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
Mallika Sarabhai
CinematographyWilliam Lubtchansky
Music byTsuchitori Toshiyuki
Rabindranath Tagore
Distributed byVirgin Vision
R.M. Associates (United Kingdom)
BAC Films (France)
MK2 Productions (United States)
Festival Video (Australia)
Release date
  • 1989 (1989)
Running time
171 minutes (theatrical release)
330 minutes (miniseries)
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Japan
Denmark
France
Belgium
United States
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 nine hours in length and toured worldwide for four years. In 1989, and abridged adaptation, just short of six hours, was made as a television miniseries. This was in return edited into a nearly three hour cut for theatrical release. The screenplay was the result of eight years' work by Brook, Jean-Claude Carrière and Marie-Hélène Estienne.