Customer Reviews

Slumdog Millionaire

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Fox Searchlight released the wrong DVD for retail sales (no special features) so wait for the next release but if you've purchased it already, call 888-223-4369 and they will mail you a new copy. Enjoy!

My one star rating is not for the film. I love this wonderful movie, and was looking forward to seeing the Special Features, as advertised on the back of the DVD, but all the DVD has for Special Features is extra trailers for other movies. There are supposed to be a commentary with the director and Dev Patel, 12 Deleted Scenes and a Behind the Scenes Documentary. All are missing. I bought my copy at an HMV in Calgary, Canada, and it appears this problem applies to DVDs sold in the States as well.

It turns out that Fox Searchlight plans on releasing DVD rental copies with NO SPECIAL FEATURES to video rental stores (a marketing ploy to force those who want the special features to go out and buy the DVD). However, it appears that they have screwed up and have released ALL DVDS INCLUDING THOSE FOR SALE TO RETAILERS with no special features as well.

IF I WERE YOU I WOULD WAIT UNTIL THIS PROBLEM IS FIXED BEFORE BUYING THE DVD.

[...].

As for the movie, it's really great. I'm not a very good review writer... This movie has excellent cinematography; some of the shots of the slums and just the country in general are so breathtaking. The story is so touching, and the acting is very good. It's a must-see!

Anyway I just wanted to let you know about that website for Special Features issues. Good luck!

Picture quality 4.5/5.0
It looks great in places and weak in others. I think that was intentional.

Audio quality 5.0/5.0
Good when it needs to be.

This was a blind buy for me and I half expected to be trading it away, but it surprised me.

Some people will be put off because most of the cast is Indian; others might fear it's a musical.

Well, the cast is fantastic and there is only one song played and it's right at the end of the movie (a homage to Bollywood).

The story is quite simple, but it is done extremely well. I won't ruin the story for those of you that haven't seen it, but it is dramatic, emotional, and intelligent.

This movie won't be for everyone. Two scenes are quite disturbing, so be prepared.

It has plenty of humour to balance things out, and it definitely has a feel-good ending.

None of the actors were nominated for an Oscar, but that doesn't mean the acting was below par.

This film won eight Oscars despite not being nominated in the acting categories, and I think they were well deserved.

Danny Boyle has outdone himself.

Great movie, wonderful music and a beautiful film to watch. [...]

Slumdog Millionaire on Blu-ray arrived early from Amazon.ca and this award-winning film lived up to most of the acclaim it received. Beautifully shot by Danny Boyle, the acting was superb, the story engrossing, and even the music was engaging without being overwhelming. I did not have the opportunity to see the film in theatres, so I am glad that the BD was such a quality product. The love story wasn't as emotionally gripping as I thought it would be but the life story of Jamal Malik threading itself throughout the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" questions captures your attention and doesn't let go.

The movie comes on a BD-50, with video as MPEG-4 AVC (28 mbps) that shows off the 2.35:1 original aspect ratio to good effect, and an incredible sounding 5.1 DTS-HD master audio that was as impressive to hear as the film was to watch. When they were necessary, the Hindi-to-English translations were subtle, coloured to match the scene and placed so as to avoid interfering with the view. That sort of attention to an otherwise small, and often overlooked, detail is remarkable.

The BD has plenty of special features, including a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, an exclusive short film "Manjha" (warning: the subject matter and language warrants an R rating for the short, too), music video, commentary with Danny Boyle and Dev Patel, a few previews, and a digital copy of the film on a second DVD.

Truly, this is a worthwhile addition to any Blu-ray collection. If you're debating this purchase, debate no longer.

"Sometimes I think sitting on trains
Every stop I get to I'm clocking that game
Everyone's a winner, we're making our fame
Bonafide hustler making my name"
(M.I.A. "Paper Planes")

And so it goes - the backdrop of a Mumbai slum and a popular game show, mixed with a love story, a drama, the exotic melodies of A. R. Rahman and the unmistakable voice of M.I.A.

Short Attention Span Summary (SASS)

1. Boy from the slums grows up the hard way
2. He learns from his unforgettable experiences
3. Boy meets girl
4. Boy loses girl
5. Boy finds girl
6. Boy loses girl again
7. Boy finds girl
8. You guessed it!
9. Boy risks all to find girl again
10. He doesn't take "no" for a final answer

This storyline sounds simple, but it's told as a series of flashbacks that will touch your every emotion. When a former street hustler turned tea boy (Dev Patel) inexplicably makes it up the ladder of the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" the suspicious host (Anil Kapoor) calls in the police, who proceed to extract the truth out of him in their own inimitable and sometimes shocking fashion.

His sad story is revealed piece by piece, with an explanation of how he knew the answers to all the questions leading up to the big one, and the 20 million rupees.
We learn however, that he's really after a much better prize.

Poverty, violence, religious intolerance, child abuse, betrayal and revenge are tempered somewhat by love, faith, hope, suspense, humor and music, and this exceedingly clever and well directed drama will have you laughing, crying, squirming and sometimes make you downright outraged.

This is one you MUST see, and then buy so you can see it again. Great movie, great casting, great music, great sets, great story - too many "greats" to state here.

This isn't one you should miss.

Amanda Richards

Slumdog Millionaire deserves all the hype and accolades it got. It's hard to believe this film almost did not even get a theatrical release; it's only after being a crowd hit at the Toronto film fest that a distributor picked it up for theatrical release.

Great stuff. The movie is as much about the poverty and despair of living in a slum but also about what's important to some people, money v.s. love and true happiness. Great soundtrack as well. This one's definitely a buy although you might want to wait for an edition that has special features, this one's got none.

What I truly loved about this movie was the message behind it. The story is much more than a simple love story. Things do happen for a reason and that it is the very painful and tragic things that make us who we are at the end of it all. A true triumph of the human spirit overcoming adversity to realize a purpose. Don't miss this great story!!!

I have heard so many compliments about this movie in the last few months that I could not wait for it to come out on Blu ray so I can go and rent it.
So ,last week March 31st it came out officially so I ran into my video store to rent it before all copies get rented out.Luckily ,there was one left.
I ran home turned on my TV started watching and then dissapointment...

Here is why;
Anybody remembers 1990 movie called Time of the Gypsies?
TOTG is a movie about gypsie boy from Eastern Europe,moving to Italy in order to earn enough money as a beggar, so he can return home and marry his sweetheart.
Well, Slumdog borrows heavily from TOTG which made it famous;
the fork,the hot peper scene,the evil brother scene,brother having relationship with his girl scene,the mother gets killed scene,under bridge scene,stealing babies scene,the blind beggar kid scene,the train scene,the richman in the car scene,...and list goes on.

In fact upon further inspection I can safely say that Slumdog is "updated" and "softened" version of TOTG with "Who wants to be a millionaire" plot.

Do yourself a favour and watch the real masterpiece about Slumdog lifestyle;Time of the Gypsies.