This is the 618th film that I've now seen out of the 1,199 movies on the "Before You Die" list that I'm gradually working my way through.much
Original Hindi Title: Prapancha Pash
Director: Franz Osten
A rather fun, relatively light drama with a distinctively mythic feel. It doesn't break new narrative or acting ground, but the visual merits are noteworthy.
A Throw of Dice tells the story of two cousin kings living during an unspecified medieval period in India. The elder cousin, the greedy King Sohat, attempts to take over the kingdom of his younger, more handsome cousin, King Ranjit. Through assassinations and other underhanded tricks, Sohat very nearly manages to make a pauper out of Ranjit, as well as taking his beloved Sunita. In the end though, Sohat's various deceptions are revealed, he is defeated by Ranjit's supporters, and Ranjit takes back his kingdom.
The movie has plenty of plot swings, and they come off very much like a condensed soap opera. The pace is fun and brisk, and Sohat makes for a despicabble enough villain to make his demise rather satisfying. The characters are rather one-dimensional, though, with the only real complexity coming from the fact that the otherwise-amiable King Ranjit has a compulsion for gambling. This is what brings him to the very brink of total ruin, although everything does work out in the end. In this way, the movie comes off as a standard cautionary tale that one might tell children, making its appeal a bit more limited than a more nuanced story might hold.
Compared to contemporary films, A Throw of Dice feels rather lavish and exotic, not unlike The Thief of Baghdad. It isn't going to dazzle modern viewers used to much more advanced visuals, but for its time, this movie stood out. I have to think that it had a certain allure to those interested in foreign regions, as such places and customs were simply not seen in moving pictures much at the time. In fact, there are even a few documentary-style sequences which have nothing to do with plot and are presumably put into the film to simply amaze viewers who hadn't seen such footage of elephant riders, snake charmers, and other bizarre figures whom they had only read about or seen still photos of.
A Throw of Dice is a breezy, easily accessible affair from the silent era. It like a silent, black and white version of an extended parable. It won't challenge your values, and it won't expand your views of the world or humanity, but it can entertain your for its concise 75-minute run time.
That's 618 movies down. Only 581 to go before I can die.
Director: Franz Osten
A rather fun, relatively light drama with a distinctively mythic feel. It doesn't break new narrative or acting ground, but the visual merits are noteworthy.
A Throw of Dice tells the story of two cousin kings living during an unspecified medieval period in India. The elder cousin, the greedy King Sohat, attempts to take over the kingdom of his younger, more handsome cousin, King Ranjit. Through assassinations and other underhanded tricks, Sohat very nearly manages to make a pauper out of Ranjit, as well as taking his beloved Sunita. In the end though, Sohat's various deceptions are revealed, he is defeated by Ranjit's supporters, and Ranjit takes back his kingdom.
The movie has plenty of plot swings, and they come off very much like a condensed soap opera. The pace is fun and brisk, and Sohat makes for a despicabble enough villain to make his demise rather satisfying. The characters are rather one-dimensional, though, with the only real complexity coming from the fact that the otherwise-amiable King Ranjit has a compulsion for gambling. This is what brings him to the very brink of total ruin, although everything does work out in the end. In this way, the movie comes off as a standard cautionary tale that one might tell children, making its appeal a bit more limited than a more nuanced story might hold.
Compared to contemporary films, A Throw of Dice feels rather lavish and exotic, not unlike The Thief of Baghdad. It isn't going to dazzle modern viewers used to much more advanced visuals, but for its time, this movie stood out. I have to think that it had a certain allure to those interested in foreign regions, as such places and customs were simply not seen in moving pictures much at the time. In fact, there are even a few documentary-style sequences which have nothing to do with plot and are presumably put into the film to simply amaze viewers who hadn't seen such footage of elephant riders, snake charmers, and other bizarre figures whom they had only read about or seen still photos of.
A Throw of Dice is a breezy, easily accessible affair from the silent era. It like a silent, black and white version of an extended parable. It won't challenge your values, and it won't expand your views of the world or humanity, but it can entertain your for its concise 75-minute run time.
That's 618 movies down. Only 581 to go before I can die.
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