78
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertForster's novel is one of the literary landmarks of this century, and now David Lean has made it into one of the greatest screen adaptations I have ever seen.
- 91The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayWhile it isn't as brilliant as his The Bridge On The River Kwai or Lawrence Of Arabia, Lean's final film is just as meticulously designed, because more than any other filmmaker of his era, he understood how the right hat could say as much about a character —and a society—as any line of dialogue.
- 90The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyMr. Lean's Passage to India, which he wrote and directed, is by far his best work since The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia and perhaps his most humane and moving film since Brief Encounter.
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineAlthough the story makes for a movie that is often slow going, it is also a beautiful and evocative film fueled by an excellent performance from Davis and Peggy Ashcroft.
- 75Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittA lavishly produced and often involving drama that never reaches its full potential. [09 Jan 1985, p.25]
- 75Miami HeraldBill CosfordMiami HeraldBill CosfordOld-fashioned isn't necessarily bad. In Lean's case it can be immensely entertaining, because he knows how to build a story. At 76, he is still quite vital a force behind the camera, and he makes A Passage to India, born a comedy of manners, into high melodrama. [11 Jan 1985, p.D1]
- 60Time OutTime OutNot for literary purists, but if you like your entertainment well tailored, then feel the quality and the width.
- 60EmpireIan NathanEmpireIan NathanPerhaps, it was the choice of material, a much more internalised story despite its glossy Raj setting, or the absence of Robert Bolt as screenwriter (it was he who put the fire in Lean’s belly), but the film, for all Lean’s innate elegance, is strangely remote and unmoving.
- 50Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrDavid Lean's studied, plodding, overanalytic direction manages to kill most of the meaning in E.M. Forster's haunting novel of cultural collision in colonial India.