CriterionCast

The Eclipse Viewer – Episode 16 – Sabu!

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This podcast focuses on Criterion’s Eclipse Series of DVDs. Hosts David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett give an overview of each box and offer their perspectives on the unique treasures they find inside. In this episode, David and Trevor are joined by Ryan Gallagher to discuss Eclipse Series 30: Sabu!

About the films:

In the thirties and forties, the young Indian actor known as Sabu (born Selar Shaik) captured the hearts of moviegoers in Britain and the United States as a completely new kind of big-screen icon. Sabu was a maharaja’s elephant driver when he was cast in Elephant Boy, a Rudyard Kipling adaptation directed by documentary trailblazer Robert Flaherty and Zoltán Korda that would prove to be enormously popular. Sabu went on to headline a series of fantasies and adventures for the British film titans the Korda brothers, transcending the exoticism projected onto him by commanding the screen with effortless grace and humor. This series collects three of those lavish productions (which also included the classic The Thief of Bagdad): Elephant Boy, the colonialist adventure The Drum, and the timeless Jungle Book.

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Timeline for the podcast:

Introduction/Background (00:00:01 – 00:12:47)

Elephant Boy (00:12:48 – 00:33:19)

The Drum (00:33:20 – 00:57:28)

Interlude: The Thief of Bagdad (00:57:29 -01:01:40)

Jungle Book (01:01:41 – 01:22:00)

Conclusion (01:22:01 – 01:39:15)

Buy The Box Set On Amazon:

ES30_Sabu_3D_slipcase

Episode Links:

Background and Overview:

Box Set Reviews:

Elephant Boy:

The Drum:

The Thief of Bagdad:

Jungle Book:

Next time on the podcast: Eclipse Series 25: Basil Dearden’s London Underground

Contact us:

Twitter

Email: theeclipseviewer (at) gmail.com

David Blakeslee ( Twitter Website )

Trevor Berrett ( Twitter / Website )

Ryan Gallagher ( Twitter / Website )

David Blakeslee

David hosts the Criterion Reflections podcast, a series that reviews the films of the Criterion Collection in their chronological order of release. The series began in 2009 and those essays (covering the years 1921-1967) can be found via the website link provided below. In March 2016, the blog transferred to this site, and in August 2017, the blog changed over to a podcast format. David also contributes to other reviews and podcasts on this site. He lives near Grand Rapids, Michigan and works in social services. Twitter / Criterion Reflections