"The digital restoration of the Italian version was carried out using the best elements preserved by Cinecittà Studios" "and CSC" " Cineteca Nazionale." "An in-depth analysis of the materials, along with the valuable contribution of film historian Adriano Aprà, allowed the identification of the most useful restoration elements.." "the internegative for the picture, an intermediate for the opening titles, a positive copy taken from same colour internegative for the sound," "and a vintage showing print for correct synchronisation." "The images were scanned at a resolution of 2K." "After scanning the images were stabilised and digitally cleaned to eliminate the marks of time - spots, lines, scratches and splice marks." "The colour correction process turned out to be extremely complicated, as the colour had greatly faded." "A vintage copy, preserved by, CSC" " Cineteca Nazionale and a copy printed by Cinecittà in the 90s were to be of high reference value during this phase in rediscovering the specific characteristics of cinematographer Aldo Tonti's work, as well as the various film used (Gevaert, Ferania, Kodak, 16mm, 35mm)." "Following its digitization, the film's soundtrack under went digital cleaning, as well as the reduction of background noises caused by wear overtime," "maintaining the dynamic nature and particularities of the original sound." "All of the elements traced are lacking some frames in certain parts, thus it was not possible to reconstruct the entire film." "The restoration was carried out by Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in 2011." "For anyone coming from the West, Bombay has traditionally been the gateway to India." "On arrival one is filled with euphoria." "The first thing to astonish is the crowd." "Tens, hundreds, thousands tens of thousands hundreds of thousands maybe millions of people, who come together like the incessant current of a river which yet hasn't swept away the vestiges that the Muslims," "Parsis, English colonialists and others constructed." "Sun, shade, winds drought and monsoons have given a common appearance to these people of diverse races and religions." "which thickens and swarms." "Farmers and city dwellers." "Then there are the old castes:" "the Brahmins, custodians of religion, the Kshatriyas, warriors, the Vaishyas, merchants, the Shudras, workers." "The castes were formed according to ethnic group - the indigenous, Dravidians and Aryans, as well as Persians, Muslims and all others derived from such a concentrated mix." "The hum of countless languages rises from the swarming streets " "Hindustani, Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Gujarati," "Marathi, Kannada, Relugu, Malayalam," "Tamil, Brahui, Sindhi Punjabi, Rajasthani," "Pahari, Bhili, Kashmili, Bihari." "A confluence of peaceful peoples and of warriors become peaceful." "These men with gold, turbans are Ismailis ancient Muslim warriors once known as hashishin from which the word "assassin" comes." "The Ismailis are now a hardworking, peaceful community." "This patchwork of humanity, this promiscuity of elements makes up the Indian people, the most tolerant in all the world." "They even tolerate this architecture." "But they do try to improve it." "This tolerance prepares their souls for all transformations and changes, without racial prejudice or sacrificing their various ethnic characteristics." "This crowd enjoys itself like all the crowds in the world." "Merry-go-rounds, spin toys, street performers," "balloons windmills." "And they happily relax." "They are skilled craftsmen." "Whom this crowd lifts carries bears" "hoists up, loads holds up," "Moves transports," "transfers and relocates." "It strolls" "ruminates sleeps," "dreams" "builds works" "adopts the most modern methods or makes use of traditional means." "The Indian people are supported by millenniums of tradition, and openly prefer peace to war, tolerance to intolerance." "A people who don't want to convert anybody." "But the most authentic Indians live in its 580,000 villages." "On just one twentieth of the earth's surface lives one sixth of the world's population." "This dramatic reality is the motor of modern India." "The Indian is aware of nature." "He knows well he's part of it." "He knows the secrets, the laws the fruits and how to change them." "Here in the temples the images of life appear as a great celebration." "A full and delicious expression of a people's love for life." "A sacred city, Madurai shows off the majestic architecture of its temples." "This elephant was brought to the city for a religious ceremony." "It comes from this immense jungle of Karapur where it works, where it once lived in the wild where it was captured and domesticated." "The elephant is the bulldozer of India." "The Indian is so at one with nature that through kindness instead of force he was able to make the elephant into his work colleague." "An elephant works just three hours a day, from 7 to 10." "Then it becomes too hot for him." "Instead us mahouts the elephant drivers, don't get a moment's rest all day." "After work, bath time." "And believe me, it's quite a job." "I need to cool him off for two or three hours." "Splash him, rinse him, wash him down, cuddle him caress him, and finally pick the fleas off him." "After bath time, breakfast." "An elephant eats between 600 and 800 kilos a day." "Of course, it depends on the animal's height and size." "After he's been well fed we can finally have a bite to eat." "During breakfast one day we were joined by a company of puppeteers." "I remember it very well." "That was an important day in my life." "Sir, is there a guest house around?" "We are from Mysore." "We are here to put on a puppet show." "We are looking for a guest house." "The guesthouse is on the other side." " Where?" " Over there." "Thank you." "Let's go." "We don't even have time for a little amusement." "At night he needs to be fed 100 to 150 packs of straw with rice or grain, and more caresses and cuddles too." "What a life!" "The next day I saw her again." "These bellows for us who know elephants well, signify that they're falling in love." "I'd be so happy." "It's the only way I'm able to have some free time." "Hopefully it's serious." "At the beginning I'm always afraid." "The female elephants have somewhat less modesty." "the males however are quite shy." "They have, I'm sorry to say, more dignity." "Early afternoon after bath and breakfast, they must be left alone in the jungle." "They're timid, very timid." "Modest, very modest." "I saw her again." "Next day I brought the elephant under the same tree for breakfast." "And again the following day." "I made an appointment with the teacher to have him write a letter a nice letter to my father, that he come ask my marriage to the girl." " What do you want?" " I'd like some help." "What for?" "To write a letter." "To whom?" "To my father." "What do you want to say?" "Something nobody must know regarding the puppeteers." "The girl, isn't it?" "Yes, it's a serious matter." "If you write it for me, it'll bring me luck." "Let's begin with " ""Dearest Father" "I send you my fondest greetings." "I'd be very happy if you'd come here." "I must speak with you about my wedding. "" "Yes, that's fine." "The letter must have been well written as a few days later, returning from work, I found my father waiting for me." "I thought of my hat." "It's a Muslim cap worn by mahouts, but since I'm Hindu not Muslim" "I said to myself, "My father won't tolerate it. "" "He's a man of principles and always treats me like an eccentric." "It's important to start a family, but one must reflect well first." "Come, be seated." "He met with the girl's father." "And respecting tradition, both spoke badly about their children." "This is the boy's father." "Tell me." "I want to talk about our children." "My son has seen your daughter and wants to marry her." "Both my son and I have jobs." "We have some land and do well for ourselves." "This is sufficient for our children's tranquility." "Let God's will be done." "We'll tell the priest about the ceremony." "The marriage was arranged in accordance with the rules." "And that night my father and I went to the temple to wait for the wedding." "Until that moment, as is our custom" "I wasn't permitted near my fiancée." "She arrived at the temple on the morning bus." "Ten months have passed." "The female elephant's starting not to stand the male's presence." "This always happens when an elephant is ten months pregnant." "As you know, their gestation lasts twenty months." "Another female, sensible and patient, comes to protect and assist her." "As far as I'm concerned it's again the end of my freedom!" "I had to ask a neighbor to accompany my wife to her mother's house." "I won't have time to look after her she too is expecting a child." "With her great rivers, all India has its roots in the feet of the Himalayas." "All the snow that melts on the roof of the world, represents for 400 million human beings... life." "From the water blooms the calm beauty of lotus flowers." "Everything particularly beautiful or useful is particularly sacred." "Toward death the common feeling is that each man dies but does not end because he's reincarnated as another." "But no one can say as whom." "Therefore, all men are brothers." "In "Shanti Parva" a Brahmin tells a man crying for his dead son," ""You are despair itself, for you don't despair for yourself, but for someone else. "" "The canto also says," ""I think that my own soul does not belong to me, but all creation belongs to me, and in virtue of this certainty I am never too happy nor too sad. "" "The Ganges is the river that purifies everything, and dissolves into nature the ashes of the dead." "Benares the sacred city descends steeply to the sacred banks of the river." "Inside the city life swarms incessantly." "In front is the placid passage of the water indifferent to the buildings it is swallowing slowly." "This is the Mahanadi River almost parallel to the Ganges." "It's an example of the force of nature." "No bridge can resist the furry of its waters when the monsoons agitate them." "People have tried to control this furry." "In Mahabharata, the epic Indian poem, specifically in "The Gita,"" "the book dedicated to the philosophy of life, it's said that every word one speaks and every action one makes remain forever before us like images reflected in a mirror, and judgement won't be pronounced till afterwards." "It's also said: "The wise and the ignorant are equally happy," "Unhappy are the mediocre people." "The truth is in everything, even, though partially, in what is not true." "Karma - action - represents the duty of man." "There's been constructed at Hirakud a dam 43 kilometers long." "They're constructing the access roads." "There's been formed an immense artificial lake whose level rises every day." "The treetops remind us that once the jungle reached to here." "At the worksite, there were about 35,000 of us." "It was hard, yes." "But we did it." "Seven years of work." "For me the time flew by." "Pick stroke after pick stroke." "Basket of earth after basket of earth." "One stone after another." "We dug, drilled, leveled, built." "So much!" "And today:" "I, Devi Chakravarty, am here waiting outside the foreman's office." "My wife's weeping because we have to leave." "Our son was born here and so..." "Here the work is finished." "They've assigned me to another worksite." "They always need people like me." "Next!" " What's your name?" " Devi Chakravarty." "Ah, here are the papers." "You'll be working in Mandira." "Thank you, sir." "This is your certificate." "This is the letter of recommendation." " You have done a good job here." " Thank you." "I'm very proud." "Next!" "Stop, please!" "Take this and go home." "Let's go." "Incredible how much stuff we needed!" "We had the best of everything..." "tools, trucks, equipment." "It's incredible!" "So many things!" "Yes, I think it's a real reason to rejoice, having constructed a dam like this." "Now it seems like nothing." "People say, "They built a dam. "" "But no one imagines what it was like." "In fact I understand my wife." "It's sad to leave behind all this." "But she doesn't think about what we can do now." "After all, there's not just one dam to build in life." "175 dead." "Before however, with the floods if you wanted to build a monument to all the victims you'd have to make one as long as the dam to inscribe all the names." "Electricity, electricity." "Magic, magic." "Everything can be explained, everything." "You have to think, to think." "There's no more magic, no more miracles." "Knowledge!" "No more magic, no more mystery." "Knowledge." "Knowledge." "Hirakud Dam." "One truly has a right to feel proud." "All done from nothing." "One basket of earth after another." "One stone after another." "And heart." "Yes, we put our hearts into it." "Poor brother." "Death is sad for those who stay." "Perhaps it's beautiful to dissolve into nature." "I, Devi Chakravarty, with my wife," "found asylum here, when we were thrown out of East Bengal, due to the separation with Pakistan." "Here our son was born and here we set out to build this immense work." "This little temple will be swallowed up by the water too." "With all due respect, what, after all, is this little building compared to our dam?" "Our sacred lake will now be lost in the big lake." "Who'd have thought then, when I took my ritual bath here, of the surprise destiny had in store for me?" "Who could have thought that men like us would be able to create a lake where there was a little pond?" "There she is." "Where are you?" "What are you doing?" "Let me alone!" "What do you want?" "What are you doing here?" "I looked for you everywhere." "Your head is always in the clouds." "You come down here when we're about to leave?" "I don't understand you." "Why not eat some more?" "We're full!" "We'll explode!" "We're not the only ones..." "No, thank you, we must get up early tomorrow." "Goodbye!" "We'll meet again." "Look after them." "Can't you see they're standing?" "Please, have a seat." "How's your family?" "Very well, thank you." "Write us." "Don't forget us." "Stay a little longer." " You're going?" " I must go home." "Write to us as well." "Remember us." "Why are you just standing there?" "Let's tidy up a bit." "Careful not to trip!" "Our farewell party went well, but now I must endure her whining." "Another town, who knows how it will be?" "I'm fond of this house and the nice people here." "Suddenly I have to leave everything." "This is my destiny, never to have peace." "We left our village, our field and it's not over yet." "I told you many times to try to stay here." "But this man never listens to me!" "He's cold as a rock!" "He has no pity." "Where will I go live now?" "To Hell?" "I came here." "I had a child." "I raised him." "To leave this house this marvellous dam..." "To end up where?" "Oh, it's awful!" "My heart is breaking!" "Instead, this man has a heart of stone!" "I told you to prepare our things!" "Go!" "Move it!" "And so, we leave." "Going up the west coast of India, one crosses vast plains, rich with water particularly favorable for cultivation of rice." "There isn't a square metre of land left untended." "India once had her fortresses." "Here's an old Muslim citadel with double walls and quadruple doors." "Nowdays nothing remains inside but a tiny village." "The old mosque is abandoned." "Strange geologic architecture." "I am 80 years old." "I've always lived here, and yet, this forest has still for me its fascination and its secrets especially at night when it resounds with the fantastic love songs of the tigers." "The jungle is the temple in which are celebrated their rites of love." "When I awake with the first rays of the sun, there's all around me a whole explosion of joy." "I and my wife don't need to exchange many words." "It's enough, our gestures, our looks, to express our unalterable, daily solidarity." "It's a long time, moreover, that our daily duties have been shared." "What more to say?" "My two sons are married." "Every morning one of my daughter-in-law brings flowers for the habitual homage to God." "My wife, like all of us, is very devout, and every morning thanks God according to tradition." "Hey, Rama!" "What are you doing?" "Come here." "Go to that cowshed, milk the buffalo and then clear the cowshed." "I can no longer work because of my age." "My place has been taken by my sons." "For me nothing's left but to give them some advice." "The only thing still left for me is need for the contemplative life and for this there's only one place in the world that can satisfy me, the jungle." "I love my cows, they're beautiful, strong beasts, and I always bring them with me." "The women always have the same jobs to perform." "I, alone in the jungle, feel intensely the presence of nature, and I feel little by little to be merging into it." "There's a fair in the village of Sume." "Can I go with Rakhma?" "I've met often this tiger that lives here." "See how foolish men are myself first of all!" "I can't manage not to be afraid, though I know she won't do anything." "She walks away indifferently." "One day I was in the jungle with my cows." "I remember I wanted to light a cigarette." "Smoking is the only weakness I still have." "Suddenly I heard a strange noise." "There were three trucks." "Out of curiosity I went towards the village." "What's going on?" "They're getting iron." "There's lots of iron." "We'll get some work." "They were prospectors searching for iron deposits." "I'd often heard people talk about iron, but I think it's just a legend." "The next day the men with the trucks started up a motor, and it was a real disaster." "That din chased all the animals out of the forest." "Only the porcupines, stupid selfish animals, remained." "But the jungle changed face." "From then on I felt that the natural balance had been disturbed." "Very soon I had to realise how much that event had been dramatic." "I found the remains of a porcupine and the bloodied tracks of the tigress." "Not finding other prey, she'd pounced and been wounded by those terrible quills." "That discovery frightened me." "I know how dangerous wounded tigers can be." "That's the moment when they become man eaters." "That roar and that human scream during the night was a terrible sign." "What I feared had happened." "The tigress had attacked a man." "The next day in fact my sons told me the iron prospectors had decided to organise a tiger hunt." "Why kill?" "The world, isn't it big enough for everyone?" "The next morning I thought I'd get into the forest before the hunters." "I tried to convince the tigress to go elsewhere." "Yes truly, the world is big." "There's room for everyone." "Sometimes there are heat waves." "The temperature rises dizzyingly." "The only thing to do is take refuge in water." "The roads are abandoned." "The rivers become the paths." "In the villages, life is almost paralysed." "A sky of steel." "Certainly it was one of these heat waves that surprised Dulic as he travelled with his monkey Ramu, to the festival of Baghdedic." "Ramu the monkey has arrived alone in Baghdedic." "In the middle of the people she does what she's used to." "She collects coins she doesn't know the use of." "The wild monkeys threaten her because she smells of man." "The next day the pilgrims leave for their villages." "Ramu is left alone." "At the end of her strength, she's been picked up by a new master." "And Ramu starts now a new life." "And there continues the community existence which mixes in daily symbiosis:" "goats, multitudes of goats," "sheep, herds" "cows people," "trees" "fatigue, honors" "private life, collective leisures" "large crowds, crowds in movement" "machines" "trades." "Even the birds descend into the streets." "Subtitles:" "L'Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna ( Tag Gallagher, in exile)"