*Slumdog Millionaire (2-Disc)*
A teenager from the Mumbai slums (Patel) finds himself in the hot seat of a
popular game show one question away from the top prize. But did he cheat or
is he really that smart?
[image: IS IT A GOOD MOVIE?]
There’s a reason critics and the general audience describe a movie
like *Slumdog
Millionaire* using words like “uplifting” and “dazzling” and “triumphant.”
It’s not to get blurbed on the Blu-ray cover or to hop on the bandwagon.
It’s because those *are* the words to describe a movie like this.
It’s directed by Danny Boyle (with overlooked co-director Loveleen Tandan),
the British filmmaker whose majority of films up to the point, including the
gritty *Trainspotting*, zombie flick *28 Days Later*, and the bungled sci-fi
*Sunshine*, have been designed with a specific audience in mind. And now
here is *Slumdog Millionaire*, partly in Hindi, shot entirely in India, yet
entirely appealing to the masses.
Written by Simon Beaufoy, based off Vikas Swarup’s 2005 novel, ‘QA,’ *
Slumdog* is a Dickensian story about Jamal (Dev Patal, also Ayush Mahesh
Khedekar as the young Jamal), a teenager from the Mumbai slums who becomes a
contestant on an Indian version of *Who Wants to Be a Millionaire*. One
question away from 20 million rupees, the host (Anil Kapoor) and authorities
grow curious. “Doctorshttp://www.joblo.com/dvdclinic/dvd_review.php?id=2391#,
lawyers never get past 60 thousand rupees. What can a slumdog possibly
know?”
Did he cheat? Is he merely lucky? Or is he really a genius?
As the movie progresses, it becomes less about the answer to those questions
than about how he knows the *Millionaire* answers, but often wishes he
doesn’t. As slums turn to skyscrapers, we watch as Jamal answers questions
about Hindu god Rama, Samuel Colt, and a record-holding cricketer, all of
which trigger violent and regrettable flashbacks from his past involving his
mother, older brother Salim (Madhur Mittal, also Azharuddin Mohammed
Ismail), who he pawned, begged, and thwarted greasy gangsters with in their
younger years, and their third musketeer, Latika (Freida Pinto, also Rubina
Ali), who Jamal falls in love with early on.
This is a movie that relies on convenience and will be hard for some to
swallow (“An American tourist just *happens* to give Jamal a hundred dollar
bill, huh?? And he just *happens* to get that question ’bout Ben Franklin,
huh??”), as will the self-congratulatory coda, a Bollywood-inspired dance
sequence set to Best Original
Songhttp://www.joblo.com/dvdclinic/dvd_review.php?id=2391#winner
“Jai Ho.”
But check it at the door, because *Slumdog Millionaire* is just as much
fantasy as it is drama, action, crime,
musicalhttp://www.joblo.com/dvdclinic/dvd_review.php?id=2391#,
and romance. It’s a beautiful blend of genres that, because of the
part-gritty/part-fantastical cinematography (Anthony Dod Mantle), faithful
score (A.R. Rahman), primarily native cast, and passionate direction from
Boyle and Tandan, is a success, and one of the most “uplifting,” “dazzling,”
and “triumphant” movies in a very long time.
[image: VIDEO/AUDIO]
*Video:* 2.35:1 Widescreen in 1080p High Definition with AVC codec.
*Audio:* English/Hindi 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. French 5.1 Dolby Digital.
Subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.
As *Slumdog Millionaire* was shot on various film stocks, the video transfer
is hit-and-miss, with strong colors for a bulk of the film, but a good
amount of grain showing in some of the flashbacks.
The audio transfer is the real gem here, with the Oscar-winning A.R. Rahman
score being put to good use during many scenes.
[image: THE EXTRAS]
*Disc One:*
*Commentary by Director Danny Boyle and Star Dev Patel:* If you saw any of
the awards season interviews with Boyle and Patel, it should be no surprise
that the two have great chemistry. The two offer a fun and insightful track,
noting production stories and having an overall comfortable time doing so. A
must listen.
*Commentary by Producer Christian Colson and Writer Simon Beaufoy:* This
second track is weak compared to the first, but is still highly informative
and worth hearing.
*Deleted Scenes (33:51):* There are 12 here, including an extended chase
sequence, Prem at the police station, an extra *Millionaire* question
regarding the Taj Mahal, and Jamal confessing to Salim about his “destiny.”
All of these scenes are great and add to the characters and depth of the
story. Absolutely worth watching.
*Slumdog Dreams: Danny Boyle and the Making of Slumdog Millionaire
(21:58):*This two-part documentary features clips, behind-the-scenes
footage, and
interviews with Boyle, Patel, Beaufoy, and others. Topics include how the
project came about, finding the perfect cast, shoot on location, and the
different equipment used. Unfortunately, as was the case around awards
season, co-director (India) Loveleen Tandan goes virtually unmentioned.
*Slumdog Cutdown (5:36)* is a condensed version of the film set to “Jai Ho.”
