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Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, a review by Tom

Title: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
Year: 1995
Director: Aditya Chopra
Rating: FSK-6
Length: 182 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: German: Dolby Digital Stereo, Hindi: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: German

Stars:
Shah Rukh Khan
Kajol
Amrish Puri
Farida Jalal
Satish Shah

Plot:
Having been brought up in London, Raj (Sharukh Khan) and Simran (Kajol) are second generation British Asians, who still cherish their Indian roots, culture and values. The two meet in a chance encounter jwhile traveling through Europeon an inter-rail holiday. When they get seperated from theirfriends, they discover each other...they discover LOVE! When they return to london, Simran is taken back to India, for an arranged marriage as per her fathers wishes. Now Raj must go to India to win his Dulhania and asks Simrans father for her hand in marriage and seek acceptance of their love-all this, while Simrans wedding is in full swing.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge released in 1995, is the longest running film of Indian Cinema. Aditya Chopra's debut film became one of Hindi cinemas biggest blockbusters sweeping 10 Filmfare awards and the Natinaol award for popular and wholesome ebtertainment. Sensitively and often poignantly scripted, the film has a sweet, innocent freshness that makes not Simran and Raj (perhaps Kajol and Sharukhs best performances) but all the other characters so real that you love, laugh and ache along with them as if they lived next door.

Awards:

Filmfare Awards	1996	Won	Best Actor Award	Shahrukh Khan
Filmfare Awards	1996	Won	Best Actress Award	Kajol
Filmfare Awards	1996	Won	Best Dialogue Award	Aditya Chopra
Filmfare Awards	1996	Won	Best Director Award	Aditya Chopra
Filmfare Awards	1996	Won	Best Male Playback Award	Udit Narayan
Filmfare Awards	1996	Won	Best Movie Award
Filmfare Awards	1996	Nominated	Best Music Director Award	Jatin Lalit
Filmfare Awards	1996	Won	Best Screenplay Award	Aditya Chopra
Filmfare Awards	1996	Won	Best Supporting Actress Award	Farida Jalal

Extras:
Scene Access
Music Videos

I enjoyed this movie. The first part is essentially a road movie, where the two main characters meet, do not like each other at first but eventually fall in love with each other. The second half consists of trying Raj to prevent Simran marrying to an arranged marriage by forcing himself into the life of her family and win their hearts.
This movie is one of the most successful Bollywood movies. Even now, after almost 15 years, it still runs in Indian cinemas (the longest running movie in India). It is a first for the screen couple, who went on to do more movies together. I already reviewed three of those (in two of which they ended up as a couple).

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on July 23rd, 2009)

Bedlam, a review by Jon

Bedlam
4 out of 5

Boris Karloff is Sims, in charge of an asylum in 18th century London, whose wretched inmates provide amusements for the high class. Nell Bowen (Anna Lee) is a woman who despite herself comes to pity the inmates and tries to help them with support from a Quaker and John "The Devil" Wilkes, both reformers.

Mark Robson is directing again and sadly, like the last few entries in this wonderful series, he delivers another badly paced, predictable and heavy handed story, for the first half at least. I still rate it highly though because it is a good story that should be commended for its ambition, and the last act is superb.

It is very like The Bodysnatcher in that it is a period piece based on truth. Bedlam was a terrible and unjust place, and Wilkes was real, nicknamed "The Devil" for the trouble he caused in politics. In a good way though.

After a great opening sequence that reminded me a little of Vertigo, it takes a ponderous half-hour or so to get into Bedlam proper. Until then it's all over-blown flowery theatrical language that really begins to grate. The cast, including a few regulars, work well with Karloff to bring some much needed humour (love the servant whispering to a parrot!), but you may still find your attention wavering. Repeat viewings may reveal the real intent though because the contrast with the mad inmates of the shadowy cruel hospital is incredible. The foreboding set full of various looneys is a truly unsettling scene.

It's very much a political film. That might have surprised me before knowing Val Lewton's work. He would never just produce a mere genre piece! It's a dry, but anyone interested in the history of politics might find a lot of layers to dig into here. But this is a horror film! Where's the peril? Luckily, it starts properly once Sims conspires to have the meddling Nell committed. That scene is scary enough because they rule she volunteers for her own safety while doing no such thing! By the way, there's no spoiler required here. She's so annoying you want her locked up by this point!

Again that's kind of the point. Once she's in, her first reaction is of repulsion and all thoughts of caring are abandoned. But then her Quaker friend breaks in (sort of) and helps her make the best of it without resorting to violence while he see Wilkes for help. See the metaphors for political reform?

Here I think we also have the story of Florence Nightingale and if it is, Lewton is again far ahead of his time in presenting the real story. Maybe it's coincidence here, but contrary to popular opinion, Nightingale was frankly a bit of a cow. All talk, no action, until she saw the results of war and then she campaigned tirelessly. Here, in the creepiest scene, we see her walk through the dark asylum with a candle, tending to the sick, who a moment earlier were scaring the shit out of her. And us.

The efforts of Wilkes cause a new trial to be scheduled and with his asylum tamed, Sims is desperate to silence Nell. And so the stage is set for the most delicious, nasty end I could have hoped for. A proper and surreal horror ending that Hammer would later make their trade!





(From Val Lewton Horror Marathon on October 14th, 2008)

"Stargate SG-1" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: The computer that controls the Earth gate doesn't implement all safety precautions a normal DHD has. This allows the SGC to open a Wormhole through a remote sun and this injects heavy elements into the sun's core. It starts with the sun going red but when the process can't be stopped the remote planet won't be able to support life any longer. SG-1 tries to undo their mistake.

My Opinion: A good episode about religious obsession and fatalism. I also liked how SG-1 tried everything to undo their mistake even against the resistance of the locals.

Synopsis: Cassandra has become a teenager but suddenly her body goes haywire. She produces large fields of electricity and she can move metal objects. But she gets worse and the only remedy can be found on her home planet - Niirti experimented on the entire population.

My Opinion: I also liked this episode because it showed how much Sam as well as her stepmother Dr. Frasier care for Cassie.

Synopsis: Daniel is still watching the Unas on the home planet of the Goa'ulds, especially Chaka, the Unas that kidnapped him once. But then Chaka is kidnapped by people from another planet and put to work as a slave. Daniel tries to rescue him.

My Opinion: I like this episode very much because Daniel does anything in his might to help a non-human. This shows perfectly how Daniel perceives the world. But it also showed how problematic it is to interfere in another world's way of living that are different to our own.

Synopsis: During the 37 days the russian Stargate program was active there has been an inoffical unit, too. They have gone lost on a planet and SG-1 and a russian team go after them in a joint venture.

My Opinion:

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on March 31st, 2008)