Bombay Talkie - Shashi Kapoor

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by James Ivory
India 1970

Bombay Talkie is Merchant Ivory's affectionate, bemused view of Bollywood--India's huge dream factory. The film is like a brightly colored, sumptuous Indian sweet covered in gold foil, and cameraman Subrata Mitra's ravishing photography has never been surpassed in any other of James Ivory's films. The story, set off by elaborate studio numbers, is a melodrama echoing those of Bombay's mass audience movies and the sexy bestsellers of the film's heroine, American authoress Lucia Lane (Jennifer Kendal). Visiting India in search of "new material," she becomes romantically involved with a handsome movie star Vikram(Shashi Kapoor, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid). When that doesn't work, she flees to an ashram to take up the spiritual life. That also--hilariously--doesn't work out, and the ill-fated couple get together again with explosive results.

Poster

Theatrical Release: November 18th, 1970 - USA

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DVD Review: Home Vision - Region 1 - NTSC

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Home Vision - Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:50:16
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.52 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Subtitles	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Merchant Ivory Productions Production Company: Home Vision Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.77:1 DVD Release Date: November 11, 2003 Keep Case Chapters: 16	Edition Details: • New digital transfer, enhanced for widescreen televisions • Helen, Queen of the Nautch Girls, a documentary short film about the legendary Bollywood dancer, Helen • Conversation with the Filmmakers, part of a new series of interviews with James Ivory, Ismail Merchant, and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala • 4 page liner notes essay

Comments:

Great colors although perhaps not quite as brilliant as Home Vision's "Heat and Dust" - another Merchant/Ivory release. The wonderful photography is anamorphically shown in its correct aspect ratio. The audio was always clear if a little soft at times. Good Extras. This is a good DVD, if not a stellar one. I think I may have enjoyed the conversation with the filmmakers more than the main feature, but as far as technical specs go - this is a winner. If you are keen on the Merchant/Ivory series then this is a must have.