Very well made historical movie Amrapali is a film often overlooked by movie lovers and critics alike. The movie flopped on it's initial release but watching it today I can't understand why this happened. The film charts the story of the court dancer, Amrapali, devoted to the royal family of her district. She falls in love and begins an intense relationship with a soldier who saves her life. Unknown to Amrapali the soldier is the prince from a neighboring district who are locked in an on-going and bloody war with the royal family that Amrapali serves. The film features a strong message on the futility of war. The movie delivers everything that an Indian film lover could ask for ... mind-blowing visuals, strong performances by all of the cast, a killer soundtrack and beautiful dances performed by Vyjanthimala. The movie is very difficult to find - but if you do track it down give it a viewing ... the last scene where Amrapali submits to Buddha in a touching sequence where she questions why men wage war on each other will stay with you for a long long time.
Androcles is a Christian who follows that religion's teachings even as they apply to the treatment of animals. Seeing a lion in pain, he removes a huge thorn from the beast's paw, creating a friend for life. Androcles and a number of other Christians are evenutally arrested and condemned to death in the arena. They are to die by being eaten by lions. Is it too much to hope that one of the lions may have a paw that has healed recently and might remember who helped heal it
Based on the eponymous novella by Turgenev, the film follows the narrator, a young Russian man traveling in Germany. He meets his compatriots, Gagin and his sister Asya. The narrator and Asya fall in love, but will he take the next ste