Siddhartha - A film about Buddha Shakyamuni

Hi Everybody,

This is an email I received recently.  I'm posting it here in case any of you are interested.  Got to go!

Om mani padme hum

Lu


*****************************************

Dear friends,
I apologize for the group mailing, but we wanted all those who are interested in Buddhism to know that after many years, we have finally acquired and now releasing on VHS and DVD for the first time ever, Conrad Rooks' SIDDHARTHA. The information is below. If you are interested, we're very happy to hear from you! If not, and you'd like to be removed from this mailing list, please don't hesitate to email back and we'll do that immediately. Thank you!

Very truly yours,
Dennis Doros and Amy Heller
Milestone Film & Video

MILESTONE FILM & VIDEO
Presents
Now Available For the First Time on VHS and DVD
siddhartha
A Film by Conrad Rooks. Based on the Novel by Hermann Hesse.
Collector’s Edition: Mastered from the Newly Restored 35mm Negative

Order Now for December 3, 2002 Release!

"One of the most profoundly beautiful films ever created… An extraordinary achievement on all possible levels." – Phil Hall, Film Threat

When filmmaker Conrad Rooks decided to film Siddhartha, the novel by Nobel Prize-winner Hermann Hesse, he traveled to India with legendary cinematographer Sven Nykvist. There, bewitched by the shimmering beauty and magic of this ancient land, they transformed Hesse’s tale into widescreen poetry.

Siddhartha is a glorious evocation of the Buddha and of each person’s search for self-knowledge and the divine within.

Siddhartha. India/USA. 1972. Color. 85 minutes. Letterboxed. English Language. Cinematography by Sven Nykvist.

VHS and DVD Bonus Features: Original theatrical trailer and a 30-Minute interview with director Conrad Rooks!

Additional DVD Bonus Features: The original shooting script with paintings by Conrad Rooks, alternate German and Spanish soundtracks, still gallery.

Price: 29.95 plus $5.00 shipping and handling for the first tape and 75 cents for each additional in the US, $6.00 to Canada for the first tape and $1.00 for each additional. Milestone accepts American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, institutional purchase orders and personal checks made out on US banks. Order by phone, email or fax to the addresses below.

The Press kit for Siddhartha is available at http://www.milestonefilms.com/presspages/Pressinfo.html

See also, our other film, Bae Yong-kyun’s Zen masterpiece from Korea, WHY HAS BODHI-DHARMA LEFT FOR THE EAST? now on VHS and DVD.

For Orders, More Information or to request being removed from this email mailing list, contact:
Dennis Doros or Amy Heller
Milestone Film & Video
PO Box 128
Harrington Park, NJ 07640
Phone: (800) 603-1104 or outside the US: (201) 767-3117
Fax: (201) 767-3035
Email: milefilms@aol.com
www.milestonefilms.com

"Since its birth  … the Milestone Film & Video Co. has steadily become the industry’s foremost boutique distributor of classic and art films — and probably the only distributor in America whose name is actually a guarantee of some quality." — William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Milestone Film & Video is an art-film distributor that has released some of the most distinguished new movies (along with seldom-seen vintage movie classics) of the past decade" — Stephen Holden, New York Times

:)
Have you (or anyone else here) seen the Siddhartha movie?  It does get some good reviews.
I think I saw WHY HAS BODHI-DHARMA LEFT FOR THE EAST? if I am remembering correctly.  The movie I remember was very strange!  It was not a movie about Zen, but a Zen movie - non-conceptual, non-verbal, intuitive if you are there with the intuitive, just confusing if you aren't.

from another source:
Siddhartha
It is the film that almost single-handedly revived interest in author Herman Hesse, at a time when introspection and Zen were all the rage on college campuses. Unavailable in any format for many years, this beautifully restored print of Conrad Rooks’ Siddhartha is a leisurely stroll along one man’s path to self-discovery. It follows young Brahmin Siddhartha (Sashi Kapoor) as he experiments with various states of mind, life and love. More than just of cult relic of the psychedelic era, it is a lovely, evocative piece and the opportunity to see this new print on the big screen is to be savored. Features the great Sven Nyquist’s dazzling color cinematography that does justice to the beauty of Northern India.

...
Winner of the Silver Lion Award at the Venice film festival, Siddhartha was not well received by American critics, but the audience in the country, ripped apart by the war in Vietnam and the aftermath of the civil rights movement, took a liking to the film.

For those in India who remember, Siddhartha was rife with controversies from the get go. Rooks, who was reportedly encouraged by Raj Kapoor to become a filmmaker, had a difficult time convincing the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to shoot the film. The Indian government had been disappointed by Louis Malle's 1969 documentary series, Phantom India, and it was reluctant to once again take a risk with a Western filmmaker.

Rooks eventually used the influence of his friend, the Maharaja of Bharatpur and even Indira Gandhi to be allowed to shoot the film. The film was actually shot at the height of India-Pakistan's war over Bangladesh's independence.

Then there was the kissing and the nude scenes between Kapoor and Garewal and the erotic still shots inspired by the Khajuraho temple statues. The Indian film gossip magazines had a field day. No Bollywood stars of the time had posed nude or kissed on screen.

Siddhartha tested the patience of the film censor board in India, but eventually the film was released, with limited cuts.

The restored Siddhartha lives up to all the excitement it generated when it was originally made.

As Kamala, the ravishing Garewal is at her sophisticated best, although her performance appears stilted.

Siddhartha needs to be viewed for its leisurely pace and its stunning photography. The film was shot by the master of light and shade Swedish cinematographer Sven Nykvist, who worked on practically all of Ingmar Berman's films. Most of the film was shot in Northern India in and around the holy city of Hrishikesh and in the private estate of the Maharaja of Bharatpur.