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Shakespeare Wallah

Play trailer Poster for Shakespeare Wallah 1966 2h 0m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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89% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 64% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Tony (Geoffrey Kendal) and Carla Buckingham (Laura Liddell) and their acting company journey through India performing Shakespearean plays. When their daughter Lizzie (Felicity Kendal) loses her heart to well-to-do Sanju (Shashi Kapoor) after a show, his movie-star ex-lover, Manjula (Madhur Jaffrey), tries to disrupt their union. The Buckinghams must protect their daughter while facing the fact that their plays are falling out of style and the locals are losing their patience for foreigners.

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Shakespeare Wallah

Critics Reviews

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Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times 12/14/2017
"Shakespeare Wallah" is a tribute to the gallantry, talent and courage of the Kendals. Its gentle humor, however, has a Chekhovian cast. Go to Full Review
Alan Scherstuhl Village Voice 11/08/2017
A breezy and beguiling study, comedy, romance, elegy. Go to Full Review
Bosley Crowther New York Times 05/09/2005
4/5
Very delicate and lovely. Go to Full Review
Dwight MacDonald Esquire Magazine 08/13/2019
Everyone acts naturally and Mr. Ivory's direction is light and sensitive, managing to suggest the subtlety and comedy and pathos of Anglo-Indian relationships. Go to Full Review
Sean Axmaker Turner Classic Movies Online 12/17/2011
... a bittersweet drama of the twilight of a theatrical way of life. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 06/25/2005
2/5
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Audience Reviews

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Johnny Z 09/01/2022 Wonderful cinematography. Fantastic actors. Very well-written story. Merchant Ivory at it's finest. See more Thomas V @TomVee Aug 26 This is an early work of theirs, black and white, and with a much simpler feel than the kind of lush, mannered period romance Merchant and Ivory were known for. It's an interesting film to look at in historical context, being shot in India not even 20 years after the end of the Raj. It isn't about terribly much; it's just a simple family drama and coming of age story, with a bit of young romance and humor, set in an exotic India that has moved on from British rule, leaving a few Brits behind who were still stuck in an era that had passed. Felicity Kendal and her fellow actors are quite wonderful and charming, and the whole thing is quite understated, kind of like an Ozu film. The other comparison that jumped out (and maybe it's just me and my limited exposure to Indian cinema) is Satyajit Ray. I feel like the tone of this film is similar to the light, bittersweet dramedy of Ray's The Music Room, another film about someone trying to cling to a bygone way of life. See more Irene M. @igawel Dec 2 Audio was hard to hear. Enjoyed Felicity Kendall. Reminded me of India Ink. See more 09/17/2014 Particularly acute in catching the peculiar matrix of moods and emotions that hold the troupe together and which keep the British and the Indians from ever really understanding each other. See more 04/20/2011 I really enjoyed this movie in class, great story. See more 03/10/2010 ssssssssllllllllllooooooooooooowwwww. makes later merchant ivory pacing seem speedy. See more Read all reviews
Shakespeare Wallah

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Movie Info

Synopsis Tony (Geoffrey Kendal) and Carla Buckingham (Laura Liddell) and their acting company journey through India performing Shakespearean plays. When their daughter Lizzie (Felicity Kendal) loses her heart to well-to-do Sanju (Shashi Kapoor) after a show, his movie-star ex-lover, Manjula (Madhur Jaffrey), tries to disrupt their union. The Buckinghams must protect their daughter while facing the fact that their plays are falling out of style and the locals are losing their patience for foreigners.
Director
James Ivory
Producer
Ismail Merchant
Screenwriter
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, James Ivory
Distributor
Criterion Collection, Continental Distributing Inc.
Production Co
Merchant Ivory Productions
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 22, 1966, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Nov 10, 2017
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 22, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.6K
Runtime
2h 0m
Sound Mix
Mono
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