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Kundun IQ Score 164/200

Kundun has an IQ Score of 164/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Masterclass tier.

dramahistorybiography
164/ 200
Masterclass

Exceptional cognitive and educational substance, delivered with craft that sustains close attention

Kundun poster, IQ Score 164/200, Masterclass tier on TV Intelligentsia

Score Breakdown

Legacy score. Published under our earlier workflow, before the current standard took effect in August 2026. A founder reviewed and approved it against our methodology, under a process that does not meet the standard we hold now. What this means →

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Cognitive Stimulation/50
40
Educational Value/50
40
Craft & Quality/50
44
IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4)  · How we score →
What these dimensions mean
  • Cognitive Stimulation: observable narrative complexity, conceptual density, ambiguity, inference, and sustained intellectual demands in the work.
  • Educational Value: the density and integration of substantive academic, historical, scientific, cultural, ethical, or practical information in the work.
  • Craft & Quality: production excellence in service of the work, its direction, writing, performance, and aesthetic intent.

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Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH
Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.
Formula
round((C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4)
Database scale
2,605 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. Editorial scores are not for sale. TVI may take on paid advisory or research work, but no commercial relationship buys coverage, advance access to scores, favorable treatment, or a change to a published finding. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions, and no reviewer sees sponsor data or affiliate revenue tied to a score. More about how we work →

The TVI Take

Scorsese's 1997 spiritual epic. Biography of the 14th Dalai Lama from age two through his 1959 exile from Tibet.

Roger Deakins photographs the Himalayas; Philip Glass scores. The most direct treatment of the Catholic interest that runs through Scorsese's filmography, processed through Tibetan Buddhism rather than the New York church. Educational about Tibetan history, Buddhist practice, and the Chinese annexation, a register American cinema almost never sustains. Cognitive engagement from the contemplative pace and the geopolitical complexity.

People & Production Martin Scorsese · Touchstone Pictures · United States 21 connections

Direction & creation

On screen & sound

Selected cast
Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong Yoon C. Joyce Losang Samten Tsewang Jigme Tsarong Tencho Gyatso Losang GyatsoSelected in source order; not represented as billing order.
Composer
Cinematography

Production & release

Production company
Country of origin
Original language

Credits and relationships: Wikidata, CC0. TVI preserves production, broadcasting, and distribution as separate roles.

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Where to Watch

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Streaming availability data via JustWatch + TMDB.

Where to go next

Cite this score

Kundun scored 164/200 (Masterclass tier) on TV Intelligentsia's published methodology. Source: tvintelligentsia.com/titles/kundun/

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