Product Details

• Actors: Dalai Lama, Harrison Ford, Michael Beckwith, Fred Alan Wolf, Amit Goswami
• Format: Full Screen, NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Wakan Films
• DVD Release Date: May 29, 2009
• Run Time: 81 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0029193N8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,946 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Dalai Lama Renaissance, which is narrated by actor Harrison Ford, is the winner of 12 awards, and the official selection of over 40 international film festivals.

The documentary film has played in theaters in over 100 cities in the U.S., as well as in cinemas around the world. At the edge of the Millennium, the Dalai Lama of Tibet invited 40 of the West's leading, most innovative thinkers to his residence in the Himalayan Mountains of Northern India to discuss the world's problems and how we can solve them. What transpired was unexpected and powerful, and captured by an 18-person 5-camera film crew.

The film features quantum physicists Fred Alan Wolf and Amit Goswami (from What the Bleep Do We Know), Dr. Michael Beckwith (from The Secret),national radio host Thom Hartmann, revolutionary social scientist Jean Houston, activist Vandana Shiva (from the film The Corporation), and others. Beautifully filmed exotic scenery and Tibetan and Indian culture.

"SPELLBINDING... An uplifting cathartic journey that grips the soul."
"An inspirational revelation for mankind... An everlasting awakening of the heart and mind."
- Actress Diane Ladd - 3-time Oscar & Emmy nominee

"Yes I like your questions..."
"Certainly, your effort can make some contribution there s no doubt."
- The 14th Dalai Lama - (to "DLR" Producer-Director Khashyar Darvich)

"a provocative, even enlightening film."
"fascinating, ravishingly beautiful and sonically soothing."
- John Griffin - Montreal Gazette

"a moving form of visual poetry"
"Captures momentous magic. Applause to the filmmakers for revealing the jewel in the lotus The film is an intimate and stirring testimony"
- Donna Strong - Awareness Magazine

"an extraordinary portrait of His Holiness at work."
"Some of the best comic scenes in any new film out there right now"
- Bob Graham - San Francisco Bay Times

"It is a stunning tour-de-force"
"intimate glimpse into the Dalai Lama's life"
- Amy Wong - LA Yoga Magazine

"Dalai Lama Renaissance is an interesting portrayal of human ego pitted against compassion and altruism, exemplifying the very essence of the issues facing the world today."
- Todd Mayville - Elephant Journal

"Fire up this DVD and prepare to be amazed... The film has a certain persuasive power... Hilarious."
- Ross Robertson - EnlightenNext Magazine

"The film rapidly grabs hold of youÖ There is plenty of humorÖ [a] top-notch comedyÖ A journey of self-discoveryÖ The lessons of Dalai Lama Renaissance apply just as much to the audience watching this insightful documentary"
- Ian Bartholomew - Taipei Times, Taiwan

"I narrated Dalai Lama Renaissance, because I believe His Holiness is making a positive influence in our world. For me, the film represented an opportunity to continue assisting the optimistic efforts of an extraordinary individual."
- Harrison Ford - actor, narrator of "Dalai Lama Renaissance"

"Marvelous film!"
"Dalai Lama Renaissance reminds us of some most important lessons."
- Frederick Marx Co-Filmmaker, "Hoop Dreams," and Academy Award nominee


105 minutes of additional Special Bonus Features included on the DVD.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, Inspiring Film - you feel like the Dalai Lama is right there, June 18, 2009

By 

Lena - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dalai Lama Renaissance (narrated by Harrison Ford) (DVD)

I saw "Dalai Lama Renaissance" in a theater when it had its theatrical release in the U.S., and I was very moved by this film, and can understand why it won 12 awards: It was both unexpectedly funny and profoundly moving, and presents an intimate experience with the Dalai Lama.

I have watched a few other films about and featuring the Dalai Lama, and I have seen him speak in person in an auditorium, but "Dalai Lama Renaissance" surprised me in that, like no other documentary film about the Dalai Lama that I had seen before, it really captures the intimate presence of the Dalai Lama. You feel that you are in the room with him as you watch this film. Perhaps it is the fact that the film is shot with 4 or 5 cameras (with many different angles), and perhaps it is also because the film so skillfully shows how the Dalai Lama, through his wisdom, humor and compassion, transforms the people who encounter him in this film. The characters in the film who meet the Dalai Lama are a vehicle for the audience to also experience their own personal journey.

When I began watching the film, because of the beautiful images and music, as well as the masterful storytelling and colorful characters, I soon began to feel that I was one of the participants in the film, and that I had stepped into the film and was a part of the journey to meet the Dalai Lama.

In "Dalai Lama Renaissance," you really see some of the characters go through a profound personal transformation (in the presence of the wise, personable and funny Dalai Lama), and (this has very rarely happened to me while watching a film) I myself felt myself going through an inner transformational journey of my own.

As the main characters in the film travel through India, I felt as if I were traveling through India. As the Westerners where discussing how to solve the world's problems and then their egos began to surface, I also felt something stir inside of me. And most importantly, when these Westerners began to experience an inner transformation in the powerful and inspiring presence of the Dalai Lama, I also felt something deep and powerful occur inside of me.

My dad was in the theater with me watching the film (he doesn't normally like any films other than Westerns and classic comedies), and I was struck by what he told me after "Dalai Lama Renaissance" was finished. He is as far away from Buddhism and spirituality as you can get, but he really liked the Dalai Lama, and was struck by how funny and common sense he was. I even think that the Dalai Lama got a little bit into my dad's skeptical heart :) But there was something that was even more striking: After watching the film, he at first was somewhat quiet. I looked over at him, and I saw emotion in his eyes. I asked him how he liked the film, and after a few moments, he told me that he saw himself in one of the cantankerous characters of the film. He said "I am him." At that moment, he told me that he realized that he had been living his life with a closed heart, and that he knew that he had to open his heart and love the people in his life.

I was almost speechless, but also grateful that one film could make such a powerful and positive impact on someone as skeptical as my father.

Needless to say, I am going to share the film with others in my life.

Here are some other quick thoughts about the film:

-I think that this film acts like a mirror, and will give every person the experience that they need to experience.

-It was both very funny and profoundly moving at the same time

-There were some remarkable quotes sprinkled throughout the film (at important "chapter" points) that really anchored the ideas of the film into your mind and heart.

-Aside from containing the documentary on the DVD, the filmmakers somehow were able to squeeze in 105 minutes of Special Features, including some very interesting behind-the-scenes interviews with the Dalai Lama, as well as the people who traveled to India to see and meet the Dalai Lama.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Group Dynamics, June 26, 2009

By 

L. Roulette (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dalai Lama Renaissance (narrated by Harrison Ford) (DVD)

As a "Tibetan Buddhist", I always enjoy hearing His Holiness the Dalai Lama's laugh. The suffering of aging is very real, but no matter how low I may be feeling, he makes me happy. He laughs and smiles often in this film. He also offers much wisdom.

As a retired Public Health Educator, Community Organizer and Administrator, I found the group dynamics to be of great interest. A group of very intelligent people from different disciplines came together to synthesize diverse approaches to world problems with the results to be offered to His Holiness the Dalai Lama for his consideration and possible use. Well, many successful, bright people also have big egos. Watch this film to see what happens.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much more than just another dry bio doc!!!, June 16, 2009

By 

tonyj "tonyj" (Santa Monica, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dalai Lama Renaissance (narrated by Harrison Ford) (DVD)

The Dalai Lama Renaissance is far more than just another factual documentary of the Dalai Lama, and has a special message not found in other movies on His Holiness (at least to my knowledge).

Basically a group of leading edge thinkers, heavy weights of science, philanthropy, politics, philosophy, economics and spirituality travel to the Himalayas for an audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in an attempt to fuse their separate disciplines into a unified approach in solving the world's problems. Such leaders include Dr. Michael Beckwith (The Secret), Fred Allan Wold and Amit Goswami (What the Bleep...?).


Before addressing His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the group, they have to reach a consensus of just what exactly they will be saying to Him. In their attempt to tackle the problems of the world, they inadvertently stumble upon the fundamental problem of human nature, the ego. Each participant has big ideas on how the world works according to their particular expertise. When an attempt is made to unite all these various perspectives into a coherent "Synthesis," it becomes apparent that the task isn't as easy as everyone had hoped. Even when everyone is separated into small groups in order to define the word "Synthesis" itself, the first exercise of the symposium, the sparks begin to fly. Egos are bruised, views are dismissed and frustrations are vented. As a viewer, you can't help but get caught up in the drama, which is both highly entertaining and highly thought provoking.

What makes this film unique among so many other great documentaries on the Dalai Lama is that it reveals not just the brilliance of these heavy weights but the flaws and insecurities. It shows these people in all their humanity and complexity. Movies like "What the Bleep do We Know?" and "The Secret," while excellent movies in their own right, tend (I feel) to portray the speakers as unassailable founts of wisdom, learning and insight. In the Dalai Lama Renaissance, some of the same people are shown getting frustrated with each, even to the point of hollering and bickering like children. The value of the whole event for many participants was not (as it turned out) in the opportunity it presented in revealing their brilliance to His Holiness, as some of them had hoped, but in their own emergence out of the darkness of their own ego. By the end of the event/film, each participant is renewed and transformed. To witness this is a remarkable experience, not often caught on camera.

Consequently it leaves the viewer more than simply informed about The Dalai Lama's life and message, His exile, China's occupation of Tibet etc. It forces the viewer to really ask some serious questions, which, as the life story of the Lord Gautama Buddha showed, is the first step to enlightenment.

There is also a lot of screen time devoted to the Dalai Lama Himself. Though not present during the heated discussions themselves, He is clearly aware of what the participants have been through and deals with it with His usual compassion, grace and understanding.