Fox Home Entertainment has announced DVD ($29.98) and Blu-ray ($39.98) releases of Slumdog Millionaire for the 31st March. Extras will include a commentary by Director Danny Boyle and Actor Dev Patel, a second commentary by Producer Christian Colson and Writer Simon Beaufoy, a Slumdog Dreams: Danny Boyle & The Making of Slumdog Millionaire featurette, 12 deleted scenes, and a Slumdog Cutdown feature. The Blu-ray release will include all of the above, plus a From Script To Screen: Toilet Scene feature, an Indian Short Film (“Manjha”), a Bombay Liquid Dance Music Video, and a digital copy.
Although I’ve seen some very good movies last year, I can say with confidence that Slumdog Millionaire is the one that I’ve enjoyed the most. In the first couple of minutes of the Oscar winning film we learn several things. First, Jamal, a Muslim who is a product of the slums, is a participant on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”? Second, he is suspected of cheating and is subjected to horrific torture at the hands of the police. Gradually, after having failed to elicit confessions of how he had cheated, Jamal related, while they all watch a video of his television appearance, how he knew the answers of each of the questions. The result is a series of flashbacks that essentially tell the story of Jamal’s life and his relations with the two most important relationships in his life, that of his street smart but dangerous brother Salim, and Latika, his love interest. These scenes are set in some of the most horrific squalor that one can imagine. It may seem unrealistic that someone could come out of such wretched life experiences as relatively unscarred as Jamal appears to be, but that is in part because at heart the film; it is a fairy tale and love story.
