Product Details

• Actors: Shashi Kapoor, Simi Garewal, Romesh Sharma, Pinchoo Kapoor, Zul Vellani
• Directors: Conrad Rooks
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: German (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: December 10, 2002
• Run Time: 89 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000714B5
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,630 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Siddhartha" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

SIDDHARTHA - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars read the book first!, February 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Siddhartha (DVD)

If you have read the book by Herman Hesse and loved it, you will most probably love this film too. It is a good attempt to transfer Hesse's philosophical treatise to screen - and any attempt at transmitting such writing is bound to fall short in some ways to some people. Some of my 'favourite bits' were cut, but overall I love the film and will be watching it again.
HOWEVER
if you have not read the book, then I recommend you read it before watching the film; otherwise it may seem disjointed.
Also, you will then realise that Siddhartha is NOT the buddha - that he was a seeker after truth, -until he gave up seeking- and would accept no other persons version of truth - not even the Buddha's (who he meets in the film). (The experience of realisation is incommunicable).
Those who 'follow' or 'belong', -Buddhists or prospective Buddhists - would do well to "follow" Siddhartha's example as even the Buddha in the Pali canon states: 'accept no teacher, follow no one, rely on your self'. Hesse's Siddhartha essentially is expounding the philosophy of Advaita, or nonduality.
I suspect this explains some of the 'misconceived' reviews below.
Picture quality: although the film was made in 1972 it has been expertly restored and whoever has done the transfer to dvd did a good job because the picture quality is better than many transfers of more recent films.
Recommended

110 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This Siddhartha is Not Enlightening, July 21, 2003

By 

Angelo McCabe (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Siddhartha (DVD)

Since your initial desire to see this film is because you fell in love, as I did, and countless millions, with Hesse's novel, there is no need to go over the plot. Having waited for so long for this film to make it to DVD, I was immensely disappointed, even a little peeved, when I finally got to sit down and watch it. Here's why: Although the film was beautifully shot, great cinematography does not a good film make. All of the scenes are flat and utterly fail to capture even the slightest essence of what Hesse sublimely achieved in the book. As the writer of the screenplay, Conrad Rooks missed the boat entirely. For example, when Siddhartha confronts his father about striking out on his own, the scene is this quick ping-pong typ of edit between the father and son; it's over in a flash and you get no idea about the struggle or the love that either one feels. No dramatic tension, no cost, and hence no pay-off whatsoever. One of the most beautiful moments in the book is when Siddhartha meets Kamala at her palace. Again, 99.9% of the essence of the scene Hesse created is just omitted or forgotten by Rooks and the actors in his film. And the dialog that is in the script seems like it was just lifted haphazardly from the novel, without any true understanding from either the director or the actors about what it means or what's truly going on. Flat, flat, flat!Unfortunately, the film gets no help from the actors. Sashi Kapoor as Siddhartha seems lost (as the actor) and utter lifeless. And there was absolutely no chemistry between him and the actress playing Kamala. The only scene that even gets close is when Siddhartha meets the Buddha in the forest -- and the wonder of that scene is achieved from the voiceover Buddha, who you do not even see on the screen. The music in the film is very good however, but again, that is just not enough. Sadly, the weakest links in the film are the director, his screenplay, uninspiring actors and an inability to direct those actors. In the end, Conrad Rooks' Siddhartha is a major disappointment. A remake that does Hesse's book justice is long overdue, and I do not recommend it. I feel that Bertolucci's "Little Buddha" with Keanu Reeves as the historic Siddhartha (Gotama) fully achieved and captured the beauty, mystery and transcendence that is on the spiritual journey.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, July 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Siddhartha (DVD)

I first saw this movie on television in the UK in the late 1970s. I remember being non-plussed by the first thirty minutes or so of the picture but, to be honest, I was more of a fan of action TV and comedy then. As the story progressed I became more and more entranced by the tranquility of the film, I also felt as if many of the struggles the leading character was facing echoed the changes I was undergoing in my own life at that time. Were I a man of literary leaning or a devout and knowing Buddhist I may have seen the faults that other reviewers have pointed out but, as a "simpleton" in these matters, I remember finding the film to be simply and truly moving.

The spirit of the film remained with me lifelong and I felt driven to enquire if the film was to be released on DVD. I was delighted to discover that the release was imminent. While waiting I dutifuly read the book and was delighted that the story was still so familiar.

Twenty five yeas later the film does not dissapoint. Occasionaly it is a little strident in an architypal 70's way but, other than that, it remains quite enchanting and a tribute to the plaintive existence.