Director: Peter Duffell
Screenplay: Julian Bond, M.M. Kaye
Producer: Geoffrey Reeve
Starring: Ben Cross, Amy Irving, Christopher Lee, Rossano Brazzi, Saeed Jaffrey, Omar Sharif
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 307 min.

(4/5)

Today, HBO is a powerhouse of original programming but in the early 80s, the network was new to 24-hour broadcasting and original programming was essentially non-existent. Not content with starting small, HBO set forth to adapt M. M. Kaye’s late 70’s epic, best-selling novel “The Far Pavilions” to the big screen in a $12 million dollar production, at the time the most expensive made-for-cable movie.

“The Far Pavilions” tells the story of Ash, an Indian boy born to British parents. A series of events leaves Ash alone with his Indian nanny, unaware of his British parenthood. Shortly after their escape from servitude at Gulkote, Ash’s nanny dies but not before giving Ash all of the documentation and money his parents had left for him. Alone, Ash’s first encounter with trouble sees him shipped off to England for a “proper British education.”

It’s eight years before Ash returns to India as a military man and what begins as a happy assignment soon turns sour as Ash finds himself torn between the British way of doing things and his understanding of the people and culture thanks to his youth being raised as an Indian boy. It’s a struggle that underlines all of his actions and eventually leaves him suspended from duty and given an unwelcome assignment: accompanying a royal wedding party across the country. It’s here that Ash re-encounters Anjuli, a young woman from Ash’s past. The two have a romantic relationship that is quickly put aside in honor of duty. The pair eventually end up together but the road there is paved with strife and fighting which highlights the bloody wars that marked England’s expansion from India into Afghanistan.

The series stars a young Ben Cross in the star making roll of Ash, the counter-thinker willing to put his well being on the line for his beliefs and the people he loves but it features great performances from a great cast including Amy Irving who steps in as Ash’s Indian princess, Christopher Lee, Omar Sharif and even a young Rupert Everett who has a small but memorable roll as a man who finds himself shunned when it is revealed that he is half-cast.

What’s most impressive is the scope of “The Far Pavilions,” the story of which spans nearly forty years. Though most of the story is told from Ash’s limited perspective, he moves around enough that we get a sense of the greater scope of events unravelling in India at the time. Beyond story, there are also the visuals to take into account. The miniseries captures India in all its beauty but also hardship. We travel through the cities and the far reaches of the mountains over the course of six hours and there is breathtaking beauty everywhere but there’s a clear sense that there is much squalor. There’s no hiding the realities of the time though the story also doesn’t dwell on them. I love the frivolity in the series which basks in the music, costumes and the sheer number of extras featured in many of the scenes.

This edition which splits the series from it’s original three, two hour episodes into six episodes of one hour each, doesn’t offer anything as far as restoration which is a slight disappointment. It’s not too much of an issue for most of the running time aside from a sort of sandy hue which seems to cover even the most vivid colours, but it is a bit of a problem during the night scenes which would have benefited a great deal from a clearer image.

Accompanied by a sweeping score from award winning composer Carl Davis, gorgeous visuals and a story which captures some of the ugly reality of the period, “The Far Pavilions” is a romantic epic which incorporates enough politics and action, particularly in the final two hours, to entertain everyone.

The Far Pavilions is available on DVD on June 28th.

DVD Extras: DVD extras include production notes form various cast members, a biography of author M. M. Kaye and episode synopsis for each episode.