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The first happy day in the adult life of Anjuli (Amy Irving) is the day her husband's body is set on fire. Her rich and powerful husband, the Rana of Bhitor (Rossano Brazzi), is ritually immolated in a lavish ceremony where his other wife, Anjuli's half sister, is expected to commit ritual suttee. Only after she is released from her marriage is Anjuli free to follow her heart. Based on M.M. Kaye's beloved novel, The Far Pavilions tells the haunting love story of Anjuli and Ash (Ben Cross) against the spectacular backdrop of mid-19th-century colonial India, replete with accurate historical and cultural details. Full of battle, treachery, intrigue, passion, and prejudice, the film brims with stunning sights, from the peaks of the Himalayas to the famed palaces of Bhitor, remarkable battle scenes, and royal pageantry, including a lavish, several-day-long traditional Hindu wedding where the groom enters on an elephant. The all-star cast, including Omar Sharif, Sir John Gielgud, and Rupert Everett, truly brings the novel to life.

This two-DVD set includes interactive menus, a scene index, production notes, and a Kaye biography and book list. Originally released for television in 1984, The Far Pavilions has inspired viewers to travel to India, plus it has been included in numerous university courses because of its postcolonial and multicultural themes. This film will appeal to viewers interested in postcolonialism or Indian history and culture as well as anyone who loves a good romance. --Tara Chace ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Visual feast, but no depth to plot or to characters
If you are looking for a movie with sumptuous landscapes and costumes, exotic locales and characters, and a highly romanticized story, this fits perfectly. If you are looking for a movie with real meat to the story, this does not do so well. Both Ben Cross and Amy Irving who play the protagonists do not appear to advantage in this film. [For a better performance from Cross, try CHARIOTS OF FIRE, for that from Irving, try CROSSING DELANCEY].

This kind of movie also paints a distorted view of British India in this time period, romanticized but bearing as much resemblance either to 19th century India or modern India (and South Asia) as would ALADDIN (Disney version) to the Middle East ca 800 or today. Part of the problem is that the film has cut so much of the beginning of the novel (actually, pretty much the first third ) away. That leaves the viewer in limbo when Ashton Pelham-Martyn appears as a British officer with an Indian background. What kind of background? That is much better described (and far more believable) in the novel than in the film.

Of course, it is hard to compare novels and film adaptations. On the other hand, we do want the story within a film to make sense. Given the complexities of the plot, what is left out gives us little understanding of why Anjuli's position is so bad, or for that matter, why Ashton's "Indian" background leaves him highly suspect among his fellow officers. [Not to mention the fact that an important little sub-plot is almost totally excised].

If you have read the novel before watching the film, the story will make more sense. On the other hand, if you are just looking for eye candy, this film version is fine as it stands.

For the record, if you want to read about 19th century Raj customs and stuff, read Kipling's KIM or anything else by him or watch THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING. Paul Scott's THE JEWEL IN THE CROWN (TV series and book) and E.M Foster's A PASSAGE TO INDIA (film by David Lean and book) offer a much-better more nuanced and better-researched look at the last decades of the Raj (1920s to 1940s). For stories set before 1857, I am not really sure there is anything that has been well-translated to the film medium.

A TALE OF ROMANCE AND DERRING DO IN COLONIAL INDIA...
Based upon M. M. Kayes best selling novel of the same name, this film is well acted and absorbing. It is a story set during the time of the British Raj in India. The two characters central to the film are Ash (Ben Cross), an Englishman who spent the formative years of his life believing that he was Indian, and Anjuli (Amy Irving), a half caste Indian princess. Ash and Anjuli spent a portion of their childhood growing up together, until palace intrigues forced Ash and his Indian foster mother to flee. As a prepubescent youth, he is informed of his English heritage and sent to England for his education and Anglicization.

Returning to India many years later as a young man, Ash becomes a part of a British regiment called the Guides. He has some difficulties adjusting, as he is not an Englishman comfortable in his own skin, as he also feels that is Indian in many ways, a view that brings him into conflict with the way the native Indian population is viewed by the British. Meanwhile, Anjuli has continued living as a half caste Indian princess. She and Ash have not seen each other since he and his foster Indian mother fled, and she has no idea that Ash is not Indian, but British.

The film is an amazing cornucopia of adventure, derring do, and romance. It provides a tantalizing glimpse into colonial India. All of this, however, merely serves to propel the story towards the uniting of Ash and Anjuli, as the film is, first and foremost, a love story set against the romantic and lush backdrop of colonial India. When the paths of these star crossed lovers intersect, it is under a most unusual set of circumstances. It is a story that will keep the viewer riveted to the screen. I, myself, was unable to tear myself away from the screen and was riveted for the full five hours that it took for this mesmerizing tale of adventure, love, and treachery to unfold.

With a star studded cast that includes the likes of Omar Shariff, Christopher Lee, Sir John Gielgud, and Rossano Brazzi, this is a film what will capture the viewer's imagination. I read and loved the novel upon which this film was based, and while it is not a faithful adaptation of that wonderful book, the film stands on its own considerable merits. It is meant to entertain and that it most certainly does.

This two disc DVD is somewhat limited in what it offers, however, in terms of features, which is limited to a scene index, some production notes, and a brief biography of M.M. Kaye. In terms of its quality, while the sound is good, the visuals are somewhat grainy at times and washed out looking. It is too bad that they decided to do the transfer from video to DVD on the cheap. In doing so, they did "The Far Pavillions" a disservice. Still, it is a DVD well worth having in one's collection, as the story is such a gripping tale.

great movie, terrible DVD
i was so looking forward to the DVD verison of this film. i had taped the entire 6 hours when it was on HBO so many years ago. i missed the narrater intoducing the next parts, and the picture quality, which i expected to be outstanding didn't happen. they took a print and ran it to a DVD, no fixing, no nothing. when i want to watch this one, i put in the old VCR tape, it's better and clearer than the DVD. hard to believe! the people that put this one together didn't give a "flip" about the movie.to bad...

Amazing! Brings Colonial India To Life.
As a great fan of the book, I was slightly apprehensieve about seeing the TV series. However, I really feel it does the book justice and brings the characters and India to life with its fantastic scenery and sumptuous costumes. Amy Irving is perfect as Anjuli and although unsure at first of Ben Cross's performance, I soon warmed to him as Ash. The picture on the DVD was really good, as was the sound. A must see DVD for anyone who is interested in the history of India.

Great Miniseries - Ben Cross is awsome!
For criticism purposes, it has to be understood WHEN the novel was written, and also the fact that this movie is based ON A NOVEL, it does not intent to be a documentary, but a recreation of British ruled India from the eyes of a British writer.

I disagree with some of the criticisms posted here, as you cannot analyze a book written in a different time (or a movie based on one) as if you were talking about a contemporary of yours.

I ENJOY the movie VERY MUCH, every time I watch it again (The 4 videos collection)... I would highly recommended it. I LOVE how Ben Cross plays his character, and Amy Irving, too. It is MOST enjoyable.

ENJOY! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Favourite Sharpe
This is probably my favourite Sharpe of all. It's because he is such a duck out of water in the halls of power. Sean Bean's acting is superb (as Bernard Cornwell says Sean Bean is Sharpe). I enjoy seeing Sharpe in his element in his native England when he returns to the backstreets and re-enlists. I highly recommend this series to anyone with any interest in history or anyone who enjoys good drama.

Missing men
1813 - Napoleon is on the verge of collapse as Wellington crosses over into France. However, the ranks of Sharpe's beloved South Essex are being decimated and there are no replacements being sent from back home. In an effort to discover what's going on, Sharpe and Harper go to London and discover a corrupt conspiracy headed by an old enemy and must go undercover, faking their deaths and re-enlisting in their own regiment to ferret it out.

This is an atypical Sharpe adventure - first off, no battles with the French (except for a few minutes at the end and beginning), no Chosen Men, and Sharpe has to deal with London army politics and intrigue, which he is woefully inequipped to do so. I'm not quite fond of Regiment as opposed to the other Sharpe adventures because Sharpe's haplessness is a far cry from the heroic figure I've expected him to cut after viewing the rest of the series. While there are a couple of hairy incidents, including a manhunt through the marshes, Sharpe generally stumbles his way through the story requiring assistance from allies gathered along the way to finally win the day.

Another reason I'm not particularly fond of Regiment is that it introduces the incredibly wet Jane Gibbons, whom Sharpe falls for. After strong spirited women like Helene Leroux and Teresa, it seems a stretch that Sharpe would fall for someone like Jane. But of course, this has to be done, as in the novels, because it sets up elements of Sharpe's personal story arc that will climax at Sharpe's Waterloo.

The transfer here is all right, but no fantastic - the last few episodes of the series to come though have a much better and clearer picture quality to them, so it's worth sticking it out for those.

All in all, watchable because of Sean Bean and Daragh O'Malley, but not one of the best. Wait for next time, when Sharpe and Harper get back to France to get back to business, and give the frogs a good beating.

Sean Bean is at it again
Another extraordinary member of the Sharpe's series. Sean Bean is a magnificent actor, and his talents make up for the age of this series. Pay no attention to the lack of advanced special effects, but to the beautiful screenplay and occasional breathtaking cinematography. ... Read more

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Ghost story meets paranormal mystery in Disney's PG family spookfest, a rare kid-friendly scary movie that still manages to frighten. American girls Lynn-Holly Johnson (Ice Castles) and little sister Kyle Richards move into a secluded British manor cradled in a mist-shrouded forest, home to a ghostly guardian angel and a decades-old mystery that still haunts the place. Director John Hough (whose Legend of Hell House is a classic of supernatural suspense) delivers all the right shiver-inducing ingredients: flashes of light, whispers in the wind, eerie visions of a blindfolded little girl lost (the long-lost daughter of withered widow Bette Davis) reaching out from mirrors, as if trapped behind them. Though tame by today's bloody standards and a flop on its original release in 1981, this handsome little gothic ghost story has become something of a cult film for its suggestive direction, impressionistic imagery, and spooky sense of the unknown. Ages 9 and up, although more sophisticated younger kids should enjoy this. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more