Robert J. Maxwell Don't let the fact that this is a Merchant Ivory production put you off in any way. There's little delicacy, intuition, or nuance in this colonial adventure story.As everyone knows by now -- everyone who has seen "Gunga Din" at any rate, which is everyone -- the Thugs were a sect in India who strangled their victims after digging their graves. "Gunga Din" tells us that they worshiped Kali, who stood for destruction, but it doesn't tell us that their favorite way of acquiring victims was in posing as frightened proletarians and joining the caravans that offered them protection in dangerous country. They may have worshiped Kali but they had nothing against robbing the caravans after murdering its members. They were something like organized American gangsters -- the Mafia or Murder Incorporated -- if the American gangsters have worshiped their own god. Needless to say, in 1840, when the British East India Company more or less ruled India, with the army as its instrument, this was a noisome situation.Lots of potential here. It almost calls for Errol Flynn. The Indians wear familiar garb and some of the customs are known to us -- suttee, for instance. But there's a touch of authenticity in the British uniforms. What outlandish caps -- like upside-down vases! The film is undone by clumsy writing and direction that is pedestrian and commercial. In the opening scene, a small camp of British soldiers is quietly wiped out, off screen. The lone officer who survives is waked up by the quiet, steps out into the night, looks around at the handful of corpses, fires a shot at a noise in the jungle, and then the camera rolls in for a gargantuan close up of the officer's face in an expression of shock and surprise. His eyes bulge, his mouth drops open, his tongue lolls -- and we don't know if he's just been stabbed or strangled or had a wetting accident. End of scene. Writing and direction that is that careless needs something close to being sacrificially burned.That scene is just an example. I don't mean that it's a terrible movie. Heck, those flamboyant hats alone might make it worth watching. It's just that, if most recent Merchant Ivory productions are exercises in sluggish elegance, this one leans too far in the other direction. Not enough advantage is taken of the location shooting. I hate to say something like watch "A Passage to India" to get some idea of how fruitful staging can add quality to a film -- but watch "A Passage to India" to see. Or even "Kama Sutra", a far lesser film, in which you can almost smell the incense. There's a hunt for a wounded tiger here that lands with a thud. It's hard to screw up a hunt for a wounded tiger but there's simply no suspense in the scene. On the plus side, the writer and director didn't shy away from the realities accompanying death in the tropics. The flies buzz all over the place. The performances aren't bad either.

Michael Neumann Although it displays the usually reliable Merchant-Ivory production banner this tale of high adventure and skullduggery in British India is only a routine B movie with exotic pretensions. The background is historically factual, drawn around the ritual murders committed by a secret religious cult of so-called 'Thuggees' (from which the word 'thug' was later derived). But the far-fetched story of a British soldier infiltrating their ranks and losing himself in a netherworld of violence and vices is, at best, contrived, even by the lowest standards of romantic fiction. The idea might have looked better on paper, before its artistic and commercial potential was crippled by a lackluster, coincidence-filled script and a star performance that drains the hero of any charisma. Director Nicholas Meyer tries to convey the allure of an ancient culture, but the film doesn't have enough style to camouflage its slapdash lack of substance, and the token gestures to period flavor and atmosphere don't extend beyond the costume design and some cut-rate esoteric mysticism. When, for example, hero Pierce Brosnan is seduced by a mysterious native girl, their shadows on the wall show him embraced by the six-armed Thuggee goddess Kali… (cue the ominous tabla music)

cannonshot It may seem a trite point to many that this historical drama is surprisingly authentic, but I find it very refreshing after seeing so many films throw details to the wind. There are very few movies, if any dealing with Britian's famous "Honorable East India Company", but the costuming on this movie was researched very well indeed. I think this fact alone holds a lot of the appeal as a 'History' buff's movie. I couldn't imagine Pierce Brosnan's tiger hunting scene to be much more accurate, as every detail seems excellent to me, especially the uniforms of the HEIC. I think that the movie captures the mystic of India very well and is generally based on true historic events. Whatever people think of Pierce Brosnans' acting ability, this movie has very good entertainment value, apart from showing a unique side of the history of India. My close associate shot a documentary in very remote parts of India, and many of this movie's scenes look similar today, though I doubt he experienced anything quite like the 'death by elephant' scene in today's India !

artzau Our English word 'thug' comes from a Hindi word, 'thag,' as we often see it transliterated as 'thuggee.' The thuggees were a secret cult of assassins/robbers who preyed on wealthy travelers, usually in the months of October. It was (or still is, as some claim) an ancient order which preceded the Islamic invasion of India and which also included Muslims in its ranks. The thuggees worshiped Kali, the consort of Shiva, (or Siva) the destroyer, one of the three gods in the Hindu Trimurti or trinity (the other two being Brahmin and Vishnu). This film which is based on a fictional account of a British officer who inflitrates the cult by disguising himself as a thuggee and eventually comes to be the one who destroy it. The allusion to being based on real life events, of course, adds to the mystery and allure of this film's exotic setting. A young pre-James Bond Pierce Brosnan is the central character and is aided by the Indian veteran character actor, Saeed Jaffery. Add to that, the presence of Australian actor, Keith Michell, his attractive daughter, Helena, a face frequently seen as a supporting actor, David Robb, as the Gentleman cad, and a large cast of Indian actors that are seen in Indian films, and you have the cast. The scenery is most interesting as it was shot on location in India and shows the countryside not as a jungle, as many think of India. Historically, the East India Company which was exploiting the natural resources of India for their own colonial interests, was underwritten by the English government and the British Army was providing the administrative services. The story of this film, based on the investigations of the colonial administrator, Sir. W.H. Sleeman who eventually uprooted the Thuggee cult, took place before the Sepoy uprising in the 1840's.This is not a bad film and maintains high level of tension. I found it entertaining and interesting and recommend it.