There are certain accomplishments in “movie magic” that no degree of computer-generated imagery or artificial intelligence will ever be able to capture. Assembling a massive crowd of extras for a pivotal sequence within a film is one of these things. There’s nothing quite like seeing a group of extras dressed as mythic creatures running down a hill in costume inThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy; some of the most iconic action-adventure movies of all-time, such asBen-HurandTitanic, required a tremendous amount of extras to populate their biggest sequences. However, the film that required more extras than any other production in history was surprisingly not an action film at all.Richard Attenborough’s Best Picture-winning masterpieceGandhiholds the record for the most film extrasdue to a pivotal sequence towards the end of the film that required the attendance of approximately 300,000 people.
Gandhimay seem like an odd film to require so many additional workers, as it doesn’t contain the massive set pieces or climactic battles that movie fans typically associate with extras. The extras were required for a scene that some may have missed, as it lasts for just over two minutes toward the very ending of Attenborough’s 188-minute film. However, the assembly of extras was absolutely necessary for the effectiveness of one of the most powerful scenes in the film, and those in attendance took part in the production for a very special reason.
Richard Attenborough’s ‘Gandhi’ Was Critically Acclaimed
Gandhiis a sweeping historical epic that tells the life story of its titular historical figure, Mahatma Gandhi, as played by theveteran British actorSir Ben Kingsley. While some successful biopics likeLincolnorSpencergive insights into only a portion of their subject’s life,Gandhiexplores the famous nonviolent protest leader’s personal narrative all the way from childhood to his death in 1948. Attenborough had attempted many ambitious productions in the past, including the 1969 musical comedyOh! What a Lovely War,and the 1977 World War II epicA Bridge Too Far. However, it’s safe to say thatGandhiwas the most taxing production of his entire career; the film explored the evolution of India throughout the rule of the British Empire, and had to show a nation changing radically over the course of a pivotal few decades. It was a film that Attenborough simply couldn’t make any mistakes with, as he was portraying one of the most beloved icons in the history of the world. Any error on his part could have risked offending a significant portion of the world’s population.
Thankfully, Attenborough’s efforts were received well, andGandhiwas a tremendous critical success. Thefilm won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Attenborough, and Best Actor for Kingsley. Its victory overE.T. The Extra Terrestrialremains controversial among movie fans, asGandhiresembles the sort of historical epic that the Academy Awards typically favor over anything outside the box. That being said,Gandhistill has great value as both a film and a historical artifact. It’s a great educational movie to show in schools in order to instruct future generations about the life of one of history’s most important symbols of peace.
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The Extras In ‘Gandhi’ Populated Mahatma Gandhi’s Funeral
The scene inGandhithat required the massive assembly of extras was in one of the final moments of the film that depicts Gandhi’s funeral. The scene briefly appears during the opening of the film, where Gandhi attends a prayer seminar and is assassinated by Nathuram Godse in January 1948. As Gandhi lies dying, he begins to reflect on his life’s accomplishments, framing the entire story as a flashback. Attenborough makes the decision to briefly indicate the importance of Gandhi’s movement by teasing out details of the funeral through a radio report that provides details about the funeral,which in real life attracted millions of spectators and world leadersand was seen by countless more around the world on television.
This is also how Attenborough chose to end the film. In the wake of Gandhi’s assassination, the funeral is seen with a voiceover by Kingsley as the film approaches its closing credits. However, the majority of the final section of the filmis focused on Gandhi’s personal contemplation during the elder years of his life, and his attempts to bridge a peaceful solution to the conflicts between Hindus and Muslims in India. It’s a quieter, reflective end to the film, and thus the funeral only occupies a few minutes of screen time. Nonetheless, it was integral to the story to do so, and Attenborough treated the moment with the respect it deserved.
According toGuinness World Records, Attenborough ensured that the scene would be filmed on the 33rd anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination and assembled just under 95,000 contract performers. However, Columbia Pictures Productions made announcements about the filming and were able to summon an additional 200,000 volunteer performers. Eleven camera crews were utilized, and over 20,000 feet of footage was captured. While this ismore raw footage than the film itself, Attenborough obviously cut down the rough footage to only a brief moment.
The Importance of Extras in Hollywood Is Evolving
This was clearly a sequence that had great importance to the film; it was necessary to show the countless lives that Gandhi impacted, and how his movement inspired both his people and non-Indians to search for nonviolent solutions to political and religious conflicts. It would be a disservice to not assemble the proper number of people on screen to represent it, even if it was just for a brief moment. While 300,000 is just a fraction of those that were actually in attendance on the day in question, it certainly looks convincing on screen.
This type of assembly is one that Hollywood needs to work towards more often when shows likeTed Lassohave used fake crowdsto fill stadiums in an effort to navigate filming in a post-pandemic landscape. Utilizing actual extras and not using digital crowds makes a massive difference, and it’s rare to see a great filmmaker who is given the resources to mount a production of this ambition. Regardless of the shift in practices involving extras, hopefully the production ofGandhiwill continue to inspire filmmakers to show this level of investment.
