The movie is set in late 1960's India, centering on an English writer, Lucia Lane (the late Jennifer Kendal), and an Indian film star, Vikram (her real life husband Shashi Kapoor). The two meet on the set of a film (after being introduced by a producer played in cameo form by Ismail Merchant himself) and hit it off right away. A third wheel, writer Hari, also falls for her and the ensuing triangle causes problems for all of them. Vikram's wife doesn't appreciate the English gal moving in on her man and even Lucia is torn between the complications of the relationship. She tries to clear her mind by studying under a guru but quickly finds that enlightenment doesn't end ones worldly desires, just helps us temper them a bit. The movie continues on with a number of twists and turns, ultimately proving love isn't the easiest of goals to achieve, especially when the couple aren't familiar with the process of sacrificing for it.

The movie had a lot of dead space to it that would've looked better on the cutting room floor. While I wasn't a fan of the lead characters, they were too self-centered for my tastes, the supporting cast were often wonderfully diverse and interesting. The same holds true for the scenery and cultural aspects of the movie, as well as the music and themes present. If I hadn't known the budget going into watching the movie, I'd have never guessed at it given the overall level of quality shown here and that is a tribute to the direction skills of Mr. Ivory. My biggest complaint about the show would be that it appears very dated in terms of sensibilities to this modern viewer. Back in its day, I'll bet the film was somewhat scandalous and it retains a period charm that made me smile more than once. If you're looking for a Bollywood film that has more depth than average, you'll definitely want to check this one out. I'm rating it as Recommended for fans of films made in India that enjoy the oldies but even though it was in English, there were a number of unanswered questions that went through my mind when watching this that made me think it was not consistently as good as it could have been.

Picture: The picture was presented in its anamorphic widescreen original aspect ratio of 1.78:1. Previous releases on videotape were poorly preserved and my fear was that this would be no different. Gladly, my fears were allayed when I found out that this was cleaned up with a new digital transfer from the original 35mm interpositive. The RDRS (Revival Digital Restoration System) was used to fix the scratches as well as clean up the dirt and other flaws found. I doubt very much that the movie has ever looked this good, even when it originally opened in theatres. It was crisp and clear looking, and I've seen big budget releases from this year that looked worse. The colors were usually accurate and rich and the blacks were true black (as near as I could tell). I saw no compression artifacts throughout the feature.

Sound: The sound was presented in its original monaural with Dolby Digital processing. The soundtrack was also restored with remastering from a new 35mm optical soundtrack print. The audio was also well done with no major flaws although it wasn't as solid as the visual aspects of the movie.

Extras: The extras included some pretty neat stuff this time. There was a 12.5 minute long discussion between Ismail Merchant, James Ivory, and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (the producer, director and writers of the movie). It gave a great look into the specifics of the movie as well as some background and anecdotes of the feature. There was a well-made paper insert that provided even more detail, like the fact that the budget for the feature was only $200, 000 and for the documentary only $17,000. Lastly, there were three trailers to other works by the group.

There was also a short documentary, Helen, Queen of the Nautch Girls which detailed in great length (it lasted around a half hour) the life and times of one of the most popular Bollywood dancers of all time. Here's what the official website had to say about the documentary: "Helen, Queen of the Nautch Girls, a 30-minute documentary film that looks at an aspect of Indian culture from a rather whimsical angle, has always been a popular Merchant Ivory film. The idea for the documentary came from Anthony Korner, an associate of Merchant Ivory's in the period, and now the publisher of Art Forum. It was directed and narrated by him, but the scenario was devised by Ivory. The subject of the film, which cost a modest $17,000 to make, is the most popular dancer in Bombay musical films -- so much so that since 1957 she had appeared in five hundred of them. In part the movie is a montage of scenes from her pictures and of the opening sequence in Bombay Talkie in which Helen dances with Shashi Kapoor on the keys of a giant red typewriter. Indian musical films that provided the background of Bombay Talkie now come to life before the bemused viewer. Stepping neatly around the puritanic codes governing Indian films that forbid direct sexual contact (even kissing), the musicals project sexuality fervently through innuendo -- in teasing situations and the sensuality of Helen's dancing. Extravagantly romantic fantasies are the stuff of this popular art form, of which Helen is clearly "queen.""

Final Thoughts: The extras were keen, the feature cleaned up better than anyone could expect, and if you have no issues with the content of the film, you'll love this DVD compared to earlier format releases. I like some of the over-the-top Bollywood movies, even some of the spoofs on it like in this years The Guru, so it was well worth my time but not everyone enjoys such films and this was a decidedly acquired taste.