United States / Sep 28, 1989 / New York Film Festival
Overall average
5.0/10
Plot
One of the great masterpieces of world literature comes to vivid life in an elaborate production from acclaimed theater and film innovator Peter Brook. This collection of ancient Sanskrit stories (composed into the longest book ever written) comprises a series of enlightened fables at the heart of countless beliefs, legends, and teachings; indeed, its very title means "the great story of mankind." Brook and writer Jean-Claude Carriere worked for eight years to develop this epic concerning two sides of a royal family, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, whose struggle leads to a fascinating voyage of emotions, passion and vision of glory. Briefly, the Mahabharata is a tale of two rival sets of brothers, cousins to eachother, each born into royalty and with divinely guided paths in life. The result, however, is a great war, death, destruction - a vast epic.
Main cast
Full cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Miriam Goldschmidt | Kunti |
| Hapsari Hardjito | Abhimanyu's wife |
| Ken Higelin | Deathless boy |
| Corinne Jaber | Amba / Sikhandin |
| Jeffery Kissoon | Karna |
| Sotigui Kouyaté | Bhishma |
| Joseph Kurian | Dhristadyumna |
| Tuncel Kurtiz | Shakuni |
| Robert Langdon Lloyd | Vyasa |
| Clément Masdongar | Gazelle |
| Leela Mayor | Satyavati |
| Vittorio Mezzogiorno | Arjuna |
| Bruce Myers | Ganesha / Krishna |
| Yoshi Oida | Drona |
| Hélène Patarot | Gandhari |
| Bakary Sangaré | The Sun / Rakshasa / Ghatotkatcha |
| Mallika Sarabhai | Draupadi |
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| Andrzej Seweryn | Yudhishthira |
| Antonin Stahly-Vishwanadan | The Boy |
| Tapa Sudana | Pandu / Shiva / Salya |
| Mahmoud Tabrizi-Zadeh | Sahadeva |
| Myriam Tadesse | Gandhari's servant |
| Velu Vishwanadhan | The Hermit |
Genres
Technical details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Mahabharata |
| Original language | English (EN) |
| Spoken languages | Magyar, English |
| Production countries | Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America |
| Status | Released |
| Production companies | MP Productions, Channel 4 Television, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Les Productions du 3ème Etage |
| Release date | 24 gennaio 1990 |
| Executive producer | Michael Kustow, Harvey Lichtenstein, Michael Birkett |
| Production | Michel Propper, Micheline Rozan, Rachel Tabori, William Wilkinson, Edward Myerson |
| Writer | Jean-Claude Carrière, Peter Brook, Marie-Hélène Estienne |
| Casting | Marie-Hélène Estienne |
| Editing | Nicolas Gaster, Michèle Hollander, Catherine Buisson, Sophie Duvillier, Christelle Guyon |
| Cinematography | William Lubtchansky, Christophe Pollock, Philippe Le Nouvel, Sophie Charrière, Gilles Abegg, Guy-Auguste Boléat, Jean-Michel Vincent, Dominique Wildenberg, Jean-Bernard Josko |
| Assistant directors | Marc Guilbert, Philippe Tourret, Josef Baar, Peter Brook, Carole Fèvre |
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| Lighting | Jim Howe, Richard Weber, Patrick Allibert, Barry Peter Davis, Jean-Luc Revelart |
| Camera operators | William Lubtchansky, Christophe Pollock, Philippe Le Nouvel, Sophie Charrière, Gilles Abegg, Guy-Auguste Boléat, Jean-Michel Vincent, Dominique Wildenberg, Jean-Bernard Josko |
| Additional photography | William Lubtchansky, Christophe Pollock, Philippe Le Nouvel, Sophie Charrière, Gilles Abegg, Guy-Auguste Boléat, Jean-Michel Vincent, Dominique Wildenberg, Jean-Bernard Josko |
| Production design | |
| Art direction | |
| Set decoration | |
| Special effects | Raph Salis, Éric Plouseau, Pascal Ciccione |
| Music | |
| Sound | |
| Costume design | |
| Makeup | |
| Hairstyling |
Release dates
Premiere
Brazil / Oct 01, 1990 / São Paulo International Film Festival
Limited release
France / Jan 24, 1990
United States / Apr 27, 1990 / New York
Physical media
France / Jul 06, 1991
TV
United Kingdom / Dec 09, 1989 / Channel 4 (6-hour version)
United States / Mar 25, 1991 / Part 1 - PBS Great Performances
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