Realizing Chariots Of Fire | Editor's Pen

Hi Friends,

 

In film Chariots Of Fire, Eric Liddell refuses to run on the Sabbath. As a viewer it was difficult for me to understand how can someone chose religion over nation. Probably not being much religious myself was the reason why I was not able to understand his dilemma. But with time and research I saw his point and agreed. As a person Eric was doing right. I would have done the opposite but that doesn’t make him any wrong. Its just personal choice. The film stayed with me for long, longer than I thought it would. In fact, one dialogue from the film helped us taking a decision.

 

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

 

We are finding it difficult to go on with biweekly editions of TRM. We have been doing it for five years and thoroughly enjoyed this but for bread and butter we work in corporate and it has become really difficult to churn out stories and bring them up twice a month. It was a difficult choice for us but sincerely we believe that it is for better. We are closing down TRM for some time. It’s a sabbatical. Sometime down the line, we will find some renewed strength and take another plunge. We will come back with better stories, better reviews and better infrastructure. We will be back on Chariots Of Fire.

 

We whole heartedly thank you for your support and appreciation.

 

Love and regards

Ali and Sujoy

On Behalf of entire TRM team.

Stanley Kramer | The Larger Picture | Statesmen

When I dedicated my short film to him, it was for a reason. He changed my outlook towards the purpose of making films. I would rather make dated films than irrelevant ones. To stress a little more on this, I would share a quote by one of the greatest filmmakers of our times Steven Spielberg who said that Stanley Kramer is one of our great filmmakers, not just for the art and passion he put on screen, but for the impact he has made on the conscience of the world.

 

Stanley Kramer is known for his message films dealing with socially relevant and controversial topics like racism, anti-Semitism and social disparity. His ability to focus on topics rather than money making films and remain strong impressed critics and audience alike. Films like Not As A Stranger, The Defiant Ones, Judgment At Nuremberg, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Inherit The Wind, On The Beach and Ship Of Fools are testament of his belief that films can pass a message strongly. He faced sanctions and criticism from certain sections but he remained unperturbed.

 

One noted criticism for Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner was that he created a white black character to be played by Poitier. The character was so well creased out that it appeared to be of a white man than a black. Though the critic made a good point because most of the Afro-Americans would rarely be in shoes Poitier’s character was in. However, he missed a point. Hypocrisy of prejudice against a certain race can be exposed only when the only difference remains of that single denominator. In this case – color. Kramer understood this and ensured that he was not comparing apples with bananas. To add to this, the timing of release was simply perfect.

 

Stanley Kramer’s ability to make relevant films for popular audience can be as much as textbook material as his ability to make films with limited resources and constrained budgets. He was one of the proponents of independent film culture in mainstream Hollywood. His experience as producer of low budget films was one of the main forces behind his ability to make films about controversial topics. He was able to take financial risk because he was not risking everything. It come as a help when he became director. Both Judgment At Nuremberg and Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner were shot largely in one location.

 

Stanley Kramer redefined being American. To people who criticized his films being un-American, he said – “Any American film that contains criticism of the American fabric of life is accepted, both critically and by the mass audience overseas, as being something that could never have been produced in a totalitarian state. This in itself builds tremendous respect for American society among foreigners—a respect I've always wanted to encourage.”

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh

One Last Request | Open Letter

So, it has been three months now and I haven't watched a movie in theatre. I go for Aankhon Dekhi, a low profile, low advertised movie from Rajat Kapoor, who is known for making off-track movies. I liked it. The reason was not that my childhood friend was debuting in the movie but because it was really a good movie. A warm movie, with no hi-fi foolish action, no cars flying without any reason, no stupid humor. A simple movie with a funny script that doesn't make me crazy laughing, but does bring chuckles throughout its course of 2 hours, along with a few emotional moments. It was nothing extraordinary but impressed me a lot.

 

An hour after leaving the theatre, I had come back to normal. Yes, I was excited to see my friend on the silver screen! But after coming out of that celebration, I was surprised to see how a simple film had overwhelmed me in such vast amount, and I was wondering why!?

 

Few cut to cut moments, and I had everything clear in my head. The reason behind my liking was very simple and straightforward, and that was the degrading quality of Bollywood. The last movie which I had watched was Dhoom-3, and I believe it to be a big blunder. The scars were deep, and took away all my strength to watch a Bollywood movie in a theatre.

 

I am not saying I did not have any good movie at all in the time between, I remember Queen, and... and... Sorry but no other! Thanks to the Johar camp, Rohit Shetty, Salman and the Yashraj group, now movies are just a mean of business, for them to make money and for us to give away ours. Movies are being released just to live for two weekends, earn a few crores (most of the times over 100s) and then fade away. Nobody is bothered to make a mark on us with their good work!

 

I am still wishing for the audience to wake up and stop taking nonsense any more in the name of entertainment. Films like Queen, Madras Cafe, just to name a few, should be promoted. We just need to convey to the filmmakers that our hard-earned money should not get wasted on meaningless hours in theatres. We should be treated well for the money that we spend on them.

 

Thanks to a bunch of good filmmakers, Bollywood is still alive, and I hope it does. Cheers to you guys.

 

-True feelings from a sad Bollywood fan.

 

Written By: Rishabh Shukla

Last Showdown | When Actors Just Completed The Movie | Under Lens

Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight: Much fabled last performance as maniacal Joker and stories which followed to release of The Dark Knight, rarely an actor literally overshadowed the lead actor by his real life absence. Bruce Wayne saw the real world. Images are revered. Heath Ledger whose claim to fame before Joker came along was his role in eternally romantic Brokeback Mountain. When Joker came by, he was a difficult choice for many film buffs but Heath was able to play that character even better than any predecessor with his determination and reclusiveness. As drug overdose news came by, people were not surprised. Such was Joker’s impression.

 

Balraj Sahni – Garam Hava: Traumatized by his own daughter’s death, one of the finest actors of Hindi Cinema played an intense role of a Muslim trader who is not ready to go to Pakistan. For him, India remains land of dreams and aspirations. Place he calls country. That must be a poignant moment when he played the scene where his on-screen daughter dies as well. Balraj Sahni’s Salim Mirza is one of Indian Cinema’s iconic character who embodies the torment of millions who suffered the birth of nation by means of partition and were forced to keep a strong face. In an alternate world, they too would have cried profusely in the darkest and remotest corner of house.

 

Spencer Tracy – Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner: Known for a likeable personality exuding drama and bravado without gruesomeness, Spencer Tracy, in last leg of his career, chose films which had an everlasting impact on the social dynamics. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner was one such film. As Matt Drayton he highlights the dilemma of a father who is at crossroads of his own teachings. As an open-minded person he always asked his daughter to treat people as equals irrespective of race and creed. But he never imagined that his daughter can fall in love with someone who is not white. Tracy and Hepburn strongly believed in the civil rights and despite of Tracy’s failing health, they fought his illness and completed the film.

 

 

 

 

 

Sikkim | For Sake Of Art | Hammers High

Films can be a medium of propaganda. Over years, different governments supported films with underlying reasons which were explicit but not discussed openly. The Birth Of A Nation, Triumph Of The Will and Why We Fight are well known propaganda films for artistic brilliance. Many would count Casablanca in the list as well. These films show and glorify things which might not be agreeable to certain sections but their disagreement should not restrict a willing audience who might want to see the brilliance of cinema beyond the points of argument. Sikkim, made by legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray, was banned for similar reasons.

 

Commissioned by The Chogyals – royals of Sikkim before Sikkim was merged with Indian Union – Ray made a documentary about the kingdom. As Chogyals believed, Sikkim was shown as a sovereign. This fine point was the reason of ban when Sikkim became a part of nation. Ray strongly believed that the film was a part of history and should not have been banned. There were two prints available – one in US with Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and one in UK with BFI. Film has been showcased abroad and lauded. Richard Attenborough, a British film legend, termed it as a personal favorite.

 

In November 2010, Indian Government lifted the ban and was showcased at Kolkata Film Festival. However, only one show was opened for public as an interim order by Sikkim Court forced organizers to suspend remaining shows. There might be legal and diplomatic reasons but for art sake the film should be made available. As a country, we should be able to accept the opinion which doesn’t fit a norm. Banning films is not a solution. It creates a monster. It does.