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Bookmark this pageShakespeare-Wallah (1965)
Director: James Ivory
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
The second film from the Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala collaboration: despite occasional longueurs, a hauntingly funny, rather Chekhovian piece about a group of English-led travelling players stoutly striving to keep Shakespeare alive in India long after the Raj has gone. Loosely inspired by the experiences of the Kendal family, who here recreate parts of their Shakespearean repertory, it was shot by Ray's cameraman Subrata Mitra, has a fine score by Ray himself, and at its best has much of Ray's quizzical charm. Dialogue and performances, though, tend towards the stilted; and although Felicity Kendal and Shashi Kapoor aren't bad as the young lovers parted not so much by the racial divide as by character and circumstance, Madhur Jaffrey runs away with all prizes as an outrageously arrogant Indian movie queen further spurred by jealousy.Author: TM
User reviews of this film
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- olivia said...
- Posted on Dec 11 2007 20:05 This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. It is badly photographed, hard to understand, and devoid of entertainment. People overact and look ludicrous, and the lighting is so bad one can't even tell if they are serious or not.
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: James Ivory
Producer: Ismail Merchant
Cast: Felicity Kendal, Shashi Kapoor, Geoffrey Kendal, Laura Liddell, Madhur Jaffrey, Utpal Dutt full cast
Duration: 125 mins
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