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By the time of Lean's celebrated return to the screen in 1985, with the critical community sufficiently cowed, the then seventy eight-year-old grand old man of the cinema seemed to have discovered previously untapped reserves of chutzpah, writing, directing, and editing his own adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel, Passage to India. Deciding that Forster's depiction of the culture clash between the English colonialists and the Indian populace during the period of the British Raj was "outdated," he toned down that aspect by, among other things, substituting a heartwarming final reconciliation between the English schoolteacher Fielding (James Fox), and the Indian Dr. Aziz (Victor Bannerjee), for the novel's bitter parting of the ways ("[I]f it's fifty-five hundred years we shall get rid of you, yes, we shall drive every blasted Englishman into the sea," Aziz shouts at Fielding).
Although Lean has some fun twitting the stuffy and arrogant English colonialists, he has considerably softened Forster's political critique and jettisoned virtually all of the novel's philosophical complexity. Choosing to interpret it as a "personal, not a political story," Lean emphasizes the role of Adela Quested (who, as portrayed by Judy Davis, is much more attractive than Forster's character) at the expense of the more thematically relevant Mrs. Moore, who now disappears rather mysteriously from the story.
The film is lovely to look at, with some marvelous cinematic set-pieces-the grand reception for the Viceroy, the train and elephant trek to the Mirabar Caves, some moonlit shots of the Ganges-but the simplified story now focuses on Adela's sexual awakening and her hysterical allegation of rape against Aziz. Having stripped away much of what distinguished Forster's novel, one wonders what qualities, apart from its literary prestige value, drew Lean to the book in the first place.
While David Lean was most noted for his considerable cinematic skills as a storyteller, he was also admittedly well known for his decided lack of interest in politics or the broader social setting of his various film subjects. It is possible to admire a filmmaker for his or her artistic and technical skills while remaining painfully aware of their shortcomings elsewhere. It was this realization which, many years ago, led me and fellow film school classmates to play a game in which we would cobble together our own idealized, composite filmmaker, taking, say, 30% of Billy Wilder (for his acerbic wit), 40% of Orson Welles or David Lean (for their visual style), and perhaps 30% of Jean Renoir (for his engaged humanism) or Gillo Pontecorvo (for his political commitment). If I were to play this game today, I think I'd still start with a large percentage of David Lean.--Gary Crowdus
Laserdisc Distribution Sources:
In Which We Serve: CLV, 115 mins., B&W; includes theatrical trailer; a Criterion Collection laserdisc from The Voyager Company.
Brief Encounter, CLV, 86 mins., B&W; includes theatrical trailer and audio commentary; a Criterion Collection laserdisc.
Great Expectations: CLV, 118 mins., B&W; a Criterion Collection laserdisc.
Oliver Twist: CLV, 116 mins., B&W; includes theatrical trailer; a Criterion Collection laserclisc. Hobson's Choice: CLV, 107 mins., B&W; a Criterion Collection laserdisc.
Summertime: CLV, 98 mins., color; a Criterion Collection laserdisc.
The Bridge on the River Kwai: Sides 1 and 4 in CAV, sides 2 and 3 in CLV, 167 mins., color, letterboxed, with Dolby Stereo Surround soundtrack; includes theatrical re-release trailer; a Columbia TriStar Home Video laserdisc.
Lawrence of Arabia: CAV, 217 mins., color, letterboxed, with Dolby Stereo Surround soundtrack; includes production photos; a Criterion Collection laserdisc.
Doctor Zhivago: Sides 1 through 6 CLV, Side 7 CAV, 200 mins., color, letterboxed, with AC-3 Digital Dolby Surround soundtrack, plus three sides of supplementary materials; an MGM/UA Home Video laserdisc.
Ryan's Daughter: CLV, 194 mins., color, letterboxed, with Dolby Stereo Surround soundtrack; includes theatrical trailer; an MGM/UA Home Video laserdisc.
Passage to India: CLV, 163 mins., color, with Dolby Stereo Surround soundtrack; a Columbia TriStar Home Video laserdisc.
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