Gangs of Wasseypur (2012)'s comments

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satyanash

This is a great movie. Dialogue is excellent and powerful (sadly, the subtitles are pretty much crap). The film does a great job of creating a subtle, menacing atmosphere. And the acting performances are terrific. Bajapyee and Siddiqui both effortlessly transform into menacing, violent gangsters. In short, an excellent masala western. Haven't seen a gangster film quite this good since Cicade de Deus.

10 years 10 months ago

Life as Fiction

Skepticism about Indian films that pop on these lists is sadly merited as most of them are highly mediocre (at best). That doesn't mean good ones to don't sneak in once in a while! Udaan being the prime example (which is written by the director of Gangs of Wasseypur).

11 years 10 months ago

BareLolk

I saw the 160-minute movie, before I realised it was the first part of two. Here goes my sunday.
It's not that bad... nor a pleasure.

9 years 4 months ago

Rohit

Just saw the second part. It's available worldwide in cinemas, for now.
If you love style-over-substance, this should be on your top lists.

11 years 9 months ago

Rohit

May be this helps: Sydney FIlm Festival Brief Review (no spoilers)

:)

11 years 10 months ago

dombrewer

I was lucky enough to see both parts of this brilliant, bloody, sprawling Indian crime drama shown at my local arthouse cinema in one afternoon - there's no doubt it's a major entry in the history of Hindi cinema (not just because of the combined near five and a half hour running time) and may prove to be turning point in the perceptions of Bollywood cinema in the West. It's a little confusing that IMDB lists both films as one entity when they were clearly presented as two films with two separate title cards, and a notable increase in certification from 15 to 18. I'm reviewing both films in this one review and then adding it to both listings here on icheckmovies.

The film follows three generations of the Khan family over 60 years, from the 1940s to the present day, and is based on the true story of a real life crime dynasty. The whole sequence starts with a flash-forward of a raid on the house of Faizal Khan (reprised part way through the second film). Director Anurag Kashyap sets his stall very firmly in the opening minutes - we see a family gathering to watch the opening credits of a Hindi television sitcom when the television promptly explodes in a shower of machine gun bullets. There are similar moments throughout - in a key speech late in the film from Ramadhir Singh, the constant antagonist to the several generations of the Khan family, he explains why he has survived when all his contemporaries and rivals have died violent deaths - he blames the unreality of Bollywood cinema for convincing all these petty criminals that they are heroes of their own stories, all-powerful, irresistible and invincible. The reality, as Kaskyap is all too eager to show us, it harsh, bloody, cruel and unforeseeable and this proves to be a scathing personal criticism about the cultural, and artistic, impact of popular Hindi cinema.

The first part concentrates on the lives of Shahid Khan and his son Sardar - the former a petty train robber turned coal mine enforcer, murdered by his boss Singh for privately boasting to take over the business. His son, driven by revenge swears never to grow his hair until Singh is dead. Manoj Bajpai performance as the grown up, shaven headed and bigamous Sardar is a highlight of the whole - it's a terrific, charismatic performance, and the interplay between his two wives and two families motors a good deal of the story, as well as providing some welcome humour. The various sons of Sardar - Faizal, Danish, Definite and Perpendicular - their rivalries and alliances, quest for power and individual acts of betrayal and revenge make up the majority of the second part of the film. There is a complexity to the plot, straddling such a long time line with so many central characters but at no point do you lose track of who is who, or what is at stake - short sequences impact on later events, acts of revenge fulfilled from hours before still manage to resonate. Vitally, it's incredibly entertaining, sometimes shocking and boldly modern film-making.

Just as the music and style of cinematography subtly changes to reflect the passing decades so does the level of violence (hence the shift from a 15 to an 18 certificate) - spoiler

. Although we are immersed in a world of extreme violence, criminality and immorality none of our protagonists entirely lose our sympathy - violence begets violence, and the dominos continue to fall right until the final moments, when we finally see the opportunity for the cycle of revenge and lives devoted to crime to finally break. There is a problem in the use of CGI blood in the latter parts of the film, spoiler

- it's disappointingly unrealistic when so much up to that point has convinced, but it's really a minor quibble.

For anyone interested in modern Indian cinema and those who have no aversion to screen violence this is probably one of the best filmed gangster epics to date, in any language. Highly recommended, all profane, giddy and breathless five and half hours of it.

11 years ago

satyanash

If the first part of GoW is a masala western, then the second part could be called a pulp western. An intense blend of violence and action that never slows down until the end, anchored by several great chase scenes and fantastic acting performances.

10 years 10 months ago

Rohit

Blame IMDb's rating system for this, not individual films; because if a genuinely good film pops up on these lists, going by that rule we'd treat it as fanboy/mafia feature. We all know that it takes a while for any new film to enter other more trusted and less mercurial lists. Unfortunately, they enter the IMDb's lists first and face all the prejudice and hatred for no reason at all.

11 years 10 months ago

nawi

Separate part 1 & part 2 entries are now merged to this.

9 years 8 months ago

koolfe

neverending criminal drama aka The God Father full of national specificity & exotics. pretty good!

10 years 3 months ago

Shaunage

I saw it at the Sydney FIlm Festival and loved it. It deserves to be on these lists, and people will see that when it becomes available.

11 years 10 months ago

samlowery

I think "prejudice and hatred" is a misrepresentation. "Skepticism mixed with curiousity" would be the more likely reaction of a typical cinefile. At any rate, I'm sure the filmmakers themselves would be thrilled to have their creation on said list for any time at all, so this can only be seen as a positive.

11 years 10 months ago

Rohit

I don't know why people are checking this already. The second part hasn't even released anywhere but at the Cannes and Sydney Festivals.
There is not going to be a separate entry on IMDb for the second part. The split is only because of the runtime.

Edit: A separate page for the second part has been created at IMDb now and imported to iCM

11 years 10 months ago

Rohit

In two parts. Total runtime: 320 min

11 years 11 months ago

nawi

It seems that IMDB has combined these two parts into a single IMDB entry. This should be removed.

9 years 8 months ago