Gandhi is a grand spectacle, filmed in the same vein as a David Lean epic, though it was made as recently as 1982. With this film, British director Richard Attenborough won a Best Picture and Director Oscar after painstakingly crafting a film that took him decades to make. The hard work shows and the payoff is spectacular. The film opens with the assassination of the Mahatma, followed by his funeral which set the record on film for being the most people gathered for one shot-somewhere around 250,000 people (in the bonus features, Attenborough states it will never be recreated due to CGI). We are then shown the story of the young Indian lawyer who sparked change in South Africa through nonviolent resistance, and began to realize that he had the power to topple British rule of his homeland. Though all elements of this film are spectacular, it is Ben Kingsley who stands at the center as Gandhi. Kingsley, one of the most chameleon-like actors, disappears into the role so greatly. Gandhi is a great film that never seems to drag even at a long running time.
***1/2
