In 1920's-era England, a young woman named Adela Quested (Judy Davis) is about to embark on a journey with her employer, Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft, who earned a Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance). They're bound for India, where they are to visit a local magistrate named Ronny Heaslop (Nigel Havers), who is the son of Mrs. Moore and the fiance of Adela, who is more enticed by the prospect of exploring this fascinatingly raw and "uncivilized" country than reuniting with her intended, with whom she shares a stuffy courtship mandated more by class power moves than genuine passion. Once there, Adela finds herself constricted once again by the British consulate constructed within the country, a "safe" haven for her fellow Brits to sip sherry and view the "squalor" outside their gates while still retaining all the creature comforts of home.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Moore makes the acquaintance of a local doctor named Aziz (Victor Banerjee), a handsome widower curious about the two women and their interest in journeying outside their protective bubble and seeing the "real" India. Despite the considerable costs and labor involved, Dr. Aziz arranges for a sightseeing trip to the local Maribar Caves, for a myriad of reasons (mainly to avoid showing the two women his own achingly humble lodgings). At the caves, Mrs. Moore becomes spooked by the eerie echo within the tight, confined rock walls, and begs off on exploring further, suggesting that Adela and Aziz go on without her and the rest of the group.

Then, following a period of time alone, an odd incident happens. Adela is seen running pell-mell down the mountainside, clearly disheveled and frightened, not caring about the scratches left behind by the brush she's barrel ling through. After she's brought back to the British consulate and treated for her injuries, Dr. Aziz is arrested, on some serious charges, and his trial quickly devolves into a media circus, with cries of racism uttered by the disgruntled Indian mob milling about outside the courtroom walls. What really transpired inside those caves will alter the course of the characters' lives in ways both sobering and surprising.

Shot by British director David Lean (making a return to the director's chair after a 13-year absence following the tepid reception of his 1971 feature Ryan's Daughter), and based on a 1920's novel by Stiff Upper Lip specialist E.M. Forster (Howard's End, A Room With A View, etc.) A Passage To India would turn out to be the celebrated filmmaker's final movie (one never-realized project, Nostromo, was in the preproduction phase when Lean passed away in 1991). While lacking the grand mythologizing and sweeping emotional core of his earlier classics like Lawrence Of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago, India is nevertheless a compelling look at how "civilized" society's reaction to the "savagery" of a foreign culture can often lead to political and social misunderstandings

That said, the film has some unmistakable narrative deficiencies. The courtroom stuff essentially comes to naught when Adela makes a surprising confession, and suddenly the film's point of view shifts from her "stranger in a strange land" perspective to Dr. Aziz's post-trial life, and it's an odd, not entirely satisfactory plot diversion. The film's final scenes, with a strained reconciliation between two estranged characters, lacks necessary emotional heft because of this. Maybe it plays better on the page, but what was, up until this point, a compelling culture-clash drama, deflates slightly into a baggy, overlong denouement that saps the film of needed momentum. The melancholy final shot tries hard to rally, but it's a bit too little, a bit too late.

Still, today's cinema is less noteworthy for the absence of filmmakers with Lean's eye for spectacular vistas peopled with well-rounded characters. A Passage To India doesn't stand with his greatest films, but it's still a fine (if occasionally stuffy) melodrama that's required viewing for his fans, who will greatly enjoy this fine new DVD edition.

Presentation
Unlike the vast, Panavision canvas of Lean's 60's pictures, A Passage To India was shot in a more intimate 1:66.1 ratio, and this new transfer nicely replicates Ernest Day's evocative, color-saturated cinematography. the new 5.1 audio track is generally front-heavy, only utilizing the full surround channels for Maurice Jarre's fine, Oscar-winning score, which is surprisingly sparse, only showing up at crucial junctures in the film's story (most importantly a long, dialogue-free sequence with Adela exploring and coming across a series of ancient statues depicting stylized human figures engaging in some intimate sexual acts) and utilizing the eerie, electronic quaver of the Ondes-Martenot.

Extras
Disc one features an audio commentary by producer Richard Goodwin, which, despite the film's lengthy running time, is nevertheless filled with amusing/interesting production nuggets, like Goodwin visiting Peggy Ashcroft several years after the film's release and seeing that she was using her Supporting Actress Oscar as a doorstop(!), how an elephant he had used on a film he had produced years earlier was also used in this film (and even seemed to recognize him), the logistical problems inherent in filming in India, and other subjects. There are thankfully few gaps in the conversation, little "um"-ing... this is a fine, informative, and entertaining chat.

Disc two gives us just under 90 minutes' worth of featurettes (with an always-appreciated "play all" function) that bring us through the film's genesis, production, release, and legacy, including E.M. Forster - Profile Of An Author (6:55), An Epic Takes Shape (10:56), An Indian Affair (13:39), Only Connect: A Vision Of India (10:35), Casting A Classic (11:23), David Lean - Shooting With The Master (13:24) and Reflections Of David Lean (8:17). Featuring recently-conducted interviews with cast members Nigel Havers, Richard Wilson, Art Malik, Saeed Jaffrey, Ann Firbank and James Fox, as well as producer Richard Goodwin, assistant directors Christopher Figg and Patrick Cadell and casting director Priscilla John (not to mention, in archival footage from 1984, David Lean himself), these run the gamut from the original novel (with ample biographical detail on E.M. Forster's upbringing), Lean's emergence from self-imposed exile following the critical dismissal of Ryan's Daughter, the controversy of casting Lean regular Alec "These are not the droids you're searching for" Guinness, under a ton of "brownface" makeup, in the role of Professor Godbole (when the majority of his scenes were cut, Guinness could not forgive Lean, and two men never spoke again), and the film's ultimate critical and commercial success. These add up to a fairly comprehensive and enjoyable overlook of the production and a bittersweet adieu to Lean. One only wishes that the deleted Guinness footage had been included here, just to see if Lean's decision to excise it was worth ruining their longtime friendship over. In fact, there are no deleted scenes included at all, unusual for a film of this length.

Lastly, there's a thankfully brief Previews menu, with only a blanket promo for The David Lean Collection (new DVD reissues of Bridge On The River Kwai and Lawrence Of Arabia, as well as A Passage To India) and the recent Hallmark TV movie A Raisin In The Sun (and the cross-promoting connection is... .?). Sadly, the original trailer for India in not included. Hey, DVD producers! They're only two fucking minutes long! They're not going to take up that much disc space, y'know?

Bottom Line
Not on the same grand scale as his 60's classics, yet A Passage To India is nevertheless the work of a truly gifted auteur, one capable of telling a logistically massive production peopled with intimate human drama. This new special edition DVD (timed to coincide with what would have been Lean's 100th birthday) will be greatly appreciated by the director's many fans. 

		A Passage To India - 2-Disc Collector's Edition
3.5		Feature - Not up to Lean's greatest films, but still an enveloping cinematic experience.
4		Video - Lean movies always look great, and this DVD does a great job replicating his visuals.
4		Audio - Maurice Jarre's score (when it infrequently pops up) sounds glorious.
4		Extras - Good commentary and documentary featurettes... but no deleted scenes? Shame.

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