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The DVD Dissection: Slumdog Millionaire
Posted by Chad Webb on 03.31.2009
The Best Picture winner arrives on DVD! How does it stack up?
Dev Patel/Tanay Chheda/Ayush Mahesh Khedekar: Jamal Malik
Anil Kapoor: Prem Kumar
Freida Pinto/Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar/Rubina Ali: Latika
Irrfan Khan: Police Inspector
Madhur Mittal/Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala/Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail: Salim
Saurabh Shukla: Sergeant Srinivas
Directed By: Danny Boyle with co-director Loveleen Tandan
Written By: Simon Beaufoy
Theatrical Release Date: November 12, 2008
DVD Release Date: March 31, 2009
Running Time: 2 hours
R for some violence, disturbing images and language.
The Film
Now that Slumdog Millionaire swept most of the categories it was nominated for
at this year’s Oscar ceremony, I was able to watch the film again on DVD, and
let my gripes rest. I must be honest. In my news report and my weekly rants on
the podcasts, whenever I mentioned this movie, it was all negative. I still
feel it was far from the best film of the year, but I did genuinely enjoy
myself when I saw it for the first time. I strongly considered decreasing my
rating, but no matter how much I disagreed with the amount of statues it took
home, the film was indeed well made and thoroughly compelling. The following is
my original review.
For the majority of moviegoers all over the world, seeing the real India is not
common on the big screen. Occasionally a film is released, but rarely does its
popularity increase enough to show people what the country is actually like.
Slumdog Millionaire reveals India in its true form, the beauty and the
ugliness. This is an adventure of the highest caliber, and a pinnacle for
Director Danny Boyle. It will agitate a wide range of emotions deep within you
to the surface. You will smile, clench your fists, turn your head in fear, and
maybe even shed a tear or two. It is a joyously unique take on an electrifying
story.
As Slumdog Millionaire opens, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) has already won
10,000,000 rupees on the Indian version of the game show Who Wants to be a
Millionaire. We the viewers are even asked a question as one would be as a
contestant, but I’ll leave that for you to discover. Jamal grew up as a boy
from the slums of Mumbai, and would be on the run most of his life. How could
he be answering all these questions correctly when those of higher education
had never attained that level? He must be cheating. To prove this, the Police
Inspector (Irfan Khan) and his Sergeant interrogate and torture him to dig out
the truth. He claims he just knew the answers, and proceeds to express various
instances in his life which relate to the questions he received. This journey
takes him through many adventures with his brother Salim, numerous villains,
and the love of his life Latika.
The manner in which Slumdog Millionaire is woven together is what makes the
story so enthralling and entertaining. The questions become stories, and the
stories act as a tale from childhood to that of a young man still searching for
his impossible romance. The plot threads lace around one another in such a
glorious and organic way that the suspense becomes maddening, and that is a
good thing. The characters we encounter along Jamal’s path to the chair make a
lasting impact because of what they mean in terms of the money he is building
and the advances in difficulty. You’ll be surprised at how much you remember
since this is divided into sections, but those sections uncoil as one fine
piece of work.
This is a movie that is sure to make strides with luring more viewers into
watching a story with subtitles. It has that in common with Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon and Pan’s Labyrinth. To be honest, this includes many scenes with
the cast exchanging in English, but a huge chunk is communicated in Hindi
subtitles, albeit very creative and colorful ones, and this could easily serve
as an introductory film for those contemplating that leap into enjoying a full
film in a different language. This will attract people of any language because
its themes are universal: rags to riches and love.
Singling out specific actors in this picture is not easy since the three main
characters of Jamal, Latika, and Salim are played by three different performers
of varying ages. And everyone possesses chemistry like a unit. If anyone is
deserving of individual praise it is Dev Patel, who portrays the older Jamal,
and sits in the millionaire’s seat with the face of a kid who has gone through
hell and back, yet has never given up on his dreams. The most notable name in
the cast is Irfan Khan, who has been developing a solid reputation after
supporting roles in such terrific films like The Namesake, The Darjeeling
Limited, and A Mighty Heart. Most of this journey is experienced right along
with Jamal, but it is important to think from the Inspector’s point of view as
well. Anyone in that position would assume foul play is involved. The biggest
compliment afforded to those who occupy one of multiple people in the same role
is that they all look and act like
Jamal, Latika, and Sailm at any age.
This is Danny Boyle’s finest hour. It is his most accessible effort to date,
and easily the one that will age best on his resume. I have always felt Boyle
was very overrated. I admire his cracks at so many genres, but up until now, I
have never felt any of his films were better than average. Trainspotting, A
Life Less Ordinary, The Beach, 28 Days Later…, and Sunshine are all either
mediocre or given too much credit, though Millions was commendable. That is
neither here nor there though because I can safely say Slumdog Millionaire
illustrates all of the strengths Boyle has expressed in his career, but has
never fully sharpened. With co-director Loveleen Tandan, Boyle employs a crisp,
clean, and bracing pace with fresh visuals, exhilarating action, and smooth
transitions between segments.
The breakneck screenplay by Simon Beaufoy, based on the novel Q&A by Vikas
Swarup, incorporates an inspiring story with an energizing mood and hypnotizing
characters much like City of God. That really is the only carping I can throw
at Slumdog Millionaire. Its method of storytelling is matchless, but the plot
itself has been done before, just not in India. What Boyle and company
accomplish to rise out of that film's shadow at least a little bit is
unleashing so many unforgettable sequences, such as the one involving an Indian
movie star and one unfortunate toilet trip, or the ruse the brothers pull at
the Taj Mahal, which is priceless.
Every crew member was no doubt healthy and prepared to dish out their A game
for this venture. Anthony Dod Mantle’s cinematography is stunning and
all-encompassing, Chris Dickens’ editing evokes a snap-crackle-pop like the
1960 French film Breathless, and A.R. Rahman’s vivacious soundtrack is
absorbing and utilizes great songs like M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” or the cool
Bollywood dance number at the end. Slumdog Millionaire is a sensational feat,
and even though it operates with an unknown cast, subtitles, and takes place in
a foreign country, I urge anyone reading this review to spend the two hours and
to give it a chance. I promise you won’t be disappointed, and will want to
stand up and cheer.
The Video
Unlike many films which transpire around the slums, or in a poverty stricken
area of a certain country, Slumdog Millionaire is undeniably colorful. From the
innovative subtitles to the costumes and the glorious camera framing, one thing
is for sure, and that is the fact that Danny Boyle and company made the slums
look as good as they possibly could. Of course they filmed at the Taj Mahal and
other tourist locations, but you get the idea. Slumdog is a dazzling affair
visually, and watching Jamal on the set of Who Wants to be a Millionaire draws
our gaze to him intensely throughout. Boyle utilized multiple different cameras
for this picture, and the avid viewer will be able to notice this as the
polished qualities and grain tend to vary from scene to scene. I can assure you
that the video looks the way it is supposed to, and if the cleanliness seems
unbalanced, it has nothing to do with the transfer. This is presented in
anamorphic widescreen with an
aspect ratio of 2.35:1.
The Audio
The audio department was sufficiently handled, with a smooth balance in audio
and music. A.R. Rahman’s award winning score and songs influence and drive the
storyline heavily, and thankfully they do not drown out the dialogue in this
case. I would not label Slumdog as an action picture, but it definitely
provides the thrills, which include fast paced chases and gun fire, both of
which result in a nice assortment of sound effects that come across the
speakers wonderfully. All the characters were completely lucid and clear, and
when the subtitles were used, they were easily visible. This includes a Dolby
Digital 5.1 track that is terrific, as well as subtitles in English.
The Packaging
Slumdog Millionaire is distributed in a standard black keep case. The artwork
on the cover is exactly like the poster, but makes creative use of popular
critics’ quotes, and has a bright gold “Best Picture” label on the top. The
menu consists of scrolling images from the film and music. They are easy to
navigate.
The Extras
Audio Commentaries - The first track is with Director Danny Boyle and actor Dev
Patel. It was nice of Boyle to include Patel, so as to have someone beside him,
but he adds very little to this commentary aside from the occasional
observation and agreement with Boyle. Boyle talks a lot, and could easily have
handled the duty on his own. He touches on locations a great deal, in addition
to cast praise (especially minor characters), and smaller details that only a
director would be concerned with. Dev discusses his own experiences and that’s
about it.
The second track includes Producer Christian Colson and Screenwriter Simon
Beaufoy. Beaufoy does most of the speaking of these two as he converses about
his script, what was kept, and what was not. They touch on scene transitions a
lot, but also mention trouble with Taj Mahal tour guides that felt they were
disrespected. Beaufoy chats about the last minute jokes, subtleties, and other
intentions. Both commentaries were about equal I’d say, but I would urge people
to listen to Danny Boyle’s first. He is a bit more enthusiastic and animated in
his discussion, and has more to offer in terms of thoughts on the entire
process.
Deleted Scenes (33:35) – You will definitely get your money’s worth in deleted
scenes because this DVD is packed with them. The titles of them are very long,
and I would display them, but really why do you need to see the titles? I will
talk about the few I enjoyed. As a whole, this film had masterful editing from
Chris Dickens, which I praised in my review. Most of the deleted scenes could
be described as stating the obvious because they simply make us aware of things
that were better left implied, such as when Jamal and Salim watch the opera
under the bleachers. Among my favorite cut sequences was one where we see how
young Latika gets her yellow dress. Another is an entire question from the show
that was cut, but Boyle did not want the audience to feel like they were only
watching Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The last of them is a moment with older
Jamal and Salim as they argue on Jamal’s love for Latika.
Slumdog Dreams: Danny Boyle and the Making of Slumdog Millionaire (22:56) –
This is a typical bonus on DVD’s. This is a bit longer, and is divided into 2
parts. Interviews with the cast and crew cover the adaptation, story structure,
title changes, casting, and the filming process. They also are very excited to
discuss the locations and dancing sequences. This is worth watching just to see
Danny Boyle in action as director. We observe him instructing the younger
performers. I’m not sure how other people act when they insert a DVD, but
usually at my house, if we really liked the film, we watch the “making of”
featurette immediately following. This is a good one to do that with.
Slumdog Cutdown (5:34) – This is for all those people that enjoy posting
YouTube videos of films cut down to a few minutes. The crew of Slumdog
Millionaire do it themselves here with this music montage that runs the film
from start to finish.
Previews - The disc begins with previews of: Notorious, S. Darko, Bottle Shock,
and The Other End of the Line.
The Film: 9.0/10.0
The Video: 8.5/10.0
The Audio: 7.5/10.0
The Packaging: 7.5/10.0
The Extras: 8.0/10.0
The 411: Slumdog Millionaire is definitely a terrific film, just like Crash
was, but what the two have in common is that as the years pass, more and more
will realize that it will not age as well as many other films of 2008.
Nevertheless, it was directed with heart by Danny Boyle, acted with passion by
the cast, and injected with energy by crew. The DVD is fairly basic with
satisfactory technical specifications, and average extras. This is the type of
film, I would not recommend for Blu-Ray, despite the added features they
contain. This edition will suffice just fine. Overall, one could continue the
debate on whether or not it deserved its awards for days, but the movie is
worth owning on DVD.
Final Score: 8.0 [ Very Good ] legend
