|
| Persepolis | 
 enlarge | Directors: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Actors: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Gena Rowlands, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $15.48
You Save: $14.47 (48%)
New (50) Used (18) from $7.28
Avg. Customer Rating:  54 reviews
Sales Rank: 1379
Format: Ac-3, Black & White, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: French (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Dubbed)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 96
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.8 x 0.7
MPN: COLD22525D
UPC: 043396225251
EAN: 0043396225251
ASIN: B000YAA68W
Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 2007
Release Date: June 24, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW ~ Factory Sealed ~ It is FLAWLESS ~ EXACTLY as pictured & listed ~ NO surprises! This DVD is priced to sell quickly ~ GREAT BARGAIN ~ FAST (same-day-as-purchased) SHIPPING ~ It will be carefully packaged & shipped in a bubble mailer.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Powerful adaptation of graphic novel November 12, 2007
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I've only read the first book and thought it would make a wonderful animation - well it's been made and it is indeed wonderful. Funny, moving, informative, well structured and well paced, with beautiful drawings that echo the book's style. Brilliant soundtrack too. Want to see the sequel made about her life now! Looking forward to being able to buy this on DVD - or just see it again somewhere.
 An Animated Persian Window July 1, 2008
8 out of 17 found this review helpful
Marjane Satrapi has indeed lived an interesting life. Growing up in Iran and seeing a country and culture transform from the days of the Shah to all the turmoil that ensued in a revolution left her, her family, and her country devastingly reeling to find some semblance of a livable life. Persepolis, graphically animates, Satrapi's comic book graphic novel of the same name and does it to great effect both with the story and with the art form. Though I've rated it 3-stars, don't think it is a movie you should pass on. Persepolis is what your friends will be talking about around the dinner table, at the local Starbucks, at Church, at your 4th of July bar-b-que. Though the flick didn't live up to the high expectations I had for it, doesn't mean you shouldn't take the opportunity to immerse yourself in all things Persian to try to get a better understanding of a part of the world that has the single-most potential to be the next international conflict flash point. Get to know Iran because it will be on center stage for years to come.
The highlight of Persepolis is the animation. Though the physical depiction of the characters are somewhat one-dimensional, the animator Vincent Paronnaud uses light and color and unique shapes to enhance their emotions and the events of their lives. There is one scene in which two older burkha wearing religious ladies acccost her on the streets for listening to punk music. The shape of the ladies in their burkhas are almost amorphous, snake-like and the power of intimidation leaps out so much more than what it would have been if real actors played the characters. Time and time again the animator uses the contrast of light and darkness to highlight a scene. Many times there are the scene fade-outs where a white figure is left to the end burning itself in one's retina providing a subtle yet effective dramatic effect.
I think of other adult animations and ones that really caught on and caught my attention did some different things either with the story or with the animation. "Heavy Metal Heavy Metal: Music From The Motion Picture," reached out to teens in the early 80's and then found a second life on the midnight movie circuit. Though I was drawn in by the killer soundtrack featuring Sammy Hagar, Blue Oyster Cult, Devo and Sabbath; the movie tied in animation, music and story into a specifically teen targeted flick that stuck. Or Richard Linkletter's "Waking Life Waking Life," that came out in 2003 has something so unique and creative about it that its take on philosophy stays with you years after you've watched it. Though I enjoyed Persepolis and there has been much Oscar buzz surrounding it, I can't say it's a flick cut of the same ilk.
Just for the fact alone that the Western world should be studying up on all things Persian, all things Iranian, is a compelling reason to run out to Amazon and grab the latest copy of "Persepolis." Satrapi's coming of age in a changing and seething culture is a story that stands out in these modern times. But more so the window into Persia and how it has transformed itself in the last 40 years, is the real draw here. ...mmw
PARENTS....take your kids to PERSEPOLIS and screw HANNAH MONTANA! February 3, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
PERSEPOLIS opens with a woman sitting in an airport terminal,hair covered with a black scarf,smoking a cigarette and thinking back on her life.This simplistic and unadorned hand-drawn animated woman drifts back to a time in her native Iran when life was simple and girls were free.Marji will trace her life from the rising of the Shah of Iran,through the fundamentalist regime to her escape into France in this dark and eye-opening black and white animated look at a child's view of freedom slowing eroding away.This is an emotionally exhausting film and is a tribute to the impressionability of children and then their resilience to "wake up" as adults when life as they knew it is gone.PERSEPOLIS is a film of incredible sagacity and welcomed intuition and perception.It provides a window into the EAST that strongly reflects back on the WEST. With every parent paying whatever they can to take their girls to see HANNAH MONTANA, I took my two nieces and nephew to see PERSEPOLIS and then out to lunch to listen to their feedback.I was duly impressed with the responses of three children ranging in ages from 9 to 13! Try it,parents.
This film has been nominated for an Oscar.No small wonder.
Stylish, well-executed but lightweight May 5, 2008
7 out of 15 found this review helpful
During the opening scene in Persepolis we see a taxi approaching Orly Airport in Paris and the air-traffic control tower rears priapically over the terminal building like - well, like a minaret over a mosque - and briefly I thought I might be in for a bit of a treat: a challenging comparison of the unspoken (and hypocritical) political oppression of the West seen through the prism of a refugee from another authoritarian state.
No such luck. I suspect the resemblance to a minaret was coincedental, for what then proceeded was a nicely executed, slickly produced, but fundamentally uninteresting account of what should have been a fascinating story.
I couldn't help but compare this story - oppressed muslim girl gets out, goes to Europe, struggles with the freedoms of the West - with that of Ayan Hirsi in Infidel and The Caged Virgin, which was altogether more shocking, enlightening, challenging and uplifting.
As a result I sat quietly, enjoying the imaginative graphics and particularly the soundtrack, but wondering when the point was going to reveal itself. As the credits rolled (their sudden arrival came as quite a surprise) it still hadn't, and even as I sit here hours later I remain mystified as to why all the effort, all the interesting (if somewhat hackneyed leftie) political and historical backdrop, to provide a backdrop for a pretty unremarkable personal story.
Olly Buxton
 "Bear the Unbearable" July 2, 2008
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
Forget your stereotypes of Iranians. `Persepolis' is an engagingly funny, sad, and poignant look at Merjane (Margie) (Chiara Mastrorianni) a girl who grows up in Tehran during the 1980's. Despite our possible preconceptions, Merjane surprisingly sports addidas sneakers, eats French fries, and yearns to shave her legs. The movie provides an absorbing history lesson, showing us the close up ramifications of people's lives behind the headlines, and tells a captivating story about a girl trying to belong and survive under dire circumstances.
Until all the world changing events, Merjane lets us know, "I led a peaceful, uneventful life as a child." Within the family, Merjan's uncle is kindly, yet communist. He's probably seen enough dictatorships and knows of only one way out. His ordeal is documented well enough. The most supportive in the family is Merjane's grandmother (Daniell Darrieux), whose affection and wisdom go a long way. Her parents (Catherine Deneuve and Simon Abkarian) are also good people who yearn for freedom, but know how to keep Merjane's best interests above their own.
During the time, we get a first person perspective on the Shah of Iran, his rise to power, the unrest that led to his exile, and his subsequent replacement by Ayatolla Kohmeni while Saddam Hussein rose to power in Iraq. From the narrative and the played out scenes, we get the pedestrian view of how these events came into fruition and their implications in everyday lives. Later, the Iran-Iraq War is particularly unsettling for her entire country. For her safety, Merjan flees her country and settles into Austria where she develops not so close friendships with the "Out" group, seeking refuge in the punk rock/alternative scene. With Merjane telling her story we get an intimate and often comic take on the angst of adolescence as well as what it's like to be a foreigner who's mostly misunderstood or ignored. She returns to her own country and her family, but the changes have made her an alien in her own neighborhood. Knowing the origin of this film, you can probably guess what happens next...
The animation is unique and interesting. Reminded that this film garnered a nomination for Best Animated Movie Oscar*, the extras show the French artists creating the film one frame (or picture) at a time. Done mostly in black and white, the backgrounds are stylish, but mostly stagnant with the characters remaining flowing for every scene. Oddly, it is only during the transportation scenes (like when she's waiting at the airport) when we are given the full color treatment. Inevitably, it must be that hope colors her consciousness every time there's a new transition in her life. I have one objection: I didn't like all the body fluids presented. I thought they kept it real enough without having to show all of that. Ironically, the blood made a difference. We need it as evidence; it provides an unflinching detail of the ordeal(s) at hand and respects all the people involved.
Our funny bones are tickled several times as our colorful rebel resorts to splendid retorts to zealous extremists ("Girls who reveals themselves will burn in hell," says one educator), and we are served some truly funny thoughts about her body changes during puberty and the fallout of dating. 'Persepolis' has many simple joys entailed upon its viewing: A fascinating first-person history lesson, an absorbing story, and a splendid protagonist.
(Not since Art Spiegelman's groundbreaking 'Maus' have I seen a similar graphic novel treatment give this much of a wollop.)
*`Ratatouille' won the Oscar for Best Animated Film from 2007.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
