoshi Oida ..... Drona
Hélène Patarot ..... Gandhari
Abbi Patrix ..... Salvi
Julie Romanus ..... 2nd princess
Bakary Sangaré ..... The Sun / Rakshasa / Ghatotkatcha
Mallika Sarabhai ..... Draupadi
Andrzej Seweryn ..... Yudhishthira
Mas Soegeng ..... Virata
Antonin Stahly-Vishwanadan ..... The Boy
Tapa Sudana ..... Pandu / Shiva
Mahmoud Tabrizi-Zadeh ..... Sahadeva
Myriam Tadesse ..... Gandhari's servant
Velu Vishwananan ..... The hermit

Synopsis:

In ancient India the five Pandava brothers, Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva, are cousins of the sons of king Dhritharashtra, known as the Kaurava. The five are the sons of the wives of king Pandu, who seceded in favor of his blind brother after he was cursed. The men are raised together, but from the beginning there are difficulties. They are prone to fight and when Arjuna becomes a great archer, the Kaurava are both jealous and afraid. Is it the kingdom the Pandava are after? Yudhishthira, the eldest of the Pandava, strives after it as he is told by the deity Krishna that he will become king. The hatred and jealousy of the Kaurava grows even stronger when the Pandava turn a barren wasteland Dhritharashtra gave them into a great court. This can't go on forever. Inevitably a war will follow, a war that will shake the foundations of the Earth.

Peter Brook's adaptation of the main Hindu religious text first appeared as a nine-hour stage version, but was shortened to six for this film (available on three cassettes). The story, impossible to summarize without glossing over most if not all of the plot, loosely concerns the problems between two warring families, the Pandavas and the Kauravas.

Jealousy and hatred is what separates the Pandava and Kaurava. The Kaurava fear the Pandava are after the throne of their father. Yudhishthira of the Pandava gets told by the deity Krishna that he will become king. A war is inevitable.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 28 April, 2016.