The Far Pavilions
Product Details | Similar Products | Customer Reviews | Starring: ~ Ben Cross, Amy Irving Christopher Lee Rossano Brazzi Saeed Jaffrey List Price: $24.99 Our Price: $21.99 You Save: $3.00 (12%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours  |
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 | Product Details: Studio: Acorn Media Region: 1 Number of Discs: 2 Format: Box set, Color DVD NTSC Rating:   Sales Rank: 8728 | | Look for similar DVDs by genre: | | Customers who bought this item also bought:
| | Customer Reviews: Poor quality recording (27 October 2009)The quality of this recording is very poor. Certain sections were so dark they were barely watchable. I owed this series on VHS years ago, and there were no problems. THE HAUNTING LOVE STORY OF A BRITISH SOLDIER, AND A PRINCESS OF INDIA! (17 October 2009)I enjoyed this movie very much! I loved it! If you wish to step back into time to Colonial India, while it is govern by British rule, and see two very special people, who are bound by honor, and duty for their native land, fall in love under extreme circumstances, then this movie is just for you! It is about a man and a woman, who played together when they were children, and they became best friends, their names are Ash (Ben Cross), and Anjuli (Amy Irving), they lived in a palace, and Ash for eleven years of his young life thought that he was a native Indian, of the country of India, when infact, he finds out that he is British! When Ash has to flee for his life, to the British Army, who in turn, sends him to England. When Ash becomes a man, he returns to India, and he is welcomed by his Indian blood brother Zarin (played by Art Malik), and Ash discovers that he does not like British high society, because Ash feels more Indian than British. But Ash is very loyal to the British Army the guides, who took him in when he was a boy. Ash and his blood brother, who is also a part of the British army, fight in battles together. Meanwhile Ash is constantly being torned between being British, and being Indian! He loves the country of India, especially the beautiful far pavilions, the beautiful snow capped mountains of the Himalayas, where he feels closer to God. One night Ash confides to his loyal friend Wally, who is also a British soldier, about Anjuli, and shows him his half, of a white pearl, good luck charm ,that Anjuli gave him when they were children. Meanwhile, Anjuli who is now a beautiful Indian Princess wears her half of that white pearl, good luck charm as a necklace, and thinks about Ash everyday and waits for his return. When Anjuli and her half sister are forced into a arranged marriage to the Rana of Bhitor, who is a old man, their life is changed forever; especially when Ash is assigned the duty to escort Anjuli and the whole wedding procession, to Bhitor. And there is a dreaded fear that the old Rana of Bhitor will die, and Anjuli and her sister may have to be part of a suttee; where if the Rana of Bhitor dies, Anjuli and her sister may have to die with him, and be burned alive as part of some ritual custom of that land. While on the long journey to Bhitor, Ash and Anjuli fall so in love with each other, and they have to keep their love hidden from everyone! And Ash and Anjuli yearn for each other, but are bound by their duty and honor to others, but Ash risks his life to try to protect and save Anjuli! While Anjuli risks her life, in trying to protect and help her younger half-sister. Also Anjuli's uncle won over my heart with his kindness and wisdom, for such a tall and impressive man, who looked to me like a noble king of a kingdom. I loved all the lavish palaces, and clothes, and intrigue, and I enjoyed seeing (Art Malik he is handsome) and (Omar Sharif, who played Ash's handsome foster father), and (Rupert Everett) with his handsome self, he is so beautiful! He played Ash's rival, for a British woman named Belinda!) Some of my favorite parts in the movie, is when Ash and Anjuli are riding horses together, and take shelter in a abandoned ruin, during a sandstorm. This is a very good movie full of action, and romance! I highly recommend it! ( Ben Cross) who played Ash is very handsome, and he just touched my heart with his long eyelashes and his beautiful lips, and I so dearly loved his wisdom and courage and goodness, and his sense of honor & duty! He played a good, and noble man, he became my hero! Oh! Ladies! If only we could find a man to love us like Ash loved Anjuli! WOW! His love for her was so heartfelt and profound, and compelling! WOW! The Far Pavilions (01 June 2009)I love this movie. Until I found it on Amazon.com, I never thought I would find it on dvd but when I did, I had to buy it Not the Wolf of Kabul that's for sure. (19 March 2009)This is a miniseries par excellence, which although a slow drama, feels like events are rushing by. What enthralls me most about this film is the way in which it illuminates the British rule in India in a different way that the regular official histories would have us believe. It certainly highlights the similarities between the British class system and the caste system within the Indian sub-continent. It is also a singular case of dispelling one myth perpetuated around the world, that India is a single homogenous country when indeed, it is a great mix of tribes, and peoples many of whom are at odds with each other and divided not the least by religion, class and custom. The plot itself is very believable where a member of the Raj is brought up as an Indian and falls for a princess who is a half-caste. Certainly a good piece of artistic license there. The film spans great distances in space and some of the cinematograhy is excellent. One can only imagine what a remastering for Blu Ray release will uncover, a bit like cleaning off a 17th century masterpiece. I was very impressed with the characters played by Art Malik and Saheed Jaffrey. Malik is superb in the part he plays and it is a shame that he has not achieved a greater degree of celebrity for his performances. The other notables in the cast including Christopher Lee who turns in his usual perfect pieces and Omar Sharif remind me of Lawrence of Arabia in the sense of cross-cultural communication between conquered and conqueror. If fact one of the legacies of the British Empire was the ability of each of the constituent countries to participate in a shared sense of community whatever the differences between them may have been. The living legacy of this was the Commonwealth which remains almost as global as the Empire was. The Far Pavilions has stood the test of time very well. I personally prefer this to the Passage To India for a variety of reasons. Above all this is a love story, set against a gorgeous panorama of countryside and spectacle. Indeed it is a love story which raise many issues about the role of men and women and the ideogy of religion and civilised valuse. My only reservation is that the quality of photography is not matched by the DVD version. By the way I have not read the book but it is my opinion that the two are distinct works of art and should not be compared diectly. The Far Pavillions (05 February 2009)The video was in excellent shape and delivery came at the right time. Thank you for your service to me. |
