This Oscar-winning biopic is the acclaimed dramatization of the life of Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi, from his beginnings as a South African-educated lawyer through his historic, galvanizing struggle to free India from British Colonial rule. With a large, distinguished cast, headlined by Ben Kingsley in a nuanced performance, Sir Richard Attenborough's biopic is a classic of the genre. GANDHI earned a mammoth 11 Academy Award Nominations and took home nine statuettes, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor--Ben Kingsley, and Best (Original) Screenplay.

Richard Attenborough's award-winning epic recounts the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi.
In South Africa, a young Indian lawyer is booted off a train for refusing to ride second-class. Fed up with the unjust political system, he joins the Indian Congress Party, which encourages social change through passive resistance. When his "subversive" activities land him in jail, masses of low-skilled workers strike to support his non-violent yet revolutionary position. Back in India, Gandhi renounces the Western way of life and struggles to organize Indian labor against British colonialism. A strike costs many British soldiers their lives, so the crown responds by slaughtering 1,500 Indians. Enraged, the ascetic, spiritual leader continues to preach pacifism until he has lead India out from under the tyranny of British imperialism.

The Columbia TriStar special edition video #80753 is part of a limited edition Academy Awards sell through package that comes with a free copy of "Oscar's Greatest Moments," a classic collection of some of the most memorable moments from Oscar telecasts.


Color by Technicolor; shot in Panavision, 70mm.

Rated BBFC A by the British Board of Film Classification.

DVD Features:

2-Disc Set
Collectors Edition
Full Frame - 1.33
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital Surround - Spanish, French, Portuguese
Subtitles - English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary: Lord Richard Attenborough - Director
Introduction: Lord Richard Attenborough - Director
Interviews: Sir Ben Kingsley - Star
Bonus Footage: Vintage Newsreel Footage
Featurette:
1. "In Search of Gandhi"
2. "Reflections on Ben"
3. "Madeleine Slade: An Englishwoman Abroad"
4. "The Funeral"
5. "Looking Back"
6. "Shooting an Epic in India"
7. "Designing GANDHI"
8. "From the Director's Chair"
9. "The Words of Mahatma Gandhi"

Ben Kingsley: British actor, GANDHI/SCHINDLER'S LIST
Candice Bergen: American Film and Television Actress, MURPHY BROWN
Edward Fox: British Actor
John Gielgud: British Actor/Author, ARTHUR (1981)
Trevor Howard: British Actor
Martin Sheen: American actor, THE WEST WING
Athol Fugard: South African Playwright
Amrish Puri: Actor/"Indiana Jones..."
Roshan Seth: Actor/In UK
Ian Bannen: Scottish Supporting Actor
Nigel Hawthorne: British Actor, THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE (1995)
Om Puri: Indian Actor

Richard Attenborough: Oscar-winning director/producer/actor

Richard Attenborough: Oscar-winning director/producer/actor

John Briley: Screenwriter (GANDHI)

Ravi Shankar: Indian Sitarist/Composer

"...Ben Kingsley's central performance shines..."
"...A challenging and inspiring story..."
"...The embattled spirit of respect for human dignity and the need for mutual tolerance flow clearly through the film..."
"...Eloquently expressive and technically exquisite....The score, springing from the talents of Ravi Shankar and George Fenton is a major plus in evocation of the film's many emotional variations..."