‘Slumdog Millionaire’: A Leftist View of a Globalized World

Well after its phenomenal success of eight Oscars, four Golden Globes, seven BAFTA’s, and $350 million at the boxoffice, “Slumdog Millionaire” has managed to stay alive. As much an amazing longshot victor as its hero, an urchin from the Mumbai slums cum tea server at a phone call center who wins a fortune in an Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,” “Slumdog” has kept making news in ways deeply rooted in its own depiction of the world.

Recently the film’s British director Danny Boyle, serving as jury president of the 12th Shanghai Film Festival, confided during a panel discussion that on “Slumdog” he had shed the patronizing, “imperialist” mentality, relying heavily on a local Indian crew. Boyle also observed that while it was “regrettable” that Beijing imposed censorship restrictions on its filmmakers, he’d nonetheless love to work in China, as it would be a “challenge learning Mandarin.” Boyle neglected to mention that on “Slumdog” he’d skipped the challenge of learning Hindi, necessitating an Indian co-director, and also skipped the patronizing practice of paying Western wages, and the low pay for local child actors would fuel most of the subsequent controversies. (more…)

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Tags: "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", Amitabh Bachchan, BAFTAs, Bandra, Bollywood
Posted Jul 27th 2009 at 6:52 am in Culture, Politics, Religion, Reviews | 19112630 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/eazlant/2009/07/27/slumdog-millionaire-and-topdog-fantasies/%E2%80%98Slumdog+Millionaire%E2%80%99%3A+A+Leftist+View+of+a+Globalized+World+2009-07-27+13%3A52%3A03Edward+Azlant

Navigating the Gender Pass with ‘Gunga Din’

I have always thought that men and women are different. 

No kidding, professor.

No, really, they are. I don’t mean in all the right places, of course, but somewhere else, with movies, in enjoying the things we see in the movies. 

I remember seeing Gunga Din (1939) for the first time and knowing from the opening shot that this was my kind of film. This was a guy film. Not a wishy-washy movie filled up with dance numbers and kissing scenes, but a guy flick. Great guy stuff was in this movie, and I was sold on it from the first pounding of that thunderous mighty gong. When Alfred Newman’s score turned from playful to ominous faster than you can say, ‘trouble in Tantrapur’, I knew I was in for a good one. This was the kind of movie you watched on a Saturday afternoon with your dad or with your pals. This was adventure!  (more…)

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Tags: alfred newman, andrews, British, cary grant, chuck yeager
Posted May 21st 2009 at 5:58 pm in Entertainment, Politics | 1387383 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/smann/2009/05/21/navigating-the-gender-pass-with-gunga-din/Navigating+the+Gender+Pass+with+%27Gunga+Din%272009-05-22+00%3A58%3A22Schizoid+Mann