History YMMV / Gandhi

* CompleteMonster: [[InsaneAdmiral Brigadier General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer]] oversaw the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallianwala_Bagh_massacre Jallianwala Bagh Massacre]], intending "[[MakeAnExampleOfThem to inflict a lesson that would have an impact throughout all India]]". Dyer ordered his troops to fire "where the crowd was the thickest", and even had innocent civilians gunned down for trying to escape. His actions and callousness [[EvenEvilHasStandards disgust his British peers]], and catalyzes UsefulNotes/MahatmaGandhi's pursuit for complete independence from British rule.

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** The Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Men, woman and children slaughtered in the hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand, on the orders of a heartless butcher who thought he would "teach them a lesson"[[note]]This is historically correct - during the afterwards inquiry, he literally said his objective [[DisproportionateRetribution "was not to disperse the meeting, but to punish the Indians for disobedience"]][[/note]]. The whole sequence is as horrifying as it was historically, from Dyer making his troops fire on every Indian in sight, even on those trying to escape, to a few people jumping into the well in despair, then ''dozens more'' throwing themselves into the 'Martyr's well' until it looks like a literal flood of bodies.

** Creator/BernardHill]] appears as a British soldier stationed in India.

** [[Film/{{Titanic|1997}} Bernard]] [[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers Hill]] appears as a British soldier stationed in India.

* RetroactiveRecognition: A young Creator/DanielDayLewis has one short scene as an Afrikaaner thug who intimidates a young Gandhi.

* RetroactiveRecognition:
** A young Creator/DanielDayLewis has one short scene as an Afrikaaner thug who intimidates a young Gandhi.
** A rare InUniverse one, as Gandhi's assassin can be seen in the crowd that Nehru runs into to confront the heckeler who shouted "Death to Gandhi!"

* OneSceneWonder: Several among the AllStarCast qualify, but Creator/EdwardFox as General Dyer and Creator/TrevorHoward as Judge Broomfield (who have less than five minutes of screentime each) especially stand out.

* CompleteMonster: General Dyer, though the film ultimately uses him to [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstruct]] this trope. While most British characters are portrayed with some degree of complexity - if not always sympathetic, certainly more as [[PunchClockVillains products of a complacent, racist system]] than actively evil individuals - Dyer ''is'' shown as an absolute monster who not only embodies the worst traits of the British Raj, but pitilessly slaughters hundreds of unarmed Indian protesters to prove a point. His evident indifference both during and after the massacre makes him a monumentally repulsive character who [[EvenEvilHasStandards horrifies even his British superiors]]. That said, Gandhi points out that Dyer's merely the logical, if extreme extension of British colonialism and singling him out for censure allows the British to ignore the deeper, systemic problems which caused the massacre.

* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: When questioned by the Hunter Commission, General Dyer says wounded people who wanted to surrender were to be given quarters (answer which Commission members treat with incredulous irony). In RealLife his answer was far more callous: "It was not my job. Hospitals were open and they could have gone there."

* RetroactiveRecognition: A young Creator/DanielDayLewis has one short scene as an Afrikaaner thug who intimidates a young Gandhi.

* CompleteMonster: General Dyer, though the film ultimately [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructs]] this trope through him. While most British characters are portrayed with some degree of complexity - if not always sympathetic, certainly more as products of a complacent, racist system than actively evil individuals - Dyer ''is'' shown as an absolute monster who not only embodies the worst traits of the British Raj, but pitilessly slaughters hundreds of unarmed Indian protesters to prove a point. His evident indifference both during and after the massacre makes him a monumentally repulsive character who [[EvenEvilHasStandards horrifies even his British superiors]]. That said, Gandhi points out that Dyer's merely the logical, if extreme extension of British colonialism and singling him out for censure allows the British to ignore the deeper, systemic problems which caused the massacre.

* CompleteMonster: General Dyer, though the film ultimately [[{{Deconstruction}}|deconstructs]] this trope through him. While most British characters are portrayed with some degree of complexity - if not always sympathetic, certainly more as products of a complacent, racist system than actively evil individuals - Dyer ''is'' shown as an absolute monster who not only embodies the worst traits of the British Raj, but pitilessly slaughters hundreds of unarmed Indian protesters to prove a point. His evident indifference both during and after the massacre makes him a monumentally repulsive character who [[EvenEvilHasStandards horrifies even his British superiors]]. That said, Gandhi points out that Dyer's merely the logical, if extreme extension of British colonialism and singling him out for censure allows the British to ignore the deeper, systemic problems which caused the massacre.

* CompleteMonster: General Dyer, though the film ultimately {{Deconstruction|deconstructs}} this trope through him. While most British characters are portrayed with some degree of complexity - if not always sympathetic, certainly more as products of a complacent, racist system than actively evil individuals - Dyer ''is'' shown as an absolute monster who not only embodies the worst traits of the British Raj, but pitilessly slaughters hundreds of unarmed Indian protesters to prove a point. His evident indifference both during and after the massacre makes him a monumentally repulsive character who [[EvenEvilHasStandards horrifies even his British superiors]]. That said, Gandhi points out that Dyer's merely the logical, if extreme extension of British colonialism and singling him out for censure allows the British to ignore the deeper, systemic problems which caused the massacre.

* OneSceneWonder: Several among the AllStarCast qualify, but Edward Fox as General Dyer and Creator/TrevorHoward as Judge Broomfield (who have less than five minutes of screentime each) especially stand out.

** The Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Men, woman and children slaughtered in the hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand, on the orders of a heartless butcher who thought he would "teach them a lesson"[[note]]This is historically correct - during the afterwards inquiry, he literally said his objective [[DisproportionateRetribution "was not to disperse the meeting, but to punish the Indians for disobedience"]].[[/note]]. The whole sequence is as horrifying as it was historically, from Dyer making his troops fire on every Indian in sight, even on those trying to escape, to a few people jumping into the well in despair, then ''dozens more'' throwing themselves into the 'Martyr's well' until it looks like a literal flood of bodies.

** The Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Men, woman and children slaughtered in the hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand, on the orders of a heartless butcher who thought he would "teach them a lesson". The whole sequence is as horrifying as it was historically, from Dyer making his troops fire on every Indian in sight, even on those trying to escape, to a few people jumping into the well in despair, then ''dozens more'' throwing themselves into the 'Martyr's well' until it looks like a literal flood of bodies.

** The Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Men, woman and children slaughtered in the hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand, on the orders of a heartless butcher who thought he would "teach them a lesson".

** The Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Men, woman and children slaughtered in their hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand, on the orders of a heartless butcher who thought he would "teach them a lesson".

* OneSceneWonder: Several among the AllStarCast qualify, but Edward Fox as General Dyer and Trevor Howard as Judge Broomfield (who have less than five minutes of screentime each) especially stand out.

* OneSceneWonder: Several among the AllStarCast qualify, but Edward Fox as General Dyer and Trevor Howard as Judge Broomfield (who have less than five minutes of screentime each) especially stand out.

* MoralEventHorizon: Gandhi and his fellows were initially crusading simply for better treatment by the British Raj. However, after General Reginald Dyer orchestrates a massacre of peaceful protestors, Gandhi declares now their only goal is full independence from the British Empire.