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Best movie of this year hands down!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This Indian silent film featured in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I obviously wouldn't have known about it before reading the book, I watched it hoping it would deserve its place. Basically this is the story of two kings, the good King Sohan (Himansu Rai) and the evil King Ranjit (Charu Roy), who both share a passion for gambling, and are both vying for the affections of the same woman. Sohan and Ranjit are competing for the love of the beautiful Sunita (Seeta Devi), the daughter of Kanwa the Hermit (Sarada Gupta), the two decide to settle the fight and play a game of craps to determine who is the true love for Sunita, and who will marry her. The game is determined by a throw of dice, Sunita herself wishes to marry Ranjit, but he loses the game to the wicked Sohan, and as a forfeit Ranjit is forced to become his slave. However Sunita soon uncovers the truth of the crooked game that lost Ranjit his crown, and about Sohan's evil deeds, and it seems he has no chance of escaping punishment. In the end Sohan commits suicide, throwing himself off a cliff into the rapids below, and Ranjit and Sunita are reunited, sharing a passionate kiss and getting married. Also starring Modhu Bose as Kirkbar - King Sohat's Henchman, Tincory Chakrabarty as Kanzler Raghunath and Lala Bijoykishen as Raghunaths Sohn Beerbal. The rivalry between the two kings is interesting, the dice game is really a small factor, and the love story is fine, I found myself looking at the cool sights of India, with elephants and stuff, I admit it trailed in places, but it is a good example of early Bollywood, an alright silent epic. Worth watching!

When I began watching "Throw of the Dice", I was immediately taken by the wonderful quality of the print--something you don't usually see on a film that is 81 years-old! Clearly, the recent restoration was a smashing success--as was the nice musical score. As a result, the film is well worth seeing--though I must admit that the story did seem to have some problems as it was a bit silly and hard to believe. After all, who is THAT stupid?! The story is about two cousins--each who is a king in an Indian kingdom. One is evil but hides it very well--and he intends to destroy his cousin and take his kingdom. First, an arrow is deliberately shot into the unsuspecting king during a hunting trip, but he manages to survive--and fall in love with the local doctor's daughter. Next, the doctor is murdered and the good king is framed...but that plot, too, in undone when the man hired to do the killing admits his deed as he himself dies. So, the wicked king decides to cheat the cousin out of his kingdom as well as his new fiancé through the use of loaded dice. How all this is resolved is for you to see when you watch the film.As for the third plot to steal the kingdom, it's all very difficult to believe--especially that anyone would be stupid enough to fall for the evil king's plan to get his cousin to gamble away his kingdom. It all has a mythical quality about it and I assume this is probably taken from some ancient Indian folk tale. But, despite this being the weak point in the film, the rest of the movie is so lovely that I think the plot can be overlooked a bit. The film has wonderful cinematography, costumes, composition and beauty--it really is a work of art...and a work of art any silent film buff needs to see.

Actors & Actresses from the silent movie era tend to overact by today's standards but the acting in this sweet little movie is commendably restrained especially for an "action/suspense type movie.The story is of two Indian kings, both avid gamblers who both fall for the same woman played by a functionally beautiful Seeta Devi. One of the kings has been secretly plotting to assassinate the other and take over his kingdom but his first attempt only wounds him. He is nursed by health by Sunita (Devi) & her father who is a man of medicine who has previously left the kings court to live in the forest because he is put off by the gambling.The entry of Sunita onto the scene escalates the stakes as the evil king uses various methods to eliminate the other & not only take his kingdom but take Sunita as well.The story is nothing special but as I said before the acting is reserved for a silent picture. Devi in particular is able to convey her feelings with a simple look or facial expression, an excellent display of subtle acting far different from the usual histrionics that you'd usually see from actresses at this time.Look for some excellent camera work at the beginning showing some of the local wildlife.

Kings Ranjit and Sohan may well be cousins who share a love of gambling but, unbeknownst to Ranjit, Sohan plots to kill him and make his kingdom his own. Sohan's plot fails though and Ranjit is only wounded during his hunting "accident" and is saved by a local healer. While staying in this village, Ranjit meets the beautiful Sunita and decides to make her his wife. Her father refuses due to Ranjit's famed gambling habit but when Sohan gets wind of the lovers' planned elopement, he comes up with another evil plot.Unlike the consistently thorough IMDb reviewer "Igenlode Wordsmith", I was not fortunate enough to see the BFI dust this film off in Trafalgar Square with a live orchestra earlier this year. Instead I had to catch it on channel 4 (screened at an absurdly late hour) but the reason for the showing was the same – the re-scoring of the original film by composer Nitin Sawhney. I don't mean to ignore this aspect of the film but I also don't want to fixate on it and ignore the film as a whole. Before watching it, it is important to accept that this is a silent film from India almost eighty years old, and perhaps put aside your modern eyes to some degree – complaining about a lack of dialogue may say more about the reviewer than the film! However you should expect the standards of the silent era and of a film this age and not be complaining because the film is actually an impressive piece of silent cinema. The story is a strong story of love, betrayal and murder. When you can describe characters as "evil king" and "bad king" you won't be surprised to learn that this is not the most subtle of character films but this approach suits the medium as one does need to overstate things when doing it without the benefit of sound. I was held by it for the 80-odd minute running time – itself an impressive fact considering it was made in the twenties.Continuing the theme of scale, IMDb's trivia footnote tells me this film had 10,000 extras, 1000 horses and 50 elephants – I wouldn't have guessed those figures but there is no doubt that the film is impressive in regards the scale of the production. The sets and shots are impressive in their sheer size; this is not a film shot on cheap sets but one that wears the majesty of its characters in all the detail. Osten directs very well, managing these shots but also bringing off intimate character moments as well as some technically clever stuff as well (the reflection in the water shot was my favourite). He also brings the best out of his cast – although again you need to appreciate that this is a silent film and that the acting style demanded is different. Roy is the hero of the piece and he performs this task well, even if he is a tad dull with it. Likewise Devi makes for a very attractive heroine who works her chemistry with the hero as well as she does her lack of chemistry with the villain, however it is Rai's film to be had. He play the villain and he gets to do so with a wonderfully melodramatic performance that plays up so the audience can see he is being sneaky, plotting etc. In a modern film we would call him cheesy but here it is just what was required and his performance is a delight, adding energy to the film.Finally, given that it is the reason for the recent showing, it would be impolite not to mention Sawhney's score – indeed it would be foolish because it is excellent. It manages to be modern and old fashioned at the same time but most importantly, it perfectly matches the tone of the film as it plays. This means that the drama is lifted, the humour is played out a little and the involvement and attitude of the audience is guided by the music – and I cannot think of what more I would want from a score. Will I be putting it on my pod for casual listening? Well no, but within the film it is perfect and I am jealous of the people who saw it with London Symphony Orchestra in the open air.Overall then a quite impressive silent film in terms of scale and delivery, the addition of a great new score only serves to make it better.