JBDY is one of the classics of Indian cinema and thus far it has not been available in a home video release worthy of its status. This NFDC Collector's Edition release easily bests all previous DVD's. Taken from a digitally restored master the picture looks significantly crisper and more detailed than before. The sound is clean too, nothing stunning but quite acceptable for this low-budget film.
There's a 2nd DVD on this set that contains a 30-min "Director's Perspective", mostly the director and the dialog writer talking about their experience of making the film, worth watching once. Indian film buffs should definitely opt for this release and throw away their previous DVD's.
(A minor quibble, the 16:9 documentary has not been anamorphically enhanced, giving you a stretched picture unless you use the zoom on your TV).
Remember the days of DD when Television was not an Idiot Box? When prime time viewing included wonderful anthologies like Katha Sagar that created intelligent and attractive adaptations of celebrated short stories from the great writers of the world.
Big Home Video ought to be saluted for their release of the Katha Sagar series on home video.
Given that these episodes were shot decades ago on video, the picture quality is quite acceptable and I am more than pleased to be able to watch these stories again. Make sure to get the DVD set which puts together all the episodes in a single box and will have better video quality than VCD. There is also a nice booklet which gives synopsis and cast of each episode, a handy selection guide.
Films like Avatar give a reason for the existence of hi-definition cinema and this blu-ray set is one of the best value for money experiences you can get.
The movie itself looks gob-smacking good. Being in most part rendered using computers the detail is transferred without loss to the digital format, so your eyes are treated to a smorgasbord of intricate visual scenery. The alien landscapes are gorgeously detailed and explode with color. Sound again is great, with hefty bass that rattles your speakers when the fireworks happen. Avatar's story may be cliched and simplistic but technically, it's a revolution in the movie experience.
The only problem I have with this disc is that on my ASUS BD drive, it takes a long while to load. From what I've read it's because of the copy protection used on the disc. That's a minor bump on the road to enjoying one of the best home theater experiences of all times.
Sudhir Mishra's Dharavi is one of the classics of Indian parallel cinema. The film is about an immigrant taxi driver (Om Puri, brilliant) who fantasizes about romancing Madhuri Dixit - the icon of glamor and success, and struggles to achieve his dreams of prosperity in the big bad city. The plot may sound dry but the film is made with passion. There are many memorable symbolic visual sequences and the direction and performances make this an unforgettable experience.
This film was previously available only on VCD. NFDC's new DVD with cleaned up picture and sound is a much more respectable way of appreciating this gem, so Indian movie buffs owe it to themselves to add this release to their collections.
I was recommended this movie as being as funny as Tere Bin Laden, which had me in splits. While that's not really so, this is still a very pleasant experience. In this film, Rajat Kapoor is a broke NRI who comes down to India to make some money by selling off his ancestral house only to find himself kidnapped by a series of local goons who think he's a huge tycoon in the US. The interplay between him and the gangsters and how he uses hs wits to survive the ordeal and even profit from it forms the crux of the story. The humor is more gentle, like RK Narayan, If RK Narayan lived in UP and wrote about gangsters. The film has several good performances. Some elements are forced in, like Neha Dhupia's female gangster, but the film is still a nice watch for people looking for comedies that don't depend on loud voices and crude gestures.
The DVD looks generally decent with nice colors. There are some extras including a "making of", which I haven't seen as yet.
This collection marks the transition of Batman and other DC heroes to the bronze era. The stories drop the more goofy elements and Batman becomes a more serious character, although thankfully not yet the psychotic vigilante he would become in the late 80's and 90's onwards. Here he is truly the Dark Knight Detective. This collection is also remarkable in that it features almost none of the famous Batman villains. There was a definite attempt to bring in new characters to the Batman universe, and one appreciates that. I eagerly await the next volume in this series which will continue one of my favorite eras in DC comics history. Also looking forward to Superman entries from this period.
Like the other Showcase issues, this one is presented in crisp black and white. The Batman stories lend themselves better than some other heroes to the B&W format and you never feel the lack of color, unless you've already read the specific stories. Also it helps to keep the series a lot more affordable than a full-color version would, for which I am grateful.
So if you're a fan of the serious but not mopey Batman comics, this comes highly recommended.
My first loyalties are to the Sean Connery era Bond films. I always thought Roger Moore a rather poofy sort, more comfortable with holding cocktails and women than dealing with bad guys. But Live and Let Die and The Spy Who Loved Me are two Moore-era Bond films I liked enough to want to own. TSWLM is a preposterous but entertaining story about a megalomaniac with a world domination plan who Bond has to stop. Moments to watch out for in this film include Bond's underwater car-sub, the henchman Jaws and the bodacious Caroline Munro in a teensy-weensy-bikini.
This Indian blu-ray release seems to contain all the bonus features found in the US/UK releases of this film, and the picture and sound quality are quite good, probably identical to the international releases. The only complaint I have is with the wholly ugly cover art. You have a white background taking up half the front cover and a random picture of Bond from the film. This seems to be the style used in the newer Bond blu-ray releases on Excel. It's a shoddy way to package an excellent product. Oh well, att least the actual contents are quite worthy of your money.
Gafla is loosely based on the 1990 era stock market scam in which Harshad Mehta was the prime accused. Without any songs or unnecessary comedy/romance tracks the film is a straight and sincere attempt to tell the story of the rise and downfall of its lead character, here called as Subodh Mehta (actor Vinod Sharawat does a good job with the role). On the other hand, the film is long and linear and somewhat flat. Still it is worth a look if you want stories other than the usual rubbish that passes off as Bollywood.
The DVD unfortunately has some issues. Although it claims to be anamorphic, the aspect ratio is botched up and presented on widescreen TV's as a stretched out 4:3 image with black bars. Once you have adjusted your TV zoom settings to make it display properly, it's OK although the film's look is not very glamorous or striking. No extras.
This set looks very good. It comes in a sturdy cardboard case, and the discs are housed in a good-looking foldout case covered with photographs and illustrations. There is even a small but decent booklet.
Saw Char Adhyay and the print was generally quite good. If the other transfers are also of a similar (or better) standard this set is a steal at the price.
Gulzar's loose adaptation of "A Comedy of Errors" by William Shakespeare is a laugh-a-minute marathon with a gut-splitting script and absolutely smashing performances from the cast, especially Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma. This is a film that you will want to revisit again and again.
This DVD gives you the complete version of the film, with the "Preetam Aan Milo" song picturized on Deven Verma, which was missing from several TV screenings. Picture and sound quality is average but on par with most DVD's for older Indian films. Flipkart's price is quite decent for this film.
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