A Throw of Dice

A Throw of Dice

Infobox Film
name = Prapancha Pash (A Throw of Dice)


image_size = 300px
caption = "Charu Roy", and "Seeta Devi" in the 1929 film, "Prapancha Pasha" (A Throw of Dice)
director = Franz Osten
producer = Nadine Luque
Tim Pearce
Himansu Rai
Bruce Wolfe
writer = W.A Burton
Max Jungk
Niranjan Pal (story)
narrator =
starring = Seeta Devi
Himansu Rai
Charu Roy
Modhu Bose
music = Willy Schmidt-Gentner
Nitin Sawhney (2006)
cinematography = Emil Schünemann
editing =
distributor = (International) Fandango
(U.K) BFI (British Film Institute)
released = 16 August 1929
31 August 2007 (Re-released) [ [http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:kDhqhuvmHSgJ:www.bfi.org.uk/about/media/releases/2007-07-24-throw-of-dice.pdf+A+Throw+of+Dice+1929&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=27 BFI Press Release on A Throw of Dice] "British Film Institute".]
runtime = 74 min
country = India/Germany
language =
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
imdb_id = 0020286
website = http://www.athrowofdice.com

A Throw of Dice (Prapancha Pash) is a 1929 silent film by German born director, Franz Osten, based on a episode from Indian epic "Mahabharata" .

Franz Osten made 19 films in India between 1926 and 1939, and the film formed the final part of a trilogy of Indo-German productions, between Franz Osten and Indian actor-producer Himanshu Rai, the other films being "Prem Sanyas" (1925) and "Shiraz" 1928). After a gap, Frank Ozten returned to India, and worked with Bombay Talkies formed by Himanshu Rai, though soon during the production of “Kangan” (“The Bangle”) in 1939, that Osten, a member of the Nazi party, was arrested by British colonial officials and held through the end of the World war II .

The film has been in the British Film Institute (BFI)’s archives since 1945, though rarely seen, in 2006 the film digitally restored [http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=162722 Review] "Channel 4".] , in honour of the 60th anniversary celebrations of Indian independence [http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/aug/24/drama.worldcinema1 A Throw of Dice] ] "The Guardian".] , and re-released in Luminato Festival, Toronto, Canada, on June 13, 2008, with a new orchestral score by British Indian composer, Nitin Sawhney. [cite web|url=http://www.luminato.com/festival/eng/media_gallery_details.php?id=76|title=Luminato:Festival of Arts + Creativity 2008|accessdate=2008-07-30|date=2008-07-13|publisher=Luminato.com|work=Luminato.com] [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_91u-Z_h62Q Excerpts "Nitin Sawhney" montage] ] . The United States release occurred on July 30, 2008 during Grand Park Music Festival at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in city-state|Chicago|Illinois. [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/travel/27DATEBOOK.html?|title=Datebook: Chicago, San Francisco and Singapore|accessdate=2008-07-30|date=2008-07-27|publisher=The New York Times Company|work=The New York Times]

Reception

Upon its re-release in 2007, a "New York Times" review states, "There’s hardly a frame in the 1929 film “A Throw of Dice” that doesn’t provide a surge of visual pleasure." , while a "Guardian" reviewer, Peter Bradshaw called it, "a rare and fascinating gem." , the "Observer" reviewer, "Philip French", termed it, "a remarkable silent movie" [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2007/aug/26/worldcinema.drama Review - A Throw of Dice] "The Guardian", August 26, 2007.] .

Plot summary

The movie is about two kings vying for the love of a hermit's daughter, the beautiful Sunita. The two kings, Ranjit and Sohan share a passion for gambling and decide to play a game of craps to determine who will marry Sunita. Sunita wishes to marry Ranjit. Ranjit loses the game to the nefarious Sohan and as a forfeit becomes his slave. Sunita soon uncovers the truth about Sohan's evil deeds and to escape punishment he hurls himself off a cliff into the rapids below. Ranjit and Sunita are reunited and married.

Production

The second Indian film by Franz Osten was is considered by many his greatest achievement. The previous film was "Prem Sanyas", also known as "The Light of Asia". The silent film was shot in black and white on a 35mm film. It contains thousands of cast members and animals including: 10,000 extras, 1,000 horses and scores of elephants and tigers and was shot in Rajasthan [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/movies/homevideo/15dvds.html?_r=1&oref=slogin ‘A Throw of Dice’ and Summer Serials] "New York Times", July 15, 2008.] .

Nitin Sawhney, composer of the 2006 new score, describes the film as "A cross between Chaplin, Cecil B. DeMille and an early bollywood movie." On many occasions it has been compared to a Cecil B. DeMille film for its levels of extravagance.

Cast

* Seeta Devi (Sunita)
* Himansu Rai (Sohan)
* Charu Roy (Ranjit)
* Modhu Bose
* Sarada Gupta (The Hermit)
* Lala Bijoykishen
* Tincory Chakrabarty

References

External links

*imdb title|0020286|Prapancha Pash


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