The Buddha

This is a well-designed and paced documentary on the life of the Buddha (I have read a few and this is a great synopsis.) It is presented through soundbites from artists, poets, monks, and others. We also get the stories augmented with drawings or watercolors. The narration is by Richard Gere. This is a short review but it is not easy to include the details of the presentation without giving a presentation. Besides the different insights into Buddhism, the thing that I took away was the different locations where Buda was born, died, and received enlightenment.

I only saw the Blu-ray version so I cannot compare. However, there is a small documentary on the making of the documentary. You will need to rewatch the presentation as it is packed with information and ideas that do not give you too much time to think in-between.

I found this documentary very instructive. I saw it on PBS, which is very well known for its high quality documentaries. And this one just follows that tradition. Buddhism is a beautiful religion/philosophy and was portrayed in the documentary in a simple and easy to understand manner. The music adequately accompanies the narration and the beautiful animations.

The Buddha's story is very touching and reflects the endless quest of humanity for peace. Peace starts with one's self, to be able to reflect it on the outside world.

Personnaly, it opened my eyes and heart at life. Will definitely meditate more often now. Highly recommended.

This documentary was quite light on information and expertise - one of the main speakers had a byline that just said 'poet' - but I guess this is meant as a first introduction to Buddhism so that is understandable.

On the other hand, the visual background consists of beautiful art and well chosen images that made this an enjoyable watch even if the viewer doesn't learn very much.

This is a beautiful and poetic production covering who the Buddha was and why we should care. In particular, I love the tone of this documentary, which avoids the flash and quick pacing of so many productions and instead opts for the qualities that may be ascribed to the Buddha himself.

This is a very informative documentary, and one that doesn't try to shove anything down your throat. Nor does it try to use guilt or fear in an attempt to sell some sort of moral message to the viewer. It simply just gives you as much info that is known about the life of the Buddha. It also explains some of the teachings and beliefs that the Buddha went on to develop and share. This film gives a general overview of the Buddhist way of life and thought. The pace of this documentary is also very good, this aspect makes it very easy to pay attention. Richard Gere with his smooth voice also suits the film perfectly as the narrator. And of course he is also a Buddhist himself. The visuals are great here as well. I highly recommend this to everyone. Whether you consider yourself a spiritual person or not, this is certainly worth a look. It is very interesting stuff, and this is well crafted material. Check it out!

9/10