I do not really like Martin Scorsese’s "Kundun,” despite multiple watches, it’s one of the few duds of the prolific filmmaker’s career (right up there with “New York, New York” and “Boxcar Bertha"). Its narrative moves like molasses and the drama is static. Scorsese has called it a passion project, he’s a deeply-ingrained Buddhist so telling the story of Dalai Lama is as religious an experience as he will likely have behind the camera.
Despite my reservations, there is no denying how beautifully shot “Kundun” is. Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins (via IndieWire), during a podcast with fellow DP Greig Fraser, believes the Scorsese film is the most underseen work of his career.
“It’s a bit of a letdown when you’ve spent so much time on something and then it’s either buried or the audience doesn’t relate to it,” Deakins revealed. “I feel that way with ‘Kundun.’ It was one of the best experiences of my life, for a lot of different reasons. Not just the challenge of the filmmaking, but the people involved and the crew and the Tibetans. It was just a wonderful experience. And the film was basically buried, frankly. It was really disheartening.”
Even though Deakins thinks “Kundun” was “basically buried” upon release, the film ended up being nominated for four Oscars, including Best Cinematography — a nomination that was quite deserving. I published a piece titled “The 10 Best Shots of Roger Deakins' Career” back in April, “Kundun” doesn’t figure on that list, but Deakins-shot classics such as “The Big Lebowski” and “Fargo” do.
Of note; On that same podcast, fellow DP Greg Fraser (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “Killing Them Softly,” “Foxcatcher”) reveals the work he’s most proud of is the severely underseen final Weinstein project “Mary Magdalene” starring Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara.