Lord Mountbatten - The Last Viceroy

Certainly this was "dressed up" and simplified for a television production, but overall, I found it not only enjoyable but a good intro to the beginnings of the India-Pakistan dichotomy which exists to this day. Historians are going to find a lot to find fault with--I'm just an amateur historian, and I saw a lot glossed over and simplified, perhaps even twisted a bit--but nothing which is out of bounds. Jinnah is portrayed here as a grim reaper type villain, but, then, he WAS devious and vainglorious, to Pakistan's everlasting disadvantage. Nicol Williamson is not the best actor who have could been tapped for the role of Mountbatten, but Janet Suzman and Ian Richardson were superb in their roles as Edwina Mountbatten and J. Nehru. I found Sam Dastor merely adequate as Gandhi. (The rolled lower lip and the grunting were both distracting and superfluous.) The scenes of refugee massacres intra- and post-partition were obviously staged and unconvincing, and there was a lot of chewing the carpet in the scenes of transition governmental scenes (with Mountbatten always the hero), which were unconvincing as history. As drama, however, it's damn good, and I do recommend it for those who enjoy historical drama and can suspend their academic suspicions.

Mountbatten was described by a historian as man whose"immense vanity and hunger for publicity and power, coupledwith his vaulting ambition and propensity for realigning thetruth were narrowly outweighed by his colossal energy and charm". All of this is portrayed brilliantly by Nicole Williamson in this superb production about Mountbatten's terms as last Viceroy of India as well as its first Governor-General.However, this series does not only focus on Mountbatten but shows the political and religious forces at work that brought about both India's independence, but also the savage violence that accompanied the partition of the sub-continent and the legacy of hate and religious fanaticism that now threaten not only the successor states, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, but possibly the entire world due to their nuclear arsenals.The series also features excellent performances by Janet Suzman as Lady Edwina Mountbatten who was one of the great "do-gooders" of history, Vladek Sheybal as the enigmatic,iron-willed, tubercular Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and especially Sam Dastor as Gandhi whose portrayal of him is far superior to that of Ben Kingsley in the film "Gandhi".One drawback of the series is that it is based heavily on the memoirs of Mountbatten and his assistant Alan Campbell-Johnson who were clearly biased against Jinnah and fans of Nehru and Gandhi, blaming the partition of India solely on Jinnah's "stubborness". Other historians have a more nuanced view of the Indian leaders pointing out that Jinnah did accept the idea of a united India under a loose Federal system and that it was Nehru and Gandhi's Congress Party that rejected it giving Jinnah no alternative but to seek total separation for India's Muslims. Similarly, Jinnah is portrayed as responsible for the war in Kashmir, whereas according to the rules that defined the partition, the majority religious group should have been able to choose which successor state they associated with, but Kashmir's majority Muslims were never given this opportunity becuase Nehru, being a Kashmiri himself, was insistent on taking Kashmir for India.None of this detracts, however, from the sheer pleasure of seeing this vast panorama portrayed on the television. Anyone interested in great historical events or personages will enjoy this series.

Having recalled the original series with great affection, we were so pleased to be able to see it again, albeit in a less than wonderful remastering. The images are almost great and the locations are incredible. The acting is of a very high order, and what no one seems to comment on is the LOCATIONS! The Indian Government obviously provided incredible cooperation: that IS Viceroy's House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) you are seeing, even the swimming pool and the interiors with all their Raj splendor. We wonder where they got all those Imperial insignia for the servants' liveries. As soon as the Raj concluded, they removed all crowns and replaced them with the three-faced Ashoka Pillar Capital (which has an outline very like its predecessor). Driving through the environs of the former Viceregal estate, you can still see the outlines of the crowns and the GRI (George Rex Imperator) cypher on many carved details. It is a thoroughly enjoyable six-part treat that is hard to stop watching! Nicol Williamson is very good, Janet Suzman is prettier than Edwina Mountbatten was at that stage in her life, and Ian Richardson, even though he is not an Indian, is uncannily Nehru to the flesh!Jinnah is very unfavorably portrayed by Vladek Sheybal but he does convey the latter's imperious and negative nature and his incredible ego. Pakistanis will not like the interpretation and it can still be argued that Lord Louis rushed things because he wanted to get back to his naval career, and that the British Indian Army should have been retained for a year to try to maintain law and order, especially in the Punjab, but it is still a fascinating tale, well and truly told! Get it and enjoy! Rule Britannia and Jai Hind!

I liked everything about this film, but principally it adhered to the historical record as much as possible. It is incredible how in the days before CGI, the crew produced so many of the vast scenes associated with Indian independence. The performance of Nichol Williams as Lord Louis was excellent and superb. It was as if Nehru, Ghandi, and Jinnah all played themselves in this movie. Anyone should watch this movie to learn about a little known event that has effected our lives even today.

Excellent! Reasonably price, arrived in a timely manner as advertised...Thank you!

Lord Mountbatten is a controversial figure in history - he was ambitious, arrogant and full of himself but he was undoubtedly highly intelligent and brave as he had to be when he took on the uneviable job of being the last Viceroy of India in 1947 at the time when its independence was fast approaching. He presided over what was the inevitable partition of India as it became clear that Moslems and Hindus could not, or would not live together in harmony in one country but the partition was badly handled for which the British have to take their share of the blame and the result was terrible ethnic and religious unrest, massive movements of population, millions of refugees and widespread bloodshed. The division of the country was agreed in principle by all the major religious groups affected, Hindus, Moslems and Sikhs but the way the country was partitioned between India and Pakistan was devised by the British and the religious groups did not know which country each province would be in until after independence. The process was deeply flawed, it was not based on consent or after any meaningful consultation, it was based on inadequate and false information, it was a rushed job and the outcome after independence on 15 August 1947 was disasterous. The results were seen later when the countries went to war with each other and there is continuing tension between India and Pakistan in border areas in places like Kashir.Nicol Williamson and Janet Susman are both very impressive as Lord and Lady Mountbatten and although Ian Richardson and Vladek Sheybal make a good stab at portraying Nehru and Jinha they are not entirely convincing and I think it would have been better if two Indian actors had taken on these roles. Sam Dastor is very good as Gandhi and he both looks very much like the great man and sounds like him. The epic nature of the story and the vast crowd scenes are superbly handled by director Tom Clegg and the production is exciting, memorable and in places very moving.

Liked it. Got it because I was interest in Mountbatten, and it proved most entertaining. Production values seemed decent enough for a TV mini series of this vintage, and in some ways perhaps they had reproduced the original in ways which would be more difficult now with the passage of time and escalating costs of a big cast. Satisfactory shots of cavalry and pomp. A little disconcerting that the cast member who most resembled Mountbatten was playing someone else, but got over that. Can't help thinking the real Mountbatten would never have been seen dead in a white naval uniform which fit as badly as the one he wears in the series.It seemed to me quite a rounded presentation of events. There is some controversy over whether independence could have been handled better, but I certainly wouldnt know enough to argue with the film's presentation of events. Mountbatten's task was to get Britain out of India before it descended into civil war, rather than after, and that was just what he did. Taking more time over it might have allowed a smoother transition, but risked negotiations spreading into outright war as the factions reached unresolvable impasse. About the only way to have prevented war would have been for the British to remain in charge, and no one wanted that.So fun story about a genuine hero giving a little insight into what the Raj was really about.

nicol Williamson in top form.I like the love triangle of Nehru, lady Mountbatten and lord mountbatten.an insight to Indian politics and the blood bath which followed.

An intesting presentation of the last days of the British RAj, of indipendence of India and of the tragedy of separation in two states. Probably slightly apologetic for the Mountbattens but not at all disturbing. Worthwhile to see.

Impression man who dared to challange the IRA!