Rotten Tomatoes Logo Do you want to see ‘Gandhi’?

Gandhi (1982)

tomatometer

88

Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 41
Fresh: 36 | Rotten: 5

Director Richard Attenborough is typically sympathetic and sure-handed, but it's Ben Kingsley's magnetic performance that acts as the linchpin for this sprawling, lengthy biopic.

80

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 1

Director Richard Attenborough is typically sympathetic and sure-handed, but it's Ben Kingsley's magnetic performance that acts as the linchpin for this sprawling, lengthy biopic.

audience

91

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 44,915

My Rating

Movie Info

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 the early part of the 20th century, when Mohandas K. Gandhi (Ben Kingsley), a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed

PG, 3 hr. 11 min.

Drama, Classics

John Briley

Aug 28, 2001

Columbia Pictures

Cast

All Critics (41) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (6) | DVD (30)

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

February 24, 2010 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comment
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

January 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

December 17, 2006 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comments (10)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A remarkable experience.

October 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comment
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[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.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Brilliant biography will engage preteens and up.

January 2, 2011 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

Attenborough's crowning achievement as a director.

March 25, 2008 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Ben Kingsley's title performance is amazing, particularly in the way he ages across the five decades which the film depicts.

January 29, 2008 Comment

It's safe to say that if you knew nothing about Gandhi before going in to the movie, you wouldn't know a whole lot more coming out.

January 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comments (4)

As memorable an epic as Lawrence of Arabia--ironic, considering that Lean was approached before Attenborough, but turned it down!

July 25, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

A deluxe anniversary reissue is the best way to revisit an Oscar-winning '80s dinosaur.

March 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

Gandhi is less personal than Reds, but also less complacent than Chariots of Fire and less doddering than Lean's own orderly post-colonial apologia, A Passage to India.

March 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comments (3)
Slant Magazine

Every bit the biopic that Patton was, Gandhi is emotionally engaging but taxing on the viewer's stamina. Ben Kingsley is astounding.

December 22, 2006 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | Comment
Oscar Guy

Despite an intelligent title performance by Ben Kingsley and impressive cinematography in the manner of David Lean, this huge, clunky biopic offers less than meets the eye.

December 17, 2006 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Despite an intelliegnt performance by Ben Kingsley in the lead, Attenborousgh's worthy biopic is too conventional in illuminating the venerable leader.

July 28, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comments (7)

Its faults rather pale beside the epic nature of its theme, and Kingsley's performance in the central role is outstanding.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

A true epic in every sense of the word!

January 1, 2005 Comment
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Gandhi

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 Kingsley, Martin Sheen, and Richard

November 28, 2011
spielberg00
Alexander Diminiano

Super Reviewer

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 must, and once you've done that, it becomes clear

October 9, 2011
Raymond Wieser

Super Reviewer

    1. Mahatma Gandhi: If you are a minority of one, the truth is the truth.
    – Submitted by Chris P (9 months ago)

Latest News for Gandhi

February 12, 2007:
Early Work Starting Up for "Harry Potter 6"
The fifth Harry Potter flick is still a few months away, but that won't stop the buzz from churning...

What's Hot On RT

Luis Guzman
Luis Guzman

What are his 10 best movies ever?

<em>Amazing Spider-Man</em>
Amazing Spider-Man

See the all-new action-packed trailer!

The Avengers!
The Avengers!

Five new Marvelous pictures

Total Recall
Total Recall

Unconventional Superheroes

Top Movie Quizzes

LEGO Mania: 2011 Best Picture Nominees
by natalie - 18,528 taken
created 12 months ago
How Much Do You Know About Leonardo DiCaprio?
by natalie - 44,332 taken
created 15 months ago
Pixar Movies!
by jdikwlzviv - 27,093 taken
created 15 months ago
The Wizards of Harry Potter
by jdikwlzviv - 27,606 taken
created 15 months ago
Help | About | Jobs | Newsletter | Critics Submission | API | Licensing | Blog | Developers | Mobile