Lagaan is the story of an oppressed 19th century Indian farming village struggling with drought and cruel taxation. It's nearly four hours long. You wouldn't think such a recipe would add up to one of the most charming, joyous celluloid spectacles you'll see all year.

It's 1893 in British-occupied India. Despite a crippling drought that has stunted the farmers' essential crops, British overlords are demanding this year that the provincial Rajahs squeeze double the taxation (Lagaan) rate—a levy that comes straight from the crops—out of the starving local villages. The British claim that they offer protection, but really it's a classic case of the rich stealing from the poor. The local commander, Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne), suffering from a uniquely British superiority complex, starts the story moving when he responds to the pleading villagers with a ridiculous wager—if these lowly farmers can beat him and his uppity comrades in a game of cricket, about which the farmers know nothing, then he will cancel the Lagaan for three years. If, on the other hand, the farmers should lose, the Lagaan will be tripled.

What follows is a rousing, energetic tale of a ragtag group of farmers—led by Bhuvan (Aamir Khan)—achieving the impossible by assembling a team and lifting the spirits of the village from parched despair to singing optimism. Speaking of singing, Lagaan has lots of it. As the village unites and spirits begin to soar, the soundtrack comes alive with percussive Hindi song and the screen bursts with choreographed dance. You might think that this story of drought and sport isn't necessarily conducive to song and dance, but you'd be mistaken. The music here adds amazing vitality and emotion to the proceedings, lifting Lagaan to greatness.

The remarkable fact about Lagaan is that it was produced on a minuscule budget, on location in an actual rural village in central India. And yet it's one of the premier efforts out of Bollywood—India's Hollywood—boasting excellent acting and a fun, if somewhat derivative, plot. I was particularly impressed by the dramatic and musical efforts of Gracy Singh as Gauri, the young woman who's in love with Bhuvan but feels threatened by Elizabeth, sister of Captain Russell, who's helping the villagers learn the game. But the cast is uniformly appealing, creating distinct personalities for whom you'll find yourself cheering—or, in the case of Captain Russell, booing and hissing.

If you'll excuse the cricket pun, I was bowled over by this delightful film. Apparently, so was the Academy—Lagaan has just received a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film of 2001.

Columbia TriStar presents Lagaan in its original 2.35:1 theatrical aspect ratio, and the anamorphically enhanced image is somewhat disappointing. This is one of the dirtier prints I've come across. There are many dust specks, and in a few places, huge green scars. During the entirety of one fairly long scene, an annoying scratch jitters down the center of the image.

Having said that, detail is satisfactory, deep into the backgrounds. This is an often-gorgeous film whose colors are accurately rendered, with a slightly washed-out desert look. The bright colors of the costumes are vivid. I noticed some halo effect and a slight digital shimmer to some scenes.

This DVD contains only the film's original-language soundtrack, which is a mix of Hindi and English. The Indian farmers all speak Hindi, whereas the British soldiers speak both, sometimes alternating the languages as they speak. Interestingly, the English subtitles "translate" both languages instead of simply leaving the English alone.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is occasionally wonderful—particularly during the musical numbers. The front soundstage is wide, and the surrounds get into the action with musical effects that approach gimmicky but are acceptable and fun. This film's music is joyous and buoyant, and you'll find yourself tapping your foot to the beat.

Dialog suffers somewhat with harsh high ends here and there, tending toward shrill and distorted at times, as if recorded at too-high levels. There's a definite distinction to be made between the quality of the recorded music and the quality of the film's other sound. The music gets my highest praise, but the soundtrack in general is fair.

The Lagaan DVD is one case where I thanked my lucky stars that a commentary track wasn't included. The idea of listening to a separate four-hour audio track is itself exhausting. Still, I would like to have seen further extras on this relatively barebones release.

As is, you get two extra features. First is a series of filmographies for the director, Ashutosh Gowariker, and stars Aamir Khan, Paul Blackthorne, Gracy Singh, and Rachel Shelley.

Second, and much more interesting, is a nearly 18-minute deleted sequence called "Scene Unseen." The sequence contains both new material and alternate versions of existing scenes. The footage is polished and also in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Some of this footage is terrific, with a couple of jokes that had me rolling on the floor. Most deleted footage on DVDs has a pointless quality, but in this case, I wondered why alternate footage was captured to replace this great material.

A perfect place for such insight would have been some kind of making-of featurette, but sadly this disc comes up short in that arena.

Despite its length, Lagaan is a complete joy. This is a film that's very much worth your time.