Haider - 2014 Hindi Movie Blu-Ray Special Edition / Region Free / English Subtitles / Shahid Kapoor, Shradha Kapoor

Vishal Bhardwaj has managed to present, for the most part, a good adaptation of this powerful story using an interesting and engaging narration. The lead actors in the film have performed their parts very well, making the experience of movie watching quite enjoyable. But what puzzles me (and perhaps many other people too, if I go by some of the comments and discussions going on in social media and also on the basis of a few reviews of the film) is the choice of political context in which the story of Haider has been situated. Allow me to present a list of seven points which made me wonder whether this time around the filmmaker's love for Shakespeare has taken a backseat to his politics in this third adaptation of the bard's plays. To read full review, go to my website: http://letbeautybeyourconstantideal.blogspot.in/2014/10/when-movie-gets-political-case-of-haider.html

Haider is one of the great Shakespeare film adaptations, and has a film score and visual style that is both appropriate and inventive. The first half of the film sets up the world of 1990s Kashmir, while the second half focuses more on the Shakespearean plot (while taking some creative liberties). A few notes: * The play-within-a-play scene features one of the most aggressive Hamlet's since Branagh, and it uses Bollywood dance and Kashmiri puppetry to great effect. * Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are hilariously and appropriately cast as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum sychophants, and we first see them in a VHS rental shop trying to copy a dance routine on the television. * Ophelia's madness is shown literally unraveling until, in one of the most striking images in the movie, she is lying in bed, hollow and empty, red yarn strewn like blood over her body. * the graveyard scene is appropriately comic and poignant * the final scene is explosive, taking many liberties with the script, and goes with the interpretation that Gertrude is repentant, knowledgeable about Claudius' plan to kill Hamlet, and purposely sacrificing herself for her son (the RSC followed a similar line of thinking years ago). It also ties itself back to the "to be or not to be" speech.

A bit slow and long winded - the content could've been covered in 90 minutes. The storyline's a bit choppy in places (possibly because of censorship).

I did a little research on the Kashmir region’s history before I watched this, which helped me understand the setting and historical context, and I believe that was necessary for me to derive as much enjoyment from this version of Hamlet as I did. I absolutely LOVE this movie. The acting and the soundtrack are fabulous.

This is a Hindi movie equivalent of an English/german movie which tries to portray Jewish Holocaust from a hitlers view point and justifying the same.

What a great re-vision of the Hamlet story!! I love the way they re-conceived Ophelia's character, so she's not just the helpless dupe of her father and brother. The scene with the Gravediggers is totally amazing!! It turns out they are insurgents, and when the Claudius character shows up, they pull out an arsenal of machine guns and a huge battle ensues. Those are the kind of grave diggers I like!!

This is by far the best Bollywood movie I have ever watched! Shahid Kapoor is a genius actor- love him! The director, the cast, the cinematography, locations- a masterpiece!

Fantastic bollywood adaptation of Hamlet but which can stand in its own right for its cinematography, great music and bollywood's renewed take on Kashmir. Best film I have seen in a long time.

it bluray dvd

Haider is my favourite hindi movie of 2014. Vishal Bhardwaj has done a fabulous job of setting Hamlet in Kashmir and integrating the politics of the valley as the background for this Shakespeare tragedy. Some changes have been made, but it stays faithful to the original and also retains some of the monologues. Elements from the play like the ghost, gravediggers, complex relationships are all there, but adapted to suit the contemporary world and do not feel out of place. The performances by the 3 main players - Tabu, Shahid Kapoor and Kay Kay Menon are top notch. Even the supporting cast has done a brilliant job. It is a complex story with many layers which are revealed on multiple viewings. At 161 minutes, it unfolds at a leisurely pace, but it kept me hooked. It is a dark movie which doesn't sugercoat the situation in Kasmir, and is not recommended for kids despite the U/A rating. The movie haunts you and stays with you long after you have seen it. Coming to the disc, the video quality is excellent. I didn't notice any obvious instances of dnr applied. The black levels are good without appeaing crushed. Detail is good in close ups. The shots of the scenic Kashmir are few, but they look good. The colours look natural. Overall it faithfully recreates the cinematic experience. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track is also very good. The dialogues can be clearly heard. The few songs also sound very good. The LFE channel is used during the explosions and other action. Surrounds are used for the terrific background score and the background noices which recreate the environment of Kashmir. There is also a 2 channel Dolby Digital track which I did not use and English subtitles which are good and have no grammatical errors. The extras contain a 25 minute making of feature in HD which is good albeit short. And also included are 7 minutes of deleted scenes also in HD which are not essential, but provide a bit of additional background to some characters. For the first time I have seen in a hindi bluray, the deleted scenes look almost as good as the movie and could've been integrated into the film without them sticking out like sore thumb, atleast in terms of visual quality. To buy to not to buy? Thats not a question anymore.

Good Movie and Bluray!!

Yes loved it very much.

superb act by Shahid........one of the most remembered act by him....for the people who love to watch offbit cinema....really really i love this movie.