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Thanks,
Kirsten Ostherr


>
> From: Automatic digest processor <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: 2001/08/27 Mon PM 06:00:01 EDT
> To: Recipients of FILM-PHILOSOPHY digests <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: FILM-PHILOSOPHY Digest - 26 Aug 2001 to 27 Aug 2001 (#2001-140)
>
>



Off hand, I can think of some Indian [Hindi] films dealing with war: (1)
Sikandar, 1941 - About Alexander the Great's invasion of India.  After
having conquered Persia and the Kabul Valley, he descends to the Indian
border at the river Jhelum with his Macedonian army and encounters King
Porus. (2) Dr Kotnis ki Amar Kahani [One Did Not Come Back, 1946], a
chronicle of real-life story of Dwarkanath Kotnis, a member of medical team
sent by India during second world war to China.  (3) Jhansi ki Rani, 1953 -
An account of Rani Laxmibai's life, the 19th century queen of Jhansi who led
her armies into battle against the British East India Company during the
1857 rising.  (4) Haqeekat, 1964 - India-China war of 1962 provides its
setting. (5) Nine Months to Freedom: The Story of Bangladesh - About
Bangladesh war. (6) 1942: A Love Story, 1994 - A love story set amidst
India's Quit India movement led by Mahatma Gandhi during second world war.
There are quite a few films around two Indian epics - Ramayana and
Mahabharata - wars!!!

Amrit Gangar

----- Original Message -----
From: Michelle Langford <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2001 4:15 PM
Subject: Reading suggestions: War Films


> Thankyou everybody for all those War film suggestions, although only a
> few have so far responded to the appeal made in my original email for
> readings on war films and theoretical approaches to war and cinema. I
> know this is a huge area because war films have been made by just about
> every nation at every period during the history of cinema, but it seems
> that little really sustained theoretical work has been done in this
> area.  I already have a number of references gleaned from databses such
> as Philosopher's Index and MLA, but was hoping list members could direct
> me to other more obscure or regional sources.
>
> Thanks
> Michelle
>




Michelle,
I assume you know Paul Virilio's WAR AND CINEMA.
Alan

On Thu, 23 Aug 2001 20:45:44 +1000 [log in to unmask] (Michelle Langford)
wrote:

>Thankyou everybody for all those War film suggestions, although only a
>few have so far responded to the appeal made in my original email for
>readings on war films and theoretical approaches to war and cinema. I
>know this is a huge area because war films have been made by just about
>every nation at every period during the history of cinema, but it seems
>that little really sustained theoretical work has been done in this
>area.  I already have a number of references gleaned from databses such
>as Philosopher's Index and MLA, but was hoping list members could direct
>me to other more obscure or regional sources.
>
>Thanks
>Michelle




Much as I hate to do it, Mr Amrit Gangar's missive on Indian war films
(picked up self-admittedly "off-hand") provokes me to finally break my vow
of silence.

Mr Gangar is an honourable curator of many a film festival and has something
of a reputation as a free-floating film historian. He is indubitably a
tireless film-society activist/organizer. One would have expected a little
bit of rigour which his present list lacks in so glaringly.

If one were to accept his list especially his classification of 1942 a Love
Story as a war film, one would be justifiably tempted to include 1936 Sant
Tukaram (for isn't the Moghul army chasing the slippery Hindu hero
Chhatrapati Shivaji); 1964 Subarnarekha (Isn't there a badly bombed out
house on the brink of an abondoned airstrip); 1972 Maya Darpan (for, isn't
there a bad documentary insert of air bombs being dropped on God alone knows
where); 1966 Upkar (for isn't there the Indo-Pak skirmish leading to the
first ever nacrophiliac plunder by Madan Puri presented in Indian cinema);
1962-63 Hum Dono (for isn't this film about the two look-alike army officers
for a while takes refuge in a tacky set simulating our Himalayan borders);
and, why not also include Gandhi - Attenborrough's Gandhi - going by the
logic of Mr Gangar's list. And sir what happened to 1960 Mughal-e-Azam? Oh
yes, what about Kumar Shahani's thoughtless trivia masquerading as a history
of Indian classical music - the still born "Khayalgatha"? Dev Anand's Prem
Pujari, Ritwik Ghatak's awfully embarassing "Durbar Gati Padma" and "Fear"?
What about JP Dutta's jingoistic "Border"? Or Girish Karnad's "Ondanandu
Kalladalli"? Guru Dutt's "Baaz" or was it "Baazi"? Isn't Tarkovsky's
"Mirror" a war film by that logic? And what about "Andre Rublev"? Why even
"Sacrifice"?

Sukhbir Garewal

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