vrbass-1

This film is one of the worst melodramas I have ever seen. The plot is witless and contrived, the songs are boring and the acting is wooden. Just when you think it couldn't get any worse, some ridiculous plot twist comes flying in from the clouds.

I am no fan of Salman Khan and while I am still willing to give Ash a chance, this film is the sort of junk that gave her a bad reputation in the first place.

I will say, however, that the photography and sound were good, so it wasn't completely painful to watch. It's only bad when you pay attention to the actors or the script.

You have better things to do with your time, believe me.

What a film! This one will grab your attention from the opening frames and keep you riveted to your seat for three hours of excitement.

Even to a modern viewer, who is accustomed to watching today's auto racing from tiny wireless cockpit cameras, the visual style of this movie is fresh and stunningly exciting. The camera work is astounding and the editing is still avant garde. In fact, except for a brief, cheesy party scene and some skinny ties, the film still looks totally modern. It is what we would call a docudrama today, though John Frankenheimer basically invented a melange of actors driving actual race cars at racing speeds, mixed with footage of the professionals driving the same courses in real races the next day. The result is electrifying.

The romantic subplots are probably the weak link, but they are certainly handled well enough to make you care about the characters. The central relationships, of course, are between the drivers, who compete sometimes to the death during the day, then socialize at night like college buddies. "Grand Prix" captures international auto racing at the peak of its development, when it was still dangerous, individualistic and romantic.

The restoration of the film is flawless - clean, brilliantly saturated visuals with fabulous sound. The bonus material on the DVD is fascinating and insightful, featuring interviews with not only the director and many of the actors, but some of the F1 racing luminaries of the time, too.

If I could give it a 9.5, I would do so. Except for the thinness of a couple of the romantic complications, I would call this a perfect film.

A modest little film about two Indians in America, one whose family immigrated when he was a small child, the other only two weeks in the US. The first has only vague memories and his mother's stories about his former homeland; they are dreams of a place where you can bathe in the holy rivers. The other has only vague notions of the freedoms that are possible in America; he attempts to escape the oppression of home in the "land of the free". A chance meeting on the New York subway connects them, with talk of film songs and favorite foods. The surprise twist and conflict towards the end forces both men to quietly contemplate where they are and where they have been.