Gandhi

Gandhi (1982)

  • 88% of critics liked it
    (41 reviews)

  • 90% of users liked it
    (45,814 ratings)

It was Richard Attenborough's lifelong dream to bring the life story of Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi to the screen. When it finally reached fruition in 1982, the 188-minute, Oscar-winning Gandhi was one of the most exhaustively thorough biopics ever made. The film begins in… More

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PG, 3 hr. 11 min.
Directed By
Richard Attenborough
Written By
John Briley
Genres
Drama, Classics
In Theaters
Dec 6, 1982 Wide
On DVD
Aug 28, 2001
Columbia Pictures

Critic Reviews

  • Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

    In playing Gandhi, an actor must be less concerned with physical verisimilitude than with spiritual presence, and here Kingsley is nothing short of astonishing.

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    Once in a long while a motion picture so eloquently expressive and technically exquisite comes along that one is tempted to hail it as being near perfect.

  • Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

    Attenborough's work lacks even the undercurrent of personality that David Lean brought to his films: the film has no flavor but that of the standard Hollywood hagiography.

  • Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

    A remarkable experience.

  • Vincent Canby, New York Times

    [Of] importance is the possibility that the film will bring Gandhi to the attention of a lot of people around the world for the first time, not as a saint but as a self-searching, sometimes fallible human being with a sense of humor as well as of history.

Read all 17 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Daniel M


    In my review of Chariots of Fire, I remarked that "the legacy it has left behind for British filmmaking has not been one of unmitigated benefit." By this I was not referring specifically to the career of Hugh Hudson (what there is of it), but to the films which sought all… More

  • Alexander D


    What makes GANDHI such a fascinating cinematic piece is that although it runs for well over three hours, almost every single minute is profoundly watchable and surprisingly interesting. Because I did not recognize the director, and I only recognized three actors who were cast (Ben… More

  • Raymond W


    Watching Ben Kingsley play Indian politicial and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi is a truely breathtaking and remarkable experience to say the least, but Richard Attenborough's film drags in the first half, and then finds it's voice. Looking at the film as a whole is a… More

  • Jeff "


    Starring Ben Kingsley, Gandhi is an impressive film. Director Richard Attenborough who is known to craft epic pictures directs this larger than life biopic. Gandhi is one of cinema's greatest films. Kingsley is remarkable in his performance as Mahatma Gandhi and he definitely… More

  • Brad W


    A classic drama of one of the most influential men of all time.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Cast

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Trailers & Clips

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