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As India eagerly embraces the 13th edition of the 2023 Icc Men’s World Cup, it’s clear that cricket is more than just a sport; it’s a passionate devotion for millions! It’s the second religion of the nation, and fans from every corner are gearing up for an exciting season of matches. Now is the perfect moment to dive into the fascinating world of cricket and its iconic figures.

So, are you ready for some riveting audio entertainment that takes you deep into the lives of legends like M S Dhoni, Wasim Akram, Virat Kohli, and Chris Gayle? Tune into Audible to uncover intriguing anecdotes about these cricket legends, including lesser-known facts about their lives, friendships with fellow athletes, and their incredible journeys in the world of sports!

The Dhoni Touch (Written by: Bharat Sundaresan; Narrated by: Akshay Ghildiyal)

This World Cup, embrace the world of cricket with...

As India eagerly embraces the 13th edition of the 2023 Icc Men’s World Cup, it’s clear that cricket is more than just a sport; it’s a passionate devotion for millions! It’s the second religion of the nation, and fans from every corner are gearing up for an exciting season of matches. Now is the perfect moment to dive into the fascinating world of cricket and its iconic figures.

So, are you ready for some riveting audio entertainment that takes you deep into the lives of legends like M S Dhoni, Wasim Akram, Virat Kohli, and Chris Gayle? Tune into Audible to uncover intriguing anecdotes about these cricket legends, including lesser-known facts about their lives, friendships with fellow athletes, and their incredible journeys in the world of sports!

The Dhoni Touch (Written by: Bharat Sundaresan; Narrated by: Akshay Ghildiyal)

This World Cup, embrace the world of cricket with...

New Delhi, Sep 3 (Ians) Piloo Reporter, one of the first two neutral umpires in the history of international cricket, passed away on Sunday in Mumbai because of illness.

The 84-year-old Reporter was suffering from Cerebral Contusion disease and was being taken care of at his home by his wife and two daughters.

The 1992 World Cup, which was played in Australia and New Zealand, was one of the tournaments apart from 14 Test matches and 22 ODIs that Reporter officiated in. Reporter, the sole Indian umpire in the 1992 World Cup, was known for his nimble signalling of a boundary.

The 1986 Test match played between Pakistan and West Indies at Lahore was a bigger occasion for Reporter — it was the first instance for a ‘neutral’ umpire in international cricket. He along with fellow Indian Vk Ramaswamy officiated in that match.

Imran Khan, the captain of Pakistan, suggested the change to allay concerns about the...

Dubai, Aug 7 (Ians) Two of England’s Ashes stars — top order batter Zak Crawley and bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes — along with young Dutch batting all-rounder Bas de Leede have been nominated for the Icc’s Men’s Player of the Month award for July.

England opener Zak Crawley topped the run-scoring charts for the home side and inspired England’s fightback in the series from the top of the order with a string of notable batting displays.

The right-hander was the highest runs-scorer for England in the recently concluded Ashes even against the new ball, and he was prolific particularly across his knocks in July, most notably his 189 (182) at Old Trafford.

Chris Woakes returned to the side staring down a two-nil series deficit and bowled brilliantly to take important wickets throughout the remainder of the series.

The 34-year-old pacer took five wickets in the first innings in Manchester, and a...

Veteran actress Neena Gupta on Friday posted a picture from the wedding of her daughter Masaba Gupta with actor Satyadeep Mishra. She took to Instagram where she shared a picture with Masaba from the wedding. In the image, Neena can be seen placing her hands on Masaba’s shoulders. The family picture also features Neena’s husband Vivek and Masaba’s father Vivian.

She captioned it: “Aaj beti ki shaadi huee dil mein ajeeb see shanti khushi abhaar aur pyaar umda hai sharing with you friends @masabagupta @instasattu.”

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A post shared by Neena Gupta (@neena_gupta)

Masaba is the daughter of veteran actress Neena Gupta and former West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards. She made her onscreen debut with ‘Masaba Masaba’ and was also seen in ‘Modern Love Mumbai’.

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A post shared by Neena Gupta (@neena_gupta)

Satyadeep made his debut...

Ace fashion designer and actress Masaba Gupta surprised everyone on Friday after she announced that she has tied the knot with actor actor Satyadeep Misra in an intimate wedding.

Masaba took to her Instagram to share the first pictures from the early morning ceremony. In the image, the designer wore a pink and golden lehenga with jewellery while Satyadeep looked dapper in a blush pink kurta.

She captioned it: “Married my ocean of calm, this morning. Here’s to many many lifetimes of love, peace, stability and most importantly laughter. And thanks for letting me pick the caption – this is gonna be great!”

Masaba is the daughter of veteran actress Neena Gupta and former West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards. She made her onscreen debut with ‘Masaba Masaba’ and was also seen in ‘Modern Love Mumbai’.

Satyadeep made his debut in acting in 2011 with ‘No One Killed Jessica’. His latest big...

When was the last time one has seen a cricket break-out with an innocent smile after reaching a milestone- say after reaching a century in the world of cricket? Well, conventionally when the cricketers around the world-before the advent of Suryakumar or rather an impacted entry of Suryakumar – would raise their bat towards heaven with a stoic look or a look of surrender!

Well, Suryakumar is changing the paradigms of celebrations on achieving a target and it was on full flow when he reached the century yesterday. He was smiling or rather grinning from ears to ears, telling the authorities with a smirk or rather underlining the delay that they made in his case of drafting him into the national team?

He grins with a nod or oscillation of his head with witty affirmation that “I am here, and I am here to annihilate all the established cannons of shot...

Melbourne, Oct 14 (Ians) Cricket Australia (CA) on Friday confirmed the return of the Prime Minister’s XI match after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For the first time, the match will be a four-day, day/night fixture against the West Indies beginning on November 23 at the Manuka Oval.

The match will recognise the 70th anniversary since the inaugural fixture in 1951, also against the West Indies.

CA also confirmed Andre Borovec (head coach) and Jono Dean (assistant coach) will oversee the Pm’s XI team.

Borovec is currently an assistant coach of the Australian men’s team, while Dean, who has previously played for the Pm’s XI against the West Indies, is the head coach of the Act Meteors in the Women’s National Cricket League.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Cricket Australia chairman of selectors, George Bailey, will meet shortly to discuss the selection of the squad.

London, Sep 1 (Ians) Joe Root has admitted the England Test captaincy sucked the life out of him and when he realised that it was affecting his family life, he chose to resign from the post.

On April 16, Root stepped down as England’s Test captain after leading the side in 64 matches, registering 27 wins, the most by any men’s Test captain from the country in the longest format of the game.

But with England winning just one out of its last 17 Tests and losing men’s Ashes 4-0 followed by a 1-0 series defeat in the West Indies, calls for Root’s resignation increased and culminated with him stepping down, with all-rounder Ben Stokes now the Test skipper.

“The last couple of years, it’s sucked the life of me, really. And it did take its toll. It was the right decision for the group, first and foremost, but also for me personally,...

Auckland, Aug 17 (Ians) Former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Ian Smith has named Sir Viv Richards, Michael Holding, Brian Lara and Sir Garfield Sobers as the top-four all-time greats in the history of West Indies cricket, saying Richards is one of the most “imposing batsmen in the history of the game”.

With New Zealand in the midst of a limited-overs series against the West Indies, having won the T20Is 2-1 and looking forward to the ODIs beginning later on Wednesday, Smith, in a tribute to Caribbean cricket, named Holding as one of the most feared bowlers in the world.

“Sir Viv Richards’ exploits in 1976 deserve close attention. In one calendar year he hit seven Test centuries in just 11 matches,” Smith said on Senz Mornings. “He is without doubt one of the most imposing batsmen in the history of the game.

“For Michael Holding, I’ll just say two words — Whispering Death.

St John’s (Antigua), July 5 (Ians) Cricket West Indies (Cwi) congratulated Sir Vivian Richards on Tuesday (Ist) on his being presented with the prestigious award, the Order of the Caribbean Community (Caricom). The legendary West Indies captain received the accolade at the 43rd Conference of Heads of Government in Suriname on Sunday evening. It was […]...

Mumbai, Dec 24 (Ians) Actress Neena Gupta essays the part of Kapil Dev’s mother Rajkumari Lal Nikhanj in ’83’. Ironically, the father of her daughter, Sir Viv Richards, was Kapil’s bete noir at the 1983 World Cup. The film has another surprise in it: Kapil Dev makes a cameo appearance as a member of the […]...

It has been almost four decades since the 1983 World Cup, but even today the historic final between India and West Indies continues to hold a special place in the hearts of Indian cricket fans. Kapil Dev’s running catch to dismiss Sir Viv Richards is still etched in the memories of the generation that cheered […]...

By Khurram Habib

Ahmedabad, March 3 (Ians) Surinder Amaranth, the oldest of the three Amaranth brothers and son of former India captain Lala Amarnath, feels cricket has changed considerably from his playing days.

The 72-year-old former dashing left-hander, who represented India in 10 Tests, is settled in Ahmedabad with his family, away from what he calls the "hustle-bustle" of Delhi, a team that he represented for the majority of his 22-year first-class career.

Amarnath, who scored a century on Test debut in Auckland in 1976, spoke to Ians on a variety of issues related to modern-day cricket.

Excerpts:

Q: You batted No.3 for India. You were quite aggressive. Do you think that aggression is key for a No.3 batsman?

A: Back in our days, most of the No.3 batsmen were attacking, especially in top teams like West Indies, Australia. Even No.4 would be attacking. In my opinion, a No.3 batsman can destroy a...

Shikhar Dhawan continued his love affair with Icc tournaments, as he cracked a hundred to lead India's superlative batting show and help the team post a mammoth 352/5 in 50 overs against Australia in a marquee World Cup clash at the Kennington Oval here on Sunday.

Dhawan took 109 balls to score 117 with the help of 16 fours while skipper Virat Kohli smashed 82 off 77 balls, his innings laced with four fours and two sixes. Opener Rohit Sharma too scored a fluent 57 off 70 balls with the help of three fours and one six.?

Dhawan and Sharma were involved in a 127-run opening stand before Kohli shared a crucial 93-run partnership with Dhawan.

Promoted up the order at No. 4, all-rounder Hardik Pandya smashed a 27-ball 48 as India took the Australian bowlers to the cleaners.?

Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, unfluttered by the "gloves" controversy, also joined the party with a breezy 14-ball 27, hitting three fours...

I had a concern before I went to see this film. Was this film going to go the Bollywood route a la the Emraan Hashmi starrer Azhar or the Sushant Singh Rajput starrer Ms Dhoni? After watching the film my concern was completely different – How do you review someone’s memories and experiences? The answer is simple. You can’t.

And this is what Sachin – A Billion Dreams is. A journey through the trials and tribulations, the happiness and sadness of the man the sports world and cricketing fans know as ‘The Little Master’. It is about the multiple journeys and experiences of the people alongside a single individual. And it is all real.

To call this a film would be wrong, because it isn’t. It is a documentary about cricket, Sachin and Sachin’s life between 22 yards for 24 years. It is about how hard work and talent make greatness putting it quite simply.

Prince Harry officially kicked off his Caribbean tour when he touched down at the V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua on Nov. 20. Upon his arrival, Harry was welcomed by Governor General Sir Rodney Williams and a large banner that read, "Antigua & Barbuda Welcomes Prince Henry of Wales." The following day, the young royal let his hair down with a group of kids at a youth sports festival at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. On Monday night, he met with Miss Antigua and island beauty queens at a reception hosted by Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, before paying a visit to Holy Trinity Primary School and Nursery on Tuesday. He also got his hands dirty when he gutted a fish at Sir McChesney George High School. On Wednesday, Harry arrived in St. Kitts and Nevis, where he chatted with school children, was greeted by cultural dancers at Brimstone Fortress during a youth rally,...

Prince Harry definitely has a natural gift when it comes to bonding with children. The 32-year-old royal attended a youth sports festival at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium showcasing Antigua and Barbuda’s national sports on the second day of his official visit to the Caribbean, taking some time to play a variety of sports with local […]...

Prince Harry touched down in Antigua on Sunday to begin his 14-day tour of the Caribbean, and on Monday, he let his hair down with a group of kids at a youth sports festival at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. The fun event showcases Antigua and Barbuda's national sports, and Harry looked to be having a ball; he made his way around the field to play a number of games with the kids, including football, golf, volleyball, and tennis, and between rounds, Harry also busted out his best moves with a group of drummers and hit the dab with a handful of excited team members. During Harry's two-week stay, he will attend several independence anniversary ceremonies and learn about turtle conservation projects and replanting coral reefs. He's also set to spend six nights on a Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave Knight vessel that is used for disaster relief. During his stop in Barbados,...

Prince Harry definitely has a natural gift when it comes to bonding with children.

The 32-year-old royal attended a youth sports festival at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium showcasing Antigua and Barbuda's national sports on the second day of his official visit to the Caribbean, taking some time to play a variety of sports with local children. Harry showed off his athletic abilities while participating in boxing, cricket and tennis.

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Watch: Prince Harry's Girlfriend Meghan Markle Met Prince William and Kate Middleton During London Visit, Sources Say

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Dancing was apparently also on the itinerary! Harry was snapped adorably "dabbing" with a few lucky school girls.

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Harry and the kids clearly enjoyed themselves, judging by the giant smiles on all of their faces.

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Harry later departed the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium to a Guard of Honor formed of cricket bats.

Harry's visit to the Caribbean marks the 35th Anniversary...

Producer Madhu Mantena is all set to marry designer Masaba Gupta in November. The wedding is being planned as a lavish affair. The engagement scheduled for March 10 at the Marriott hotel in Mumbai would be an intimate affair attended by close friends and family. Says a close friend of Madhu, "Madhu has been feeling the urgent need to settle down. He wanted his earlier relationship too to culminate in marriage. Finally after years of searching Madhu has found Masaba. They are so alike it's frightening. They seem to be born for each other." Happily Mantena, a self-confessed family man, has adjusted very well to Masaba's family. "Madhu gets along very well with Masaba's mom (actress-filmmaker Neena Gupta). He has not met Masaba's father (legendary cricketer Vivian Richards) yet, but is expected to do so soon," says Madhu's friend. The guest-list for the engagement ceremony is being drawn up. The blissful...

Kolkata, Feb 20: Admitting her love for black and white hues, fashion designer Masaba Gupta Thursday said she would love to dress her father, former West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards, in a bandhgala crafted by her.

"I would love to put him in a bandhgala, that I have made from one of my prints, not a regular one. I think he will look cool because he has maintained himself pretty well," Masaba told the media here at the opening of the first 'Masaba' store in eastern India.

On her illustrious father who loves the city, Masaba said he "doesn't understand fashion".

"He always tells me how well the women in Kolkata.

Fire in Babylon

Written and directed by Stevan Riley

UK, 2010

Fire in Babylon is a 2010 British documentary covering the rise of the West Indies cricket team of the 1970s and 1980s, written and directed by Steven Riley. The film includes historic footage and interviews with the characters of the time, including Colin Croft, Joel Garner, Gordon Greenidge, Michael Holding, Clive Lloyd, and Viv Richards.

The documentary follows the ascension of West Indies cricket from the “Calypso Cricketers” team, due to their exciting but unsuccessful style of play, to a team that never strays far from the top of the cricket betting odds.

After briefly describing the history of cricket in the West Indies, the documentary picks up pace when it reaches the 1970s, with the West Indies still failing to turn a group of 11 players from different parts of the Caribbean into a united team. The appointment of Clive Lloyd...

New Delhi, Nov 27: Young designer Masaba Gupta, who has completed an year as fashion director at Satya Paul, says it has been one of the best things that has happened to her so far.

"Being appointed as the fashion director of an iconic brand like Satya Paul has been one of the biggest moments in my life up till now," Masaba said in a statement.

She was only 24 when she got the role. Daughter of cricketing legend Vivian Richards and actress Neena Gupta, the young designer has since then worked hard to bring a revolution in the design and inspiration of the brand. And she is expecting the same success in the coming years.

"I'm.

Three leading Indian charities are coming together for the very first time to host a fashion experience never before witnessed in the UK at Night of Neon, Festive Soiree. Presented by the Akshaya Patra Foundation, Pratham and Women’s India Association in the UK, the extravaganza welcomed India’s most prominent fashion influencer, Pernia Qureshi, and the leading talent among India’s new wave of fashion designers, Masaba Gupta, as they presented a unique Fashion Flash Mob amid the fitting grandiose of Montcalm Marble Arch on Friday 15th November, in aid of three worthy causes.

Welcoming a guest list of London’s young, Indian and influential for a night of glamour and giving, Night of Neon, Festive Soiree will showcase Pernia Qureshi’s formidable e-commerce site and India’s equivalent to Net-a-Porter – perniaspopupshop.com – and the Masaba label attributed to the new gen design talent currently taking India and global...

New Delhi, Nov 10: Fashion designer Masaba Gupta, known for quirky designs and youthful collections, will open her first franchise store in Kolkata in December this year.

She took to Twitter to make the announcement. "Thrilled to announce that our first ever franchise store (is) coming up in Kolkata in December! Too excited."

Masaba, daughter of cricket legend Vivian Richards and actress Neena Gupta, has carved a niche for herself at a very young age.

The 24-year-old launched her label Masaba in July 2009 and three years later, she was appointed the fashion director at Satya Paul.

She actively participates.

New Delhi, Aug 28: Time was when veterans dominated the fashion industry, but the trend is changing.

Charting new territories with their design aesthetics, trailblazers like Masaba Gupta and Rahul Mishra are scaling new heights and proving that a young age is certainly not a deficiency.

Masaba, daughter of well-known actress Neena Gupta and Windies batting great Vivian Richards, decided not to follow her mother's footsteps and chart her own territory. She was only 20 when she entered the field and with her quirky designs, quickly carved a niche for herself. At 24, she was appointed the fashion director at Satya Paul.

Her belief is that "newness is a constant in fashion" and the industry will always appreciate and.

A new social campaign from the Transport Accident Commission Victoria using Melbourne Victory football players has launched to remind drivers to stay in control.

Tac, a sponsor of the Melbourne Victory has posted two slow motion videos as a competition, one of Victory captain Adrian Leijer and one of midfielder Marcos Flores taking a penalty kick.

The competition, created by agency Lifelounge, goes live today. By entering and sharing the videos on social media, one Victory fan and nine friends can win a private training session with the team.

Shot at 1000 frames a second, the videos aim to illustrate the precision and control of the players and carries the tagline “Slow down and Stay in Control.”

Three clips, which will also include players Marcos Flores and Archie Thompson, will not only run on the Tac’s YouTube channel, on the Melbourne Victory’s Facebook page but also on the large screens at football games.

There's a scene towards the end of Fire in Babylon when Bunny Wailer (of Bob Marley's band) stops berating his dogs and says of Viv Richards: "If he had not gone into cricket, he would surely have been a dreadlock rasta man. Real deal." It's a delightful moment that had the audience cracking up. But you couldn't help thinking how different things might have been if the Master Blaster had just sat around all day smoking big spliffs rather than flaying England's bowlers to all parts.

You can wait for years for a cricketing film, then suddenly two documentaries come along. First there was James Erskine's From the Ashes, about Ian Botham's brief captaincy of England and his subsequent role in winning the Ashes in the early 1980s. Now there's this riveting film about the doldrums in which the West Indies found themselves in the 1970s, and how under the captaincy of Clive Lloyd then Viv Richards they abandoned the cheerful losing mode known as "calypso cricket" and became formidably aggressive winners. It's a rousing film about ex-colonials uniting to assert their pride and to recover a dignity that continued to be denied them by the English and Australians. Nothing gave them a greater desire to fight back than hearing Tony Greig, the deeply unpleasant South African-born English captain, say that he intended to make the Caribbean cricketers grovel. It's great to see Greig get his comeuppance.

Documentary about the heyday of the West Indies cricket side of the 1970s and 80s. It has detailed insights, but more interviews than match footage

The second cricket documentary in a couple of weeks examines a subject slightly less familar to UK audiences, perhaps, than the Botham-powered From the Ashes. Here we are enlightened as to the backstory behind the "blackwash" – how the West Indies assembled their fearsome pace attack under the leadership of Clive Lloyd in the mid-70s, and went on to obliterate all comers for some 15 years, including that famous 5-0 thrashing of England in 1984. The battering they got in Australia in 1976 is revealed as the turning point; though hampered a little by a paucity of match footage, forthright interviews with the key performers – Viv Richards, Colin Croft, Andy Roberts, Lloyd himself – provide detailed insight, harnessing the rising tide of the 70s black power movement to engineer...

This spring no less than three British-made sports documentaries get a cinematic release. Does this mark the start of a new relationship between sport and film?

Sport and cinema have been uneasy bedfellows over the years, their dual history mapped out by a series of rather awkward public conjoinings. Football has long been something close to a running joke on film, its high points restricted to the Brian Glover Pe teacher bits in Kes, the luminous pre-modern internationalism of Escape to Victory, and any action movie in which geezer-for-hire and former Wimbledon clogger Vinnie Jones takes a beating.

Perhaps sport and film stand apart as poles: an oil-and-water collision of the loud, the outdoor and the boisterous with the dimly lit, the indoor and the ruminative. That might be about to change. This month three British-made sporting documentaries have had a cinematic release. Two are cricket films: From the Ashes...

How I managed to come out alive after facing the feared West Indies fast bowlers in their heyday

Last winter, by chance, I found myself travelling to Australia with Viv Richards, who was on his way to do some "King and I"-type gigs with Rodney Hogg, the former Australian fast bowler. We've known each other a long time, Viv and I, but I'd never got round to asking him one particular question. So I did.

"If you had to choose four fast bowlers of your time with West Indies, which would they be?" He replied: "Well, I would have Malcolm. And I would have Andy. And I would have Mikey." He pondered a little longer. "And I would have Curtly." So there you have it, Viv Richards' dream attack: Malcolm Marshall, the slithering genius; Andy Roberts, cerebral, calculating, the Godfather of the modern West Indian pacemen; Michael Holding,...

London International Documentary Festival

Two weeks, over 130 films and countless events and appearances, the nation's biggest factual film event gives you plenty to chew on – too much for any one mouth but whether it's Finnish saunas, morris dancing or Middle East politics, there's something for you here. Many key films assess influential individuals. Asif Kapadia's new Ayrton Senna film opens proceedings; Steven Soderbergh remembers Spalding Grey and Martin Scorsese honours Elia Kazan; Gomorrah author Roberto Saviano's threatened lifestyle is detailed; and Playboy's Hugh Hefner is recast as a liberal crusader – nothing to talk about there then.

Various venues, Fri to 28 May

Fire In Babylon & From The Ashes, Nationwide

Cricket is hardly underrepresented on the nation's airwaves, but for those who'd prefer a little bit of history to go with the hours of live coverage, you've got an enticing documentary double bill this month. From The Ashes remembers England's tumultuous 1981 Ashes campaign,...

Here’s the trailer for a film called Fire In Babylon, which we’ve given coverage to on this site in the past; though this will be our first look at footage of it.

MsWOO saw it at the London Film Festival last fall, and gave it a review, which you can read Here.

The synopsis again reads: Fire In Babylon is the breathtaking story of how the West Indies triumphed over its colonial masters through the achievements of one of the most gifted teams in sporting history. In a turbulent era of apartheid in South Africa; race riots in England and civil unrest in the Caribbean, the West Indian cricketers, led by the enigmatic Viv Richards, struck a defiant blow at the forces of white prejudice worldwide. Their undisputed skill, combined with a fearless spirit, allowed them to dominate the game at the highest level, replaying it on their own terrifying terms.

Bollywood and cricket has a wonderful amalgamation. The Bollywood beauties have some charismatic charm to attract the heroes of the cricketing world. The huge mass appeal is the greatest similarity between the world of cricket and Bollywood. We as audience or spectators got some of the best love stories from these glamorous worlds. The Bollywood stars and cricket stars have famous stories of affairs among them and so today we can talk about Pataudi and Sharmilla Tagore; Azharuddin and Sangeeta Bijlani; Viv Richards and Neena Gupta and last but not the least Reena Roy and Mohsin Khan.               &nb...

Documentaries and a gruesome true story were the high points of the closing week of the London film festival, says Jason Solomons

Danny Boyle's 127 Hours closed the 54th BFI London film festival, just as his Slumdog Millionaire ended the 52nd edition, both years saving one of the best till last. Although 127 Hours is ostensibly a flipside movie to Slumdog, it is in so many ways a typical Boyle movie, the work of a smart and popular artist whose quest for film ecstasy continues unabated.

The story is based on the true one – indeed, one of several at this Lff – of extreme sports enthusiast Aron Ralston, who bounded on stage before the gala to wave to the audience with his one remaining hand. 127 Hours is the story of the other hand, now a hook.

Boyle begins the film at frantic pace over Free Blood's dance anthem "Never Hear Surf Music...

“Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.” – Sun Tzu On November 14, 1966, in the first defense of his heavyweight crown on American soil since declaring, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Congs”, Muhammad Ali climbed through the ropes against the hard-hitting heavyweight, Cleveland Williams, a man with a bullet in his stomach and iron in his fists. With 65 wins from 71 professional bouts, 51 by Ko, Williams was a very fine fighter. He’d twice taken the furious Sonny Liston into the trenches. But that night, over 10 minutes 51 seconds and four knockdowns, under the dazzling lights of the Houston Astrodome, Ali dismantled Williams with such a quicksilver, bravura display of dexterity and confidence that the challenger was left flapping and floundering like a tremulous newborn. Ali was sublime, otherworldly, and Williams, in defeat, was subjected to a stunned, helpless realisation of his own childlike vulnerability. A realisation...