DVD cover, The Chess Players (Shatranj Ke Khilari)
Chess is the metaphor for politics in 1856 in northern India as Britain seeks to annex yet another of the independent kingdoms there in Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977). Known in English as The Chess Players, this film is an exploration by one of India’s greatest directors, Satyajit Ray, of the vast cultural and political differences between the people of the Kingdom of Oudh and the British military.
Cinematheque and Chazen Art Museum partner
UW-Madison’s Cinematheque will show The Chess Players as a part of their 2009-2010 UW-Madison’s Cinematheque season . The film screens on Saturday, September 12 in 4070 Vilas Hall at 7.30 p.m. The Chess Players is one of two films playing as part of a Chazen Museum of Art and Cinematheque collaboration centering on the Chazen’s exhibit, “Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj.”
Claret jug with snake handle
(Courtesy, Chazen Art Museum)
Chazen exhibit highlights Indian art in era of British Raj
The exhibition “highlights[s] distinctive regional styles” of silversmithing during the British occupation, a time when artisans made products for British use with Indian sensibilities, resulting in objects with intricately detailed and embossed silver work.
Friday evening, September 11, will feature a lecture by Vidya Dehejia at 5.30 p.m. and a free and public exhibition reception with Indian music from 6.30 to 8.00 p.m. The Chess Players will show the following evening, September 12, across the street in Vilas Hall at 7.30 p.m. On Friday, September 18, Cinematheque will show Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) as a second feature-film companion of the exhibition.
The exhibit closes Sunday, October 4 with an artist's demonstration of silversmithing by Tom Kallio. The museum is located at 800 University Ave. and is open Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
Frame, MIrza and Mir play chess in Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khilar
(The Chess Players) (1977) Photo: Soumendu Roy.
Filmfare award-winning film focuses on politics of the British Raj
Filmfare awards are the Indian equivalent to the Oscars and are held annually in Mumbai, the home of the Bollywood film industry. Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players) is critically acclaimed in India and took Filmfare awards for best director (Satyajit Ray), best supporting actor (Saeed Jaffrey), and best film–critics award. It was also nominated for a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. It stars Sanjeev Kumar and Saeed Jaffrey as the two chess players, Mirza and Mir.
Jonathan Dore, a Cambridge film critic, notes that this film is a continuation of a tradition from the early 1950s in India of “art cinema reflecting social themes,” a tradition in keeping with the very poetic and cultural traditions depicted in Shatranj Ke Khilari. While the film may be paced a bit slowly for some, it is a sumptuous masterwork of art, with intertwined allegorical narratives, exquisite camera work, and lyric music. The Brits, as the baddies here, are ably led by Richard Attenborough as General Outram.
The film, as shown at Cinematheque, is a 35 mm print in Technicolor with a running time of 127 minutes. It is in Urdu and English with English subtitles.
Finding Cinematheque in downtown Madison
Cinematheque is housed in Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave., in downtown Madison at the intersection of Park and University. It is just a block off Lake Mendota from Memorial Union. Films are shown in room 4070, just off the open plaza of Vilas Hall, directly opposite the footbridge over University Ave. Seating is limited, so it is best to get there early. The two easiest parking ramps are right on N. Lake Street – the first is between W. Johnson and University Ave.; the second between University Ave and State Street (the first is typically more likely to have spaces, but the second is cheaper!).
Upcoming Classic and International Movies in Madison
Cabin in the Sky (1943) – Friday, September 11, 7.30 p.m., Cinamatheque, 4070 Vilas Hall. FREE
Joe Jackson dies and is given a 6-month reprieve to earn his “cabin in the sky,” but Lucifer Jr. has other plans. Starring Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson; Dir. Vincente Minnelli.
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) – Friday, September 18, 7.30 p.m., Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall. FREE. – Bollywood hit starring Aamir Khan. The burdensome taxes against a small Indian village are gambled on a cricket match (but the locals don’t know how to play!). In Hindi, with English subtitles.
The Pirate (1948) – Saturday, September 19, 7.30 p.m., Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall. FREE.
A Vincente Minnelli swashbuckler (!) with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland; music by Cole Porter.
You may also enjoy:
Minnelli’s classic move Cabin in the Sky showcases all-black cast in free Madison screening
Madison community events for Fall 2009 an inspiration to add classic movies to video queues
Classic movie pilgrimage: Judy Garland Museum great destination for weekend getaway
It’s easy to get updates on the classic and international movie scene in Madison. Just subscribe to my Examiner.com feed (click Subscribe at the top of the page) or follow me on Twitter @ Cygnifier.
Comments