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The Kite Runner [2007] | ![The Kite Runner [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VKIDXq4RL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Marc Forster
Actors: Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni, Shaun Toub
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £10.47
You Save: £9.52 (48%)
New (15) Used (2) from £9.50
Rating:  22 reviews
Format: Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 122 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5051188153533
ASIN: B0011P4X8S
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: June 2, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: brand new not played
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk review
Like the bestselling book upon which it's based, The Kite Runner will haunt the viewer long after the film is over. A tale of childhood betrayal, innocence, harsh reality, and dreamy memory, The Kite Runner faces good and evil--and the path between them, though often blurry and sorrowfully relative. Director Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) presents a painterly vision of Afghanistan before the Soviet tanks, before the Taliban--lush, verdant, fertile--in its landscape and in its people and their history and hopes. The story follows two young boys' friendship, tested beyond endurance, and the haunting of their adult selves by what happened in their youth--and what horrors befall their country in the meantime. The performances of the two boys--Zekeria Ebrahimi (Amir) and Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada (Hassan)--are the film's strongest, unforced and gently evocative. The penance paid by their adult selves is foreshadowed, but never predictable--and the metaphor of innocence lost, a common theme in Forster's work, keeps the film, like the title kites, truly aloft. --A.T. Hurley
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| Customer Reviews:
A Very Emotional Journey January 4, 2008
Katrina-UK (Stockport, Cheshire, United Kingdom)
28 out of 30 found this review helpful
This film is very much worth going to see currently at the cinema. Without telling you too much, this film takes you into Kabul, Afghanistan, and follows the lives of two Afghani boys. One who is wealthy and lives with his father (Amir), the other his servant (Hassan), but both best friends. In a divided country, on the verge of war, Amir's father never fawlters to treat his servants (Hassan and his father) well (Although being from a different tribe and social class to him). Is there a reason for this? Although his father's warm hearted attitude towards them has never changed, Amir' (the wealthy boy's) attitude does change. His act of betrayal from fear marks both Hassan's and his own life forever. As a result, 20 years on, Amir sets about a quest for redemption, but is it too late?, or will he be successful in one last daring chance to set things right?
This story is full to the brim of lies, deceit, politics, negotiation, emotion, redemption etc. It's the best film on at the cinema at the moment. Sure, its slow in parts but gripping throughout, especially towards the end - Highly Recommended!
*If you are wandering why it is called The Kite Runner, and you're one of those who just doesn't like to watch the news about Afghanistan (I must say, I can't blame you), then I'll tell you why. The kite is used as a symbol in the film of hope, fun, competitiveness, but above all FREEDOM. When the taliban took over, they banned kite flying and subsequently took away the right of freedom.*
 Very emotional film - Brilliant January 14, 2008
megamarble (South Yorks, UK)
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
I agree with Katrina - this is definitely worth seeing at the cinema. I've read the book as well as the author's second novel and they are both first class. The film of the Kite Runner is an amazing adaptation of the book which is very emotional and faithful to the book. I wondered if the film would taint my high regard for the book ( the best book i read in 2007) but need not have worried.
Highly recommended
Ticks all the good boxes April 4, 2008
C. Cuciureanu (London)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
This movie does feed on stereotypes (like many movies) but I found its plus sides overweight considerably the few clichees that some people have picked on. It is first of all a wonderful epic that kept me heart and soul glued to the screen for its 2 hours duration. The acting is great, but the performances of all the young actors are amazing, I think they are the heart and soul of the movie. They really set the tone of the story. Another good bit is that this movie is an introduction to Afghanistan to many Westerners. It has been for me , at least. My knowledge and interest in Afghanistan had been zilch, apart from what my mind cared to remember from catastrophic news flashes on news channels in the UK. THis movie/and book has sparked at least my curiousity to find out more about what's going on in Afghanistan. SO I have read Jason Elliot's 'An unexpected light - travels in Afghanistan', Rory Steward's 'Theplaces in between', and Eric Newby's ' A short walk in the HIndu Kush'.They are well written and recognised travel books on Afghanistan. I highly reccomend them to anyone who cares to find out a tid bit more about that country. The Kite Runner is a beautiful movie.
 "There is a Way to be Good Again" March 28, 2008
Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States)
9 out of 11 found this review helpful
Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada) are two boys growing up in 1970's Afghanistan. Even though Hassan is the son of Amir's family servant, the two are close friends. They even make a great team in the annual kite tournament, and Hassan has shown a remarkable talent for chasing the fallen kites.
Tragedy strikes the boys during the winter of 1978, however, when Amir witnesses the neighborhood bullies performing an unspeakable act on Hassan. Racked with guilt, Amir withdraws from Hassan.
When the Soviets invade Afghanistan, Amir and his Baba (Homayoun Ershadi) move to San Francisco. As an adult, Amir (now played by Khalid Abdalla) has managed to put his past behind him. Until a phone call brings it all back. What will he do now?
When I finally read the novel this movie is based on, I found it rather slow and predictable. I thought I might enjoy the movie better since it would have to streamline the plot. In the end, I was glad I read the book first since the movie glosses over several events that really set things up early on. There was enough there to make the movie work, but the complex themes of relationships, regret, forgiveness, prejudice, and revenge don't come across as strongly as they could. One key plot point near the end is completely absent. While it would have added extra time to an already two hour movie, it makes the last 10 or 15 minutes needlessly confusing.
That's not to say I wasn't impacted emotionally. The further into the movie I got, the more I cared about the outcome. I even found myself fighting back tears a couple times.
The movie is almost all in Farsi with English sub-titles. Even when the setting moves to San Francisco, at least half of the scenes are sub-titled. Once or twice, the lines moved so quickly I couldn't keep up, but it didn't bother me otherwise.
The cast of relative unknowns is wonderful. Personally, I find the boys fine but wooden, like they were reciting lines with little emotion behind them. But that could easily be because I was too busy trying to read the sub-titles to watch them too closely.
The kite flying scenes are magical. While obviously computer generated, they are more elaborate then I expected and brought a smile to my face.
The movie handles the tough scenes with grace. The events are hinted at but never shown in graphic detail. Even so, know going in that this is an emotional drama and not just some light entertainment.
If it weren't for that missing plot point at the end, I would have enjoyed this movie more then I did. In the end, the movie turns out to be an average adaptation of an average book.
Accessable Cinema February 7, 2008
Cathal Naughton (Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Having taken two hours out of my busy slacker schedule to indulge in an area of world cinema that I have previously tended to avoid due to my difficulty in finding characterizations and story lines that I could relate to or find common ground with. I happened across this little gem. The movie builds a rich tapestry using characters with real depth and whose human values are of great importance. The acting cannot be faulted and the two hours flew by. Highly recommended!!!
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