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| The Kite Runner | 
 enlarge | Director: Marc Forster
Actors: L. Peter Callender, Larry Brown, Said Taghmaoui, Shaun Toub, Homayoun Ershadi
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.99
Buy Used: $3.99
You Save: $26.00 (87%)
New (57) Used (32) Collectible (1) from $3.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  105 reviews
Sales Rank: 2224
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Russian (Original Language), Urdu (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 127
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: PARD117974D
UPC: 097361179742
EAN: 0097361179742
ASIN: B0012OX7EO
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: March 25, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Previously Viewed rental product. 100% GUARANTEED! May have stickers on case or disc. Fast shipping! Book, Video, Video Game & Music titles all in one location! Discover Your Entertainment at goHastings.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A Modern Epic June 7, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
THE KITE RUNNER is one of those modern epics that one is occasionally graced with. Spanning two continents, multiple family generations, and many decades, this film touches on a myriad of items including friendship, love, loss, and, ultimately, redemption.
It's prime mover is young Amir (Zekeria Ebrahimi), a native Afghan boy who often plays with the hired help; mainly young Hassan (Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada), a Hazara boy who's family is supposedly inferior to the ruling Afghans. But the two form a bond of friendship based on education (Amir teaches Hassan to read), closeness in Amir's house, and, of course, kite flying.
But bad times are on the way for the city of Kabul. The communists are invading and Amir and Hassan have separated due to an impossibly brutal act of prejudice by an Afghan boy against Hassan. The two may never see each other again.
Amir's father races to get himself and his son out of Afghanistan, eventually finding their way to America. Here the two set up a gas station and live hand to mouth by selling at niche markets. And as Amir's father gradually becomes ill, a new revelation will strike to the heart of Amir; one that he cannot ignore and requires his return to his beloved Kabul.
A study of friendship, war, and reconciliation, The Kite Runner is truly a fantastic piece of cinema. The story is never inappropriately spoken in English whenever we're in a foreign country, and only broken English whenever we're in America. This was refreshing and lent itself to a sense of realism.
The acting was on-par with the best you'll see, too. Particular note must be made of Homayoun Ershadi who plays Baba, Amir's ailing father and strong patriarch. Also lead Khalid Abdalla as the older Amir is played well, especially when returning to Kabul to find it in ruin; quite the contrast from when he'd left.
The cinematography of Afghanistan during Amir's escape and ultimate return are nothing short of breathtaking, with snow-capped peaks that will cause your mouth to slacken (I'm not sure exactly which mountain range they used in the film, but wherever it was I want to go there and film it myself!)
But it isn't the cinematography nor the acting of one or two people that makes this film a success. It is a simple story told very well that makes it worth any movie watchers' while. Highly recommended.
soul wrenching June 7, 2008
Ordinarily I would have never watched a movie with the mundane title "Kite Runner." I was on a long flight from South Africa and, with little better to do, I watched it. I'm glad I did.
I won't try to summarize the film. Watch it. Set, primarily, in pre and post Soviet invasion Afghanistan, it's a tale of cowardice, redemption and mind-numbing courage. We see the Taliban in all their glory: beard police, publlic stonings and more. We see a people crushed by Soviet brutality and, then, by religious intolerance and moral oppression.
Primarily, however, it's a father and son story--a father whose moral code is absolute. He fights the good fight and never flinches. The scene where he confronts a Russian soldier determined to rape a woman is especially wonderful. His son is nothing like his father but...maybe he really is...there is redemption.
Ron Braithwaite author of "Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"
A Good Film Adaptation of a Beloved Novel June 2, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Since THE KITE RUNNER has had a solid home on many bestseller lists for five years now, I'm not alone in saying that I loved Khaled Hosseini's gripping and engrossing novel. While it's almost cliche to say a book is better than a novel, in the case of THE KITE RUNNER, readers seemed to have personal experiences with the book and as so many book club members can attest, no one who reads the book has the same interpretation of it, or at least it seems that way. Like many people, I wondered if a movie version would do justice to this novel. Since the book is etched indelibly in my mind, I figured that while I'd enjoy the movie, I also assumed I'd be at least mildly disappointed with the movie version of the book. Much to my surprise, I found the film version moving, stayed close to the book's basic plot, and told a powerful story.
The story begins in Afghanistan prior to the Soviet invasion. We meet two young children, Amir, a child born to privilege, and Hassan, the son of the family's servant. While Amir is loved by his father, he cannot help but notice that his father has an obvious affection for Hassan which causes resentment. Hassan is dutifully loyal to Amir, and remains so as long as the two live under the same roof, but events happen between the two that change things forever. The two are separated when Hassan and his father leave the household and the separation becomes permanent when Amir and his father flee Afghanistan. After living in the United States for twenty years and knowing the torment the people of Afghanistan have lived under for so long, Amir begins a journey to try as best he can to make amends for his childish, but cruel actions toward Hassan.
Without a doubt the young the movie's greatest asset has to be the two endearing Afghani actors Zekeria Ebrahimi as the young Amir and Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada as the young Hassan. We see the genuine friendship that develops between the two as well as the rivalry, at least Amir's perception of Hassan as a rival that is pivotal to the story. The film does a good job at showing how two children raised in the same household can also be from two vastly different worlds. The film also does a wonderful job at portraying the Afghan custom of kite running and we feel the joy and exhilaration of this fierce competition. Some of the characters are somewhat one dimensional, most notably the character of Assef who is evil as a child and even more evil as an adult, but this is true to the book. Hosseni seems to have a number of one dimensional characters which keeps readers from being too distracted with the book's unfamiliar setting which allows readers to better appreciate the inner struggles of Amir. This does not work as well in the film version. The film is also somewhat less action packed than the book, but it is still engrossing.
For anyone who loved the novel, the bonus features of the DVD, especially the comments by Hosseini and David Benioff, the writer who adapted the book for the film, are an added plus.
heartwarming June 1, 2008
This is the kind of film that stays in your thoughts for some days after having seen it. It gives you things to think about! Un petit chef-oeuvre!
Excellent Screen Treatment May 31, 2008
Khaled Hosseini's book was a runaway best seller, beautifully written and poignant if a tad melodramatic. It was colorful and visual but it wasn't immediately apparent how one would translate the extravagant inner dialogues to the screen.
Luckily, American screenwriter David Benioff and Swiss director Marc Forster understood perfectly what was needed, and have created a treatment which is both faithful to the original (with author Hosseini's consultation) and is cinematic in a way the book could never have been. The magnificent result is a movie every bit as moving and noble as the book, with perfectly-cast actors speaking in local dialect. There is literally nothing I would change about how this book was adapted for film.
For those of us whose only exposure to Afghanistan is what we see on the news, it is eye-opening to see the culture from an insider's perspective, and to realize the true loss brought about by 30 years of continuous war.
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