Slumdog Millionaire

Brian White — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:27:11 +0000

OK…so if you had to decide between walking away with over a million dollars in your pocket of your country’s national currency or risk it all just to make one uncertain phone call to find out if you were destined to be with your true love in life or not, what would you do?

A. Relinquish the destiny B.S., take the money and run

B. Be reckless and risk it all, hoping you get one or the other

C. Live in regret your whole life for not choosing one or the other

D. Not even think about it, as you already know in your heart what the right answer to that question is.

Final answer? Regardless of how you feel, I will come back later to this brooding question, so please read on (ha ha…I have you trapped, because now you need to read on to find out the answer to my question…ah the joys of writing for a captive audience, second to none).

Warning! I am not going to sugarcoat this review, and there will be no element of surprise contained here within. Simply put, I feel that Slumdog Millionaire is one of the most inspirational, motivating and powerful movies to have ever graced the Blu-ray format as of yet. As depicted on the UK theatrical release poster, in my opinion it truly is “The feel-good film of the decade.” This film has dethroned Moulin Rouge from the number one spot in my best love story category. Now having said that, I feel the need to backtrack just a tad. Weeks ago there is no way I would have admitted this. I do hold a grudge against this film, as it knocked my beloved The Dark Knight out of the 2009 Academy Awards race for Best Picture. However, after giving this movie a chance, I think I am now finally able to relinquish those feelings of hate and animosity I initially had towards it. Let me rephrase that. I know I am. Now I feel like a total jack#$% for not listening to my friend’s suggestion about this movie or my wife’s plea to go see it when it was out in the theatres. See how much of a jerk I can be sometimes?

The Film

Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 film directed by Danny Boyle and adapted from the 2005 novel, Q&A, by Vikas Swarup. Slumdog Millionaire is the winner of eight Academy Awards in 2009, which includes Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Original Song. Despite a lesser known cast, which includes the likes of Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan and many more, the film went on to gross over $326 million dollars worldwide. That’s not too bad for a film that was originally going to be released straight to video because of problems securing distribution partners. As you can already guess from the number of Academy Awards won, Slumdog Millionaire opened up to overwhelmingly positive critical acclaim.

Slumdog Millionaire was set and filmed in India. It tells the story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), a young man raised in the slums of Mumbai, who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Jamal goes on to exceed people’s expectations, unfortunately arousing the suspicions of not only the game show host (Anil Kapoor), but that of the law enforcement agency too. However, if you think this is the only premise of the movie, you are dead wrong. There is so much more to this masterpiece tale. I could go on and on about it, and those of you who know my writings know that I can. However, I will try to keep it as brief as possible.

There are just so many facets of this film that I would like to touch upon, but for brevity sake I will stay focused on the major character of the story, Jamal Malik. As I mentioned before, Jamal somehow makes it on to the famed TV game show, but not without obtaining a few bumps and bruises along the way. A few bumps and bruises is a severe understatement, as you will see when you sit down and view this Academy Award winner. You see, before Jamal’s life changed for the better on the game show, his life wasn’t always a bed of roses. Jamal and his brother Salim were orphaned at a very early age as a result of the 1993 anti-Muslim attacks in Mumbai. From stealing food to finding daily shelter, Jamal and Salim quickly adapted and learned how to survive in the slums of Mumbai. Along the way they rescued and befriended a young girl, also orphaned, named Latika. Jamal affectionately referred to Salim and himself as Athos and Porthos, and Latika as the third Musketeer. Remember that one for later use. You will know what I mean when you watch the film, if you have not already done so.

As time goes by, the plot thickens. Jamal’s puppy dog-like love for Latika grows ever so fondly, while Salim becomes more diabolical and aggressive with every passing day. Then one fateful day occurs that no one ever saw coming. Jamal and Latika are tragically separated from each other. This is only one of the many moments where this movie tackles your emotions, like catching the football down the middle of the field only to be immediately pummeled upon reception. We, the audience, are witnesses to Jamal’s never ending quest to be reunited with his one true love in life. This movie effervescently teaches us that true love knows no boundaries and cannot be suppressed no matter how hard people prevent it from being so. But wait, it does not end there, what happens to Salim and his villainous ways, how and why does Jamal go on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, why is he being tortured and accused of cheating and most importantly…will Jamal ever find and be reunited again with Latika? This, my friends, is just a sliver of butter for your bread, and among the many questions that Danny Boyle and the cast of Slumdog Millionaire are able to brilliantly answer in an intertwining fashion just shy of two hours. I want to highlight the use of the word ‘brilliant’ in the preceding sentence. The intertwining way the story is told, and the way questions are answered, effectively puts all the pieces of the puzzle together in a no-nonsense fashion that is sure to keep any viewer on the edge of their seat wanting and waiting for more.

This movie has a little bit of something to offer everyone in the viewing audience out there. For the hopeless romantics, they will be ever so pleasantly rewarded with one of the greatest love stories, in my opinion, ever captured on film. For the masochist crowd out there, be prepared for some pretty intense torture scenes to endure and bite your nails over. Finally, for comic relief, we have the hilarious, rolling-on-the-floor, outdoor bathroom scene. I have not laughed that hard in a long time. It is so disgusting you cannot help but to indulge in finding humor within this scene. The visual of the scene will make you swear you smell something you are not. I guess I do feel the need to mention the realism of the just how tragic the hardship of everyday life in the Mumbai slums really is. This is depicted very well within the film, but many experts will argue and say that the movie makes it look far better than it really is in actuality. You can judge for yourself upon your first viewing. It’s not a place that I would like to call home.

Video

The video of Slumdog Millionaire is a hard one to judge. Fox ushered the Academy Award winning film onto the Blu-ray format with a 1080P AVC MPEG-4 video encode and an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. It has been written (no pun intended if you know the line from the movie) that there were multiple kinds of cameras used during the production of the film, and as a direct result, mixed quality of footage has been obtained. At times, the video of Slumdog Millionaire is reference quality, while at other times, not so much. I was not among the fortunate ones to have received a review copy prior to this film’s release on Blu-ray. Although it seems discouraging, that did give me one advantage over everyone else. I got to sit back and read all the reviews before even seeing this film for the first time, not to mention on the Blu-ray format. I am taken aback by how high other reviewers across the web scored the video quality here. Whether the imperfections are intentional or not, I just cannot see how you could rate the video anything above a 4-star score. Don’t get me wrong, a 4-star score is nothing to sneer at, but you cannot say this is a reference quality presentation throughout.

The video of Slumdog is very gritty and grainy in certain scenes. These moments are almost always during the darker scenes. With that being said, I cannot always say that blacks are solid throughout, because they are not. Now keep in mind, these moments of imperfection are few and far between and by no means serve as a distraction from enjoying this amazing film. When the film’s video shines, it really glistens. The colors are vibrant, the textures are tantalizing and the three-dimensional pop quality lifts itself off the screen. One of my other favorites here are the stylized subtitles. During the few scenes of foreign dialogue the subtitles are presented to us viewers in an easy to see fashion. I like this! Despite my stern score of a 4, this video presentation is indicative of Blu-ray’s excellence for the pest in picture and sound. And now the sound…

Audio

Where the video falters just a bit here and there, the audio of the Slumdog Blu-ray release never lets you down. Never! This is one LOUD surround track! You would never expect something like this from a drama film. Never! Although, it’s always good to be surprised, isn’t it? Fox brings Slumdog Millionaire to the Blu-ray format with a bass-thumping, bombastic 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround track. From the beginning to the end, the bass is relentless throughout. The music and action scenes will blow you away. This is definitely the workout your surround sound speakers have been craving. From the bass of the pounding drums in the film’s score to the flies buzzing around you, sound effects have never sounded so rich and full. I listened to this soundtrack at my normal movie listening volume and I can’t tell you how many times I fought the urge to turn the volume down. I was not sure my speakers were going to be able to handle some of the booming sounds I heard coming out of them. It definitely got the cobwebs and dust out of them. Last but not least, I never once had a problem hearing the dialogue. In all honesty, I cannot find any faults to even complain about here, thus earning my highest 5-star rating for the heart-pounding soundtrack that just screams out for repeat viewings. Fight the urge and keep this soundtrack turned up. Trust me on this one (insert eye wink).

Special Features

I guess if the Slumdog Millionaire Blu-ray release has any weakness, it would be in the Special Features department. Since the film was rushed to the Blu-ray format in order to capitalize on its’ Oscar success, I really do feel there will be an eventual double-dip one day that will include some more extensive bonus materials. However, for the time being, I think there is enough to play with here to keep any Slumdog fan busy for several hours. The only unfortunate aspect here and ultimately is the reason why the score is so low here, is that the majority of the special features are presented in Standard Definition. Oh well, let’s move and see all the goodies we have to keep ourselves busy with.

Audio Commentaries – There are two audio commentary tracks found here. The first audio commentary features Director Danny Boyle and Actor Dev Patel. The second audio commentary track includes Producer Christian Colson and Writer Simon Beaufoy.
Deleted Scenes (SD) – There are a total of 12 deleted scenes to be found here clocking in at a total runtime of 33 minutes.
Slumdog Dreams: Danny Boyle & The Making of Slumdog Millionaire (SD) – This two-part featurette focuses on the making of the movie and Danny Boyle’s vision. This featurette clocks in at an approximate runtime of 23 minutes.
Slumdog Cutdown (HD) – This is kind of like a recap of the movie presented as a music video. This 6-minute feature is probably my favorite of the bunch.
From Script to Screen: Toilet Scene (SD) – I made reference to this scene up above. This 5-minute featurette take a quick look at the disgusting, but hysterical, toilet scene where Jamal dives into a pile of human waste to obtain an autograph from his favorite Bollywood actor.
Indian Short Film – Manjha (SD) – Here we have a 41-minute film that is pretty raw and gruesome to behold. It tells the story of an orphaned Indian boy struggling to stay alive and care for his baby sister on the streets of Mumbai.
Bombay Liquid Dance (SD) – This is a 3-minute music video that contains an instrumental track and kind of showcases daily life in Mumbai.
Theatrical Trailer (HD) – This is pretty much what the title implies.
European Theatrical Trailer (SD) – Again, I think you get the idea of exactly what this extra is.
Digital Copy – Provided on a second DVD-ROM disc is a digital copy of the film that is compatible with iTunes and Windows Media.

Final Thoughts

Although you will never get me to openly confess that Slumdog Millionaire was better than The Dark Knight, not even with a during a nerve-wracking round of Russian Roulette, it definitely was one of the best from the “Class of 2008.” Also, if you are as naïve as I once was and think this film is only about an ugly looking Indian boy on a television show you could care less about, think again. I have not seen The Wrestler as of yet, but Slumdog Millionaire easily lands itself into my top three movies of 2008. Why stop there? Let’s talk about the Blu-ray! That’s why were here, right? I already know that this Blu-ray will get its fair share of replay value within my personal collection, and why wouldn’t it? Packaged with one of the greatest love stories of all time, near reference video and a bombastic audio treatment, this Blu-ray is sure to win over the hearts of many, old and new fans alike. If you have not seen this gem as of yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up today. But wait! You didn’t think I would let you go without answering the beginning question, did you?

So back to that lingering question I poised in the beginning of my review. Not knowing what I already know in life, I would have picked answer “A,” basically taking the money and running, being foolish enough to think that it can buy me happiness. If I had the ability to take into consideration what I already know in life, then my answer would be an enthusiastic “D. ” With all certainty that would be my final answer. This is an age-old question that gets easier to answer with maturity, as time and lessons learned in life give you the experience to appropriately answer this utilizing earned wisdom. One may think that money can solve any of life’s problems and buy true happiness, but in reality that is false. There is not enough money in this world, unless your name is Magic Johnson, that is going to stop you from dying. Despite popular belief, money cannot buy you long-lasting love and happiness. You may think you have it, but it’s really a façade. Lesson learned, be appreciative for who and what you have in life and always remember the things you own, end up owning you (courtesy of our modern day Gandhi…Tyler Durden). Now if I could only listen to my own advice instead of focusing on the negative all the time.

When you watch this film, remember these teachings and cheer Jamal on in the pursuant and death defying decisions that he makes in his quest to find Latika. Will it payoff for him in the end? I guess you will just have to watch and see. Like Jamal and Latika’s love for each other, it is your destiny to give this Blu-ray a viewing. I really do believe that you will be humbled and glad that you did in the end. For many more reasons than I care to go on about, this Blu-ray earns my highest recommendation as a purchase or a blind buy, whichever the case may be. Why are you still reading this? Go get it now!

I hope you enjoyed my review of the 20^th Century Fox’s Slumdog Millionaire Blu-ray release. Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments below. I look forward to receiving any feedback from my readers.