| Review:
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If ever there were a movie that shows the upgrades
from DVD to high definition, The Kite Runner is it. This
is a movie in which the cinematography was a major part
of the movie, and from start to finish it shows. The Blu-Ray
takes advantage of this, and stands as the definitive home
video version of the film. Detail is incredible, the colors
bright, and there are no major negative issues to speak
of. This is the way a Blu-Ray transfer should look.***
The sound from the {Blu-ray} edition with its lossless
audio complements the transfer nicely. It too is a nice
boost up from the DVD, with all the voices clear and the
sound effects and music coming across perfectly. It’s a
lossless audio track done right.
Now to the movie review,"The Kite Runner"
is directed by Marc Foster, and features a screenplay by
David Benioff. The movie stars Khalid Abdalla, Zekeria Ebrahmi,
Homayoun Ershadi, and Ahmad Mahmidzada, and is based on
the novel of the same name by Khaled Hosseini. *** The Kite
Runner tells the story of Amir, a young Afghan boy, who
is separated from his best friend following a series of
negative events that plague the country - which include
the eighties Soviet invasion of the country, and the later
rise in power of the Taliban. Taken by his father to America
to restart their lives on the right foot, Amir grows into
a successful writer, but this doesn't keep him from returning
to his homeland in his adult years, in attempt to tidy up
loose ends. ***
This is a well-made film that succeeds beautifully
in nearly every area. Most of the movies that come from
or are based on this part of the world only focus on the
war, and the political issues and unrest that plague the
region. While The Kite Runner certainly doesn't overlook
these elements, it never becomes so enraptured in them that
it loses touch of what truly matters - the characters. ***
The performances in The Kite Runner are all excellent.
Great actors portray living, breathing, three-dimensional
characters you will sympathize with for the film's two-hour-plus
duration. Amir, played by Khalid Abdalla as an adult and
Zekeria Ebrahimi as a child, begins the film as a coward,
but evolves into an adult who is willing to take an enormous
risk to help the friend he let down so many years ago. Nearly
equally impressive is Homayoun Ershadi as Baba, Amir's father.
He plays the father figure well, clearly a man who is disappointed
in his son's shortcomings and cowardice, but at the same
time never stops believing in him. It's these performances
and more that make The Kite Runner such an amazing film.
**
Also worth mentioning is the cinematography. As the
title implies, there are a number of symbolic kite scenes,
and they all look fantastic. The film was shot heavily in
China, due to the obvious war and unrest in modern-day Afghanistan,
but the whole picture feels authentic - with the fantastic
shooting from start to finish, you won't even be able to
tell the difference. ---
Image And Sound:
You'll be pleased to know that "The Kite Runner"
makes the jump to the DVD format well. Some fabulous cinematography
was used in the film, and all of it comes across excellently
on the disc. There are very few grain issues, and what few
there are tend to be so brief, you probably won't even notice.
Audio quality isn't fantastic, but isn't so horrible that
it will detract from your enjoyment of the film - the dialogue
and the score are all audible. ---
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| Special
Features: |
The {Bluray} Special Features,that were scheduled to
be on the now-cancelled HD-DVD are all included on the edition,
Unfortunately, they’re all presented in standard definition
with the exception of an obligatory theatrical trailer.
What few features are included will appeal to fans of the
film, but this reviewer wishes they had at least taken the
time to present them in HD.***
The extras on the disc are fairly limited, but there
is some interesting stuff amongst the few items. Easily
the most interesting and entertaining extra is the commentary
track. Featuring Marc Foster, Khaled Hosseni, and Devid
Benioff, it covers a wide range of movie-related subjects,
including porting the novel to film, making-of information,
and the difficulties filming the movie brought. Additional
featurettes include the Words and Images featurettes, the
former of which focusing more on the source novel and bringing
it to the big screen, while the latter tends to focus more
on making the movie itself. Lastly is a very brief public
service announcement by Hosseini, regarding an Afghanistan
relief effort. You'll wish there were more features included,
but what Dreamworks did include on the disc is excellent.
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