1982--Gandhi, Richard Attenborough

1982—Gandhi--Richard Attenborough

Nominated: E.T., Missing, Tootsie, The Verdict

Should have won: Gandhi

Be sure to see: Basket Case, Diner, The Evil Dead, Friday 13th part 2, Poltergeist, The Thing

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind”--Mohondas K. Gandhi

     When looking at the history of the Oscars, if every best actor winner were taken into account with the role he played, Ben Kingsley's performance as Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi has to be at the top of the list of the greatest performances. According to the featurette, Kingsley became the man in such a way that, during filming, the people of India believed Gandhi's spirit had returned. Besides the perfect performance, the movie is a visual explosion. It has the record for the number of extras employed for one scene in movie history. 300,000 were used in Gandhi's funeral scene; of which 94,560 were paid a small fee while the remaining 200,000-plus were volunteers. The money that was paid ended up going to local schools. In today's movie making techniques, computers could add those people in. Perhaps, in 1982 it could have been done as well. They opted for the real thing in this case. It was almost like the people were part of the production design. Twenty-three thousand feet of film was used to shoot that scene.

     Upon returning to India, Mohandas K. Gandhi sees the British mistreating the Indian people. He retaliates, keeping his non-violent ways prominent. Gandhi, perhaps the second most peace loving man in history, keeps getting arrested for speaking against war. That was the ongoing theme to the film, which was very long. The people are mistreated by authorities and Gandhi has the courage to fight back without violence and encourages others to do so, too. He gets arrested. Then he does it again. And again. My favorite scene is when a man whose son had been killed kills a boy himself in revenge. He goes to Gandhi, knowing he is damned to hell for what he has done. The advice Gandhi tells him on how he can save his soul surprised me but in hindsight is dead on.

     The movie takes a page right out of the Lawrence of Arabia playbook, but I won't spoil what that is. Just know it is a curious decision I don't see too often. Upon watching an interview with director Richard Attenborough (as an actor, you might remember him as the guy who runs Jurassic Park) says he is proud of the film but, surprisingly, the Oscar should have gone to E.T. He found it to be the better film. That's a pretty bold statement. Perhaps I understand where he's coming from. E.T. takes a story, follows a good formula, and delivers a timeless experience. I agree most of the time a movie about the inspirational person wins and shouldn't (Forrest Gump, Rain Man) but this movie is different. It is one of the few movies based on a real person that, when it was over, made me desire to learn about the character I had watched. However, because of its length, it falls into the category of a movie I highly recommend you see once. I don't think I'd sit through it again. But of all the movies I've ever seen based on a real person, nothing tops this performance. Kingsley becomes Gandhi. As good as he is in his small but important role in Schindler's List, Gandhi will forever be the cornerstone of his career. It is one of the best movies I've ever seen yet at the same time falls into that category of excellent films I don't wish to see again.