Part of our CINEMA IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS series. Saturday, July 25, 2020 @ 7:30p, Netflix Streaming Service: AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY (1977, dir by Manmohan Desai, streaming, India, 171 mns)
HOW TO: While we all work to be socially responsible during the age of coronavirus, Secret Movie Club is experimenting with news ways we can all come together as a community and watch great movies.
We want to keep this very reasonable since folks have to have Netflix to start with. So donate whatever works for you. $1 is fine with us.
Just make sure you download NETFLIX PARTY on a Chrome Browser.
You'll see the initials NP in the upper right hand corner of browser after a succesful download.
Secret Movie Club will email the link for the Netflix Party at 30 minutes before showtime using the email you provide here. Click that link then click the NP in upper right hand corner. This will synch you to our screening. We will start the movie at exactly 5 minutes after the hour.
There will be a chat function that allows everyone to comment as we go.
The Secret Movie Club team will be offering trivia, history, insights, articles, deep dives throughout the movie(s). We're going to work to make this as rich a feast as possible utilizing the technology at hand.
Then we'll want your feedback immediately on how we can improve/make it better! This also will allow Secret Movie Clubbers from all over the world to join in on a virtual screening!
This week we’re celebrating international cinemas by screening one of the greatest of all Hindi cinema movies: 1977’s AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY starring one of the biggest movie stars in any country of all time: Amitabh Bachchan.
Not to get too over the top but if you’ve never seen a “Bollywood” movie, this programmer almost feels as if you’ve never experienced total cinema. Made in India, many of these movies are part of the “Masala” genre including AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY. Masala refers to the combination of spices used in much of Indian cooking. A little of this, a little of that and you get a rich delicious dish.
The same is true of a Masala movie which basically aims to entertain absolutely everyone. You get action-adventure, you get big musical numbers, you get comedy, you get romance, you get melodrama, you get everything!
AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY tells the story of three brothers separated at birth who are each raised in a different religion-Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. As adults, they are now a policeman, a liquor dealer (that’s Bachchan!), and a singer. Circumstance brings them together again and in close proximity to their mother (whom they have never known) and the evil crime boss Robert who is responsible for their separation and the family’s misery.
Sufficed to say, a lot is going to happen from this point in including show stopping musical numbers, disguise, vice versa misunderstandings, reunions, confrontations, romances. . .
Made during a particularly important period of Masala filmmaking, the movie advocates for religious and cultural tolerance at the same time it entertains.
This is one of Hindi cinema’s most entertaining films, biggest hits, and cultural landmarks. One of the great experiences of cinema is discovering a whole country of movies/genre/style/films you never have seen before. We hope and feel you are going to be blown away by Hindi cinema: one of the world’s truly great centers of moviemaking. Join us!
Best always,
Craig Hammill
35mm Secret Movie Club Founder.Programmer