Cheap Biography - Mahatma Gandhi: Pilgrim of Peace (DVD) Price

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Customer Reviews of Biography - Mahatma Gandhi: Pilgrim of Peace

Reveals the Mahatma for the human being he was
I enjoyed BIOGRAPHY - MAHATMA GANDHI because it shows Gandhi in both his greatness and his humanness. I believe that Gandhi's legacy is best preserved by remembering that he was, after all, only human. The sense I got from viewing this documentary is that the liberation of India from the British empire was just one aspect of Gandhi's quest for truth, almost an outgrowth of his inner spiritual battles. I don't think he set out to be "the Mahatma." He even writes in his autobiography THE STORY OF MY EXPERIMENTS WITH TRUTH that the title "Mahatma" (meaning "great soul") often caused him pain because he didn't want to be seen as above others in stature or spiritual enlightenment.

There are several people interviewed in BIOGRAPHY - MAHATMA GANDHI, reporters, biographers, politicians, even the Dalai Lama provides some brief comments (he mentions that deep conviction is necessary in order to maintain a nonviolent movement). But the two interviews that make the strongest impact are those with Arun Gandhi, Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the "M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence" headquartered in Memphis, TN., and Lady Pamela Hicks, daughter of Earl Mountbatten (the last Viceroy of India). Both Arun Gandhi and Lady Pamela Hicks comment on something the Mahatma is not often known for: a sense of humor. Hicks says that his humor was almost "wicked," and Arun comments that the Mahatma got a good laugh out of the fact that some reporters made fun of him for supposedly looking like a monkey. "'Here's your monkey,' Grandfather would say."

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Disappointing -- Other Gandhi Material is Much Better
I consider myself a serious student of the life of Mahatma Gandhi, and to some extent, a formal researcher... I loved Attenborough's movie -- though sentimental in spots, I believe it captured the essence of Gandhi, based on everything else I have studied about him. This documentary seemed a bit obsessed with the "journalistic" need to balance out their overview of Gandhi by outlining semi-deprecating hearsay alongside accolades. Gandhi wasn't perfect -- but please, be sure your facts are straight when reporting! For instance, Gandhi is alleged to have "slept naked with young Hindu girls" later in life to test his commitment to celibacy. Personally, I don't care who or what Gandhi slept (or whatever) with, or didn't (and I believe it was "didn't", per his celibacy vow), so I don't see this as a "slur" per se -- it's just as far as I know, it's simply inaccurate. In several other well-known volumes on Gandhi, his true nature of complete asexuality was expressed both by himself and close associates, and based on his entire life, it's unlikely he would "test" himself in this manner. Still, if you are unfamiliar with Gandhi, this could be a good introduction -- but again, I recommend the movie by Attenborough as being much better, and ironically (for a studio release) more accurate!!

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A classic of its time!
This film on Gandhi's life is a classic. Mr Attenborough did a fantastic job in bring this 'documentary' to the screen. Ben Kingsley who plays 'Gandhi' could not have been a better choice. A story that span from South Africa to the vast sub-continent of India has some very panoramic sweeping views. If you want to understand India and its people under the Raj, this is a good starting place. The re-creation of the funeral procession was no small feat. I will strongly recommend FBIs (foreign born Indians) to view this view this film to get some understanding of their heritage.