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Slumdog Millionaire
| Movie Rating: |
 | 9/10 |
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| DVD Rating: |
| 7/10 |
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| Overall Rating: |
| 8/10 |
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Movie Details: View Here
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Starring:
Dev Patel
Madhur Mittal
Freida Pinto
Anil Kapoor
Irrfan Khan
Special Features:
Making of Slumgod Millionaire Featurette with Golden Globe -winning Director Danny Boyle
12 Deleted Scenes
Audio Commentary with Director Danny Boyle and Actor Dev Patel
And More!
Other Info:
Video: Widescreen 2.35:1 Color
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
French: Dolby Digital Surround
Hindi: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Run Time: 121 min
Rating: R
Synopsis from DVD Cover:
Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is just one question away from winning a fortune on India's version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" But how has this uneducated young man from the slums succeeded in providing correct responses to questions that have stumped countless scholars before him? And will he ultimately win it all or lose everything, including his true love?
Quick Review:
Sometimes, when a movie starts winning all the awards and buzzing all the critics, I'll admit, I get caught up in the frenzy. Like "Juno" - sure, it's a cute movie with some funny parts, but after all the hoo-hah died down and it came out on DVD, my love waned. Maybe I'm just fickle. I was afraid the same fate would befall my little "Slumdog," and that what once had seemed magical and clever would seem mediocre or predictable on DVD - but no. It's still the film I fell in love with, all full of love and tragedy and color and music.
Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is not having a good day. Sure, he should be on top of the world-he's on course to win the big money on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" - but it seems folks get suspicious when an eighteen-year-old "slumdog" from the streets of Mumbai with very little education comes out of nowhere and spouts out answers to a bunch of tough questions. The answer, of course, is to torture him into admitting he's a cheater, but through memories and flashbacks of his years of street survival with brother Salim and true love Latika, we get to see the life that's led him to this single moment in time - a moment that will change his life forever.
When this came out in theaters, for a while there was a small murmur, and soon, that swelled to a roar, and that's when everyone started handing it awards and we began to see all those kids on red carpets. The film was almost a novelty at that point, which almost took away what made it great to begin with - it's universality amidst a world that is so surfacely foreign from our own. Kiddie slavery and Indian mafia wars seem so far removed from what most audiences are OK with, yet the family loyalty and endearing, simple love story that drive the film are universal. Danny Boyle has proven he can direct zombies, Ewan pretending to be junkie, AND people in space, but the fact that he manages to do THIS story so skillfully is proof that he's one of the best around. And the kids - they make the movie, and it's like they're not even acting. A whole lot of stuff happens here, but strip away the bright game show lights and all the crime, and it's the most universal of love stories.
Once you finally get a disc with the Special Features on it (the first batch for sale accidentally wound up being the "rental" copies, sans Extras), there are around two hours of goodies to go through. There are two Audio Commentaries; the first from Boyle and Patel is chock full of production info, and the second from producer Christian Colson and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy gives some interesting insight into India. The commentaries are actually a lot more entertaining than the Making Of featurette "Slumdog Dreams: Danny Boyle and the Making of Slumdog Millionaire," but for a Cliffs Notes with music version of the film, check out "Slumdog Cutdown," which is basically the whole film in five minutes set to music. Twelve decent but cut-able deleted and extended scenes and the movie in digital round out the bonuses.
In Conclusion:
It had me when it came out and it has me on DVD; "Slumdog Millionaire" is, apart from the crime and violence and dire poverty, an unabashed and universal love story.
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