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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE KITE RUNNER
The Kite Runner

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The Kite Runner (2007)

66%
83%
88%
N/A
N/A
N/A
66 %
Reviews Counted: 158 Fresh: 105  Rotten:53 Average Rating: 6.5/10
 
Consensus: Just shy of rendering the magic of the novel on to the big screen. Despite some fine performances, The Kite Runner is just shy of rendering the magic of the novel on to the big screen. more
 
Rated: 12A
Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins 51 secs
Theatrical Release: 26-12-2007
Synopsis:
Based on the international bestseller by Khaled Hosseini, THE KITE RUNNER is a fascinating historical epic set in 20th-century Afghanistan. In 1978, Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada) are young boys living in Kabul, where Hassan and his father, Ali (Nabi Tanha),... [More]
Based on the international bestseller by Khaled Hosseini, THE KITE RUNNER is a fascinating historical epic set in 20th-century Afghanistan. In 1978, Amir (Zekiria Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada) are young boys living in Kabul, where Hassan and his father, Ali (Nabi Tanha), work as servants for Amir and his father, Baba (Homayoun Ershadi). Amir and Hassan make an excellent team in kite competitions, with Hassan having a gift for running down kites, but after one contest, he is bullied by Assef (Elham Ehsas), who does unspeakable things to him as Amir watches from a distance and then runs away, not helping his friend. As the Russians and then the Taliban take over Afghanistan, Baba and Amir escape to America, where they make a new home in San Francisco. But even as he graduates from college and meets a beautiful young woman, Soraya (Atossa Leoni), who is also from Kabul, Amir (now played by Khalid Abdalla) is haunted by his cowardice and can't turn down an opportunity to try to make things right when it is offered by his father's old friend Rahim Khan (Shaun Toub)--even if it means risking his life. THE KITE RUNNER was adapted for the screen by David Benioff (THE 25TH HOUR), with much of the dialogue spoken in Dari, one of the primary languages in Afghanistan. Director Marc Foster (MONSTER'S BALL, FINDING NEVERLAND) does a deft job navigating the complicated story, which moves from Afghanistan to San Francisco and Pakistan (with much of the film actually shot in China), using many nonprofessional actors and a subtle score composed by Alberto Iglesias. Ebrahimi and Mahmoodzada make impressive debuts, with solid work by Abddalla, Leoni, and especially Ershadi. [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Khalid Abdalla, Homayoun Ershadi, Shaun Toub, Atossa Leoni, Said Taghmaoui

Director: Marc Forster
Screenwriter: David Benioff
Producer: William Horberg, Walter Parkes, Rebecca Yeldham, E. Bennett Walsh
Composer: Alberto Iglesias

DVD Info

Release:

Jan 3, 2010

[DVD Details]

HD DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Plus 2.0 - English, French, Spanish
  • Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 - English, French, Spanish
  • 5.1 Dolby TrueHD - English, French, Spanish
  • Subtitled - English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - 1. Marc Foster 2. Khalid Hosseini 3. David Benioff
  • Featurettes - 1. WORDS FROM THE KITE RUNNER
  • 2. IMAGES FROM THE KITE RUNNER
  • 3. PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUCEMENT WITH KHALED HOSSEINI
  • Theatrical Trailers

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Ratings Image

Perhaps he might have been tougher but that might have rendered the film less digestible.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 09:02 AM
Derek Malcolm
This is London
Ratings Image

Based on Khaled Hosseini's highly regarded novel, this story of exile, ambition and betrayal has an emotional power that outstrips its occasional implausibilities.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 08:55 AM
Anthony Quinn
Independent
Ratings Image

The measured mise-en-scène is fine for the boyhood scenes. Character-building alternates with brief bursts of image music, such as the kite-flying contest that fills the Kabul sky with darting, colourful fabric-birds.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 08:37 AM
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
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There's something timid and tasteful about the filmmaking which struck me as pretty mendacious, in a story about a blood bond severed by rape and mended, a generation on, by a rather too tidy act of atonement.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 08:27 AM
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph
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A cracking final 20 minutes leave you realising what an evil bunch of idiots the Taliban really are.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 08:19 AM
Sun Online
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Ratings Image

A workmanlike, if decaffeinated version of Khaled Hosseini's bestselling novel.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 08:14 AM
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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The third of the film given to the boys’ childhood adventures is excellent, both kids fully convincing as pals who’ll never part.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 08:01 AM
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
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An enthralling piece of cinema.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 07:45 AM
James Christopher
Times [UK]
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Ratings Image

Showcasing a welcome lack of big-budget attitude, The Kite Runner makes up for its small flaws with an engaging, thought-provoking story and a willingness to tackle some very dark issues.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 05:48 AM
Saxon Bullock
Channel 4 Film
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The film deftly spans the cruelty of Afghan history, from the Soviet invasion to Taliban desolation.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 05:30 AM
Matt Mueller
Total Film
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Forster takes few liberties with Hosseini's novel: it's a straightforward, anadorned adaptation with the much of the dialogue in Persian and a capable non-starry cast.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 05:19 AM
Elliott Noble
Sky Movies
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The film’s belief in the power of redemption and its subtle assertion of the need for moral courage in personal (or political) conflict, is never allowed to get in the way of its boldly told, intelligent, informed and affecting story.

Full Review | Comment
12/28/07 05:04 AM
Time Out
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Impressively directed and superbly written, this is a moving emotional drama with strong performances from its two young leads.

Full Review | Comment
12/27/07 03:15 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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An engaging melodrama whose less convincing plot points are superseded by some astonishingly affecting performances from the mostly unknown cast.

Full Review | Comment
12/26/07 03:15 AM
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine
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Whilst some of the vivid detail in Khalid Hosseini's best-selling novel does get lost in translation, director Marc Forster hits all the emotional high notes.

Full Review | Comment
12/18/07 03:15 AM
Stella Papamichael
BBC
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Adapted for the screen with sensitivity by Benioff and Forster, drawing raw performances from the cast.

Full Review | Comment
12/12/07 11:24 AM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

Forster na synehizei na psahnei ti Hora toy Pote stin paramythenia Kampoyl toy protoy meroys, prin perasei sto deytero kommati tis istorias, opoy i prospatheia toy Afganoy metanasti na brei thesi sto Neo Kosmo kai bima na pei tis istories toy, ginetai syn

Full Review | Comment
05/06/08 03:17 AM
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses
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Es un poco inevitable sentir que la película transcurre casi como un trámite, sin permitirle al espectador una aproximación mucho más sensible a la historia.

Full Review | Comment
04/22/08 11:43 PM
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
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A skilfully made and subtly powerful film, with a disarmingly human protagonist whose efforts seem all the more real, given his weaknesses and the movie's authentic feel.

Full Review | Comment
04/09/08 06:04 PM
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide
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The Kite Runner will no doubt warm the hearts of its intended audience, but its nature is one of dubious flattery.

Full Review | Comment
03/25/08 09:05 PM
Rob Humanick
Projection Booth
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