Anne Frank (2001) is a made for TV biography of Anne Frank. It starts years before the famous diary and before German occupation of Holland, and shows what her life was like in Amsterdam before the Germans arrived. It also continues where the diary left off, and shows her experiences as a German prisoner. These experiences include a scene where all of the women are stripped and their hair cut off. Anne, played to perfection by Hannah Taylor-Gordon, keeps her arms over the important parts, but her mother's breasts (Tatjana Blacher) are clearly shown. The film is based on Melissa Muller's biography of Anne Frank, and lots of research by Kirk Ellis.

For those who don't know, Anne Frank was a 13 year old Jewish girl living with her wealthy family in Amsterdam. When the German's started messing with the Jews in earnest, the family hid in an attic for several years. Anne kept a very poignant diary wich survived, and has become the second widest read work of non-fiction (second to the bible), and has spawned a play and several movies. On the whole, this film is excellent, although I think the "work camp" portion, act three, was longer and slower than necessary to make the point. Excellent performances all around. IMDB readers say 8.4/10, with 134 votes. It was filmed in Prague, Czech Republic. B.

Gandhi (1982) is finally available on DVD. The transfer is first rate, but the special features are a little sparse. There is a long interview with Ben Kingsley, who played the title role, and a little biographical information on Gandhi, but nothing in the way of a making of, or commentary. I loved this Richard Attenborough film the first time I saw it, and, if anything, was more impressed this time. The academy was as impressed as I was awarding 8 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. Lest you think it was an easy year, here is the competition:

Das Boot 8.5/10 #36
Blade Runner 8.3/10 #51
Gandhi 7.8/10 #196
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 7.7/10 #189
Sophie's Choice 7.6/10
Tootsie 7.5/10
The Verdict 7.5/10
My Favorite Year 7.3/10
Diner 7.3/10
Frances 7.2/10
Poltergeist 7.2/10
Victor/Victoria 7.1/10
The World According to Garp 7.0/10
An Officer and a Gentleman 6.8/10

I can't explain why E. T. has a lower score, but a higher Top 250 position. Given that Best picture would generally not go to a foreign language film or a SCI FI, history has pretty much shown the academy right that year.

This epic biography portrays a man who truly understood, and lived non-violent protest, and caused the British to grant India home rule. Not only did Gandhi himself practice non-violence, but twice went on a hunger strike to stop violence spawned by his movement. Contrast that with many American proponents of non-violent protest, who spawned a lot of violence in their wake that they never took responsibility for. It is also interesting that Gandhi never held any political office, and never received any title.

Watching the newsreel footage of Gandhi makes you realize just how great a performance Kingsley gave. Maltin says 3 1/2 stars, IMDB readers have it at 7.8/10, #196 in the top 250 films. US rental alone is $24,970,000.00.

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