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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
Brand: YESHI,TENZIN
EAN: 9786305090588
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 6305090580
Label: Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Letterbox
Publisher: Walt Disney Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: October 14, 1998
Running Time: 135 minutes
Sales Rank: 3163
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 1997
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
True story of Tibet's 14th Dalai Lama and his struggle to rule a nation during one of the most challenging times in history.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 6-MAY-2003
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com essential video:
It would be a mistake to call Kundun a disappointment, or a film that director Martin Scorsese was not equipped to create. Both statements may be true to some viewers, but they ignore the higher purpose of Scorsese's artistic intention and take away from a film that is by any definition unique. In chronicling the life of the 14th Dalai Lama, Kundun defies conventional narrative in favor of an episodic approach, presenting a sequential flow of events from the life of the young leader of Buddhist Tibet. From the moment he is recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama in 1937 to his exile from Tibet in the wake of China's invasion, the Dalai Lama is seen as an enlightened spiritual figurehead. This gives the film its tone of serenity and reverence but denies us the privilege of admiring the Dalai Lama as a fascinating human character. There's a sense of mild detachment between the film and its audience, but its visual richness offers ample compensation. In close collaboration with cinematographer Roger Deakins, Scorsese filmed Kundun with great pageantry and ritual, and meticulous attention to details of costume, color, and the casting of actual Buddhist monks in the scenes at the Dalai Lama's palace. Certain images will linger in the memory for a long time, such as the Dalai Lama's nightmarish vision of standing among hundreds of dead monks, their lives sacrificed in pacifist defiance of Chinese aggression. Is this a film you'll want to watch repeatedly? Perhaps not. But as a political drama and an elegant gesture of devotion, Kundun is a film of great value and inspirational beauty--one, after all, that perhaps only Scorsese could have made. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Review
October 5, 2008
Kristi Chilton
The movie Kundun is based on a true story of a young boy that was discovered and thought to be the 14th Dalai Lama. There was a test given toKundun to prove his purpose after he succeded they moved him and his family to Lhasa. After the boy was removed from his homeland the monks raised him as the re3incarnation of Budda, the most powerful leader in Tibet. It was interesting to see how a young Kundun, just fourteen was conventially appointed to the throne as the Chinese invasion began. The Chinese had wanted Tibet to become a part of them but the people refused. The movie contiounes through his growth into adulthood and displays the trials he is faced with alomg the way. The whole story was revolved around Kundun's and the Tibet people before and during the invasion of their country. Eventually the Dalai Lama had to flee to India and live in exile for the rest of his life.I have never watched "Seven Years in Tibet" completely through however what I have seen is similar to "Kundun" . All in all the movie seem to be a good movie for the whole family. Although there may be some scenes that small children would have a problem with. The way the young child grew and took respondsiblity for his country which had suffering, showed the courage that different culture take. The information I have obtained from the chapter on Buddism has opened my eyes to the different beliefs and their reactions to stressfull situations. It seems our country does not have the confidence ... Read More
Rating: - Kudun Review
Kundun is a extraordinary story filled with colorful details of the Dalai Lama's life that were not apparent to me before I watched this movie. The message is deep, powerful, but the direction is not; this movie could have been made so much better if it was directed well.
The story starts off with Lamo, a arrogant little boy, who goes on to become the humble Dalai Lama. He is said to have been born in sight of two crows, a sign which was apparent for all the incarnations of the Buddha, he himself is the 14th. His destiny takes him to the heart of Tibet, Lhasa, at a young age. His family follows, but their paths still separated from his. Lamo spends his time in the shadow of monks, learning vigorously the tasks, and teachings of Buddhism. As he grows older he becomes more and more involved with videos and documentaries that were gifted to Tibet by the United States, he begins to educated himself more and more about international relations. Meanwhile, the Chinese threaten to attack his country, in a desperate attempt he writes to the president of the United States, the United Nations, and etc for help. Bound by religion and strict ethics, he chooses not to fight back, instead watch the destruction of his land and people under the communist regime of Mao. He is haunted by images of blood and bodies of monks spread out on the street. He travels to China, hoping to settle things down, but is unable to. After his return, the Chinese threaten to kill him, knowing that his death would mean the death of hope ... Read More
Rating: - Kundun - Visually Stunning
Kundun, a 1997 film directed by Martin Scorsese, chronicles the early life of the fourteenth Dalai Lama from birth to his twenties. The Dalai Lama, also known as Kundun, is born into an ordinary Tibetan family, and is soon discovered to be the reincarnation of the thirteenth Dalai Lama. An interesting segment in the movie is a scene where Kundun is visited by a Buddhist Lama, or priest, and Kundun sees his necklace and proclaims, "That is mine." This seems to clue the Lama in that this might be the actual Dalai Lama, and soon, Kundun is brought into a room with objects belonging to the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, and he is asked to identify the objects which belong to him. Kundun correctly identifies the objects, and is proclaimed as the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. He then is instructed in the ways of Buddhism, and we learn the Four Noble Truths; suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering and the path to the cessation of suffering. The Dalai Lama embraces these truths, and embarks on a path of nonviolence, pledging to protect his people.
There are great scenes with lush imagery and beautiful, colorful costuming that make this film very watchable. Dialogue is rather sparse, which makes it a bit difficult for those of us who have not studied Buddhism to understand; I found that turning on the subtitles helped a great deal. We then see the historical events of the Chinese takeover of Tibet unfold; what seems at first to be a helpful Chinese government soon turns into an oppressive ... Read More
Rating:  - The Dalai Lama, A Reverential View
"Kundun" is an enlightening, affecting experience giving viewers insights into the early life of the Dalai Lama. He was chosen from an ordinary family and was given a few simple tests to see whether there was a spiritual connection between him and the thirteenth Dalai Lama who had passed. (From assorted objects did he gravitate toward those belonging to the late Dalai Lama?) He became the reincarnation of the previous Dalai Lamas, the spiritual and political leader of Tibet and for the Tibetan people, a living god in the Tibetan Buddhist creed.
Martin Scorcese, filming in Morocco, has made a devotional work, an authentic-looking piece with a brilliant depiction of the colorful vestments and garments worn by the monks, a sense of place in Lhasa, the capital, and the recreation of the pageantry, the rituals and rites practiced in Lamaism. One scene shows the funeral ceremony of a dead body left outside to be picked over by vultures as in the Parsi religion.
The film shows the boy struggling to learn his duties and later coming to grips with the toughest decisions he has to make when Tibet is brutally taken over by China. Forced to flee to India in 1959 at age twenty-four, we leave him wistfully looking over the mountains to his lost country.
He is presented as a quiet, humble, meditative pacifist. He knows in his meeting with Mao that China, which has forsaken religion, will never let Tibet be free. The Dalai Lama represents unconditional love. He is the compassionate Buddha, a monk and a head ... Read More
Rating:  - a romantic vision
The movie is a masterpiece concerning photography, design, scenery, etc. , But a bit too much romantic point of view of the old Tibet and the Tibetan Buddhism.
This is a nice movie to enjoy, but if you are really interrested in the biography and the real facts,I really advise to do your own researches concerning the facts which are described in the movie.
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