The Mahabharata (1989 film)

The Mahabharata
DVD cover
Directed byPeter Brook
Written byPeter Brook
Jean-Claude Carrière
Marie-Hélène Estienne
StarringRobert Langton-Lloyd
Antonin Stahly-Vishwanadan 
Bruce Myers
Vittorio Mezzogiorno
Andrzej Seweryn
Georges Corraface
CinematographyWilliam Lubtchansky
Music byTsuchitori Toshiyuki
Rabindranath Tagore
Release date
  • 1989 (1989)
Running time
Film: 171 minutes
TV Mini Series: 6 x 55 minutes
CountryU.K. / Japan / Denmark / France / Belgium / U.S.A. / Australia / Ireland / Iceland / Sweden / Portugal / Norway / Netherlands / Finland
LanguageEnglish
Budget$5 million

The Mahabharata is a 1989 film version of the Hindu epic Mahabharata directed by Peter Brook. Brook's original 1985 stage play was 9 hours long, and toured around the world for four years. In 1989, it was reduced to under 6 hours for television (TV mini series). Later it was also reduced to about 3 hours for theatrical and DVD release. The screenplay was the result of eight years' work by Peter Brook, Jean-Claude Carrière and Marie-Hélène Estienne.