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Duma (Widescreen Edition)

Duma (Widescreen Edition)
Director: Carroll Ballard
Actors: Alex Michaeletos, Campbell Scott, Mary Makhatho, Nthabiseng Kenoshi, Hope Davis
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD

List Price: $12.98
Buy New: $11.99
You Save: $0.99 (8%)



New (36) Used (20) from $2.40

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 67 reviews
Sales Rank: 28305

Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6

MPN: 38982
UPC: 085393898229
EAN: 0085393898229
ASIN: B0009XRZVU

Theatrical Release Date: 2005
Release Date: May 16, 2006
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
This African tale follow the rhythms of director Carroll Ballard's earlier films The Black Stallion and Fly Away Home, namely a child is drawn into the mysteries and magic of an animal. Xan (newcomer Alexander Michaletos) is a 12-year-old living in South Africa with his parents (Campbell Scott and Hope Davis, who appeared as a much different couple three years earlier in The Secret Life of Dentists) when they find an abandoned baby cheetah. They bring it up as their own and name it the Swahili word for cheetah, Duma. After some time, the creature is too big to stay domesticated and Dad tells the boy they will have to journey back to Duma's home to set him free. A sickness makes the family pull up stakes and head to the city where Xan and Duma don't fare well. Xan must take Duma on his own to set him free. To tell more would be a crime. As with any Ballard film, the story is subtext, the visuals rule. First-time cinematographer Werner Maritz fills the screen with the desert landscape and is able to capture the magnificent speed of the cheetah. Ballard's films seem to build on their own inertia, creating scenes that seem to be simply happening instead of scripted, although this often suffers in the balance of wonderment versus all-too-lucky occurrences. Based on the children's picture book/memoir How It Was with Dooms by Xan and Carol Cawthra Hopcraft, this is a film worth seeking out, especially for families and kids above 5 years old. --Doug Thomas

Product Description
Carroll Ballard (The Black Stallion Fly Away Home) directs the exciting story of 12-year-old Xan (Alexander Michaletos) who decides to return the cheetah he raised from a cub to the wild instead of allowing pursuers to place it in captivity. Harsh South African landscapes stalking lions crocodiles river rapids and a mysterious drifter (Eamonn Walker) who may intend to turn the big cat in for cash - all will test Xan's courage and resolve. Join him in this tale of growing up and letting go. It's a journey you won't want to miss.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 085393898229 Manufacturer No: 38982


Customer Reviews:   Read 62 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars one of the best movies   August 5, 2008
Laurie L. Mcgee (U.S.A)
i love this movie this reminds me of milo & otis with the cat and the dog but this is a story about raising a cheetah is heart breaking and i love the sceanery the movie is one of my favorites i love movies like this


5 out of 5 stars Duma Review   May 31, 2008
lover of words (Houston, TX)
This movie is fantastic and appropriate for all ages. I showed my 5th grader, my 5 year old and my husband. They all loved the scenery, the message and the plot.


4 out of 5 stars Not your ordinary dog and pony show   April 25, 2008
R. Bagula (Lakeside, Ca United States)
A boy and his dog on a road trip meet a dark stranger?
In a waste land a boy and his a cheetah meet a black fellow
and a bond of friendship is found in the trip north to
Duma's home hunting grounds. Lions and crocodiles don't stop
this journey into adulthood, for either the cheetah or
the South African boy. The pictures of the cheetah and the wildlife
are very entertaining.



2 out of 5 stars beautiful but lacking   August 3, 2007
C. Antonelli (CT, USA)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

i had high hopes for this movie based on the reviews, but i as well as my family were a bit let down with it.

thankfully we saw it on home box office in HD, because there really are some stunning scenic moments in this movie. the shots of the cheetah growing up are priceless and any cat owner that watches the movie will find themselves captivated by how similar members of the cat family are of any size. but when a movie gets this good of reviews yet was never a big success something must be amiss.

i first have to say the audio recording in the movie is poor at best in many scenes. after getting tired of hearing complaints from everyone that they could not hear the people talking, i finally took a minute and cranked the center channel of my receiver all the way up to be able to understand what anyone was saying, a first of hundreds of movies watched. yes, they had accents, but it wasn't that.

i did not read the book, but by the sounds of it the book has a better story line than the movie. i know this movie was geared for kids and adults should try not to get hung up on the details that are not realistic but come on. not sure where to even start. the kid almost dies in the desert without food and water yet somehow only a few scenes later is tricking tourists to steal their food in order to stay lost instead of begging them to get him home. by the way, the scene stealing their food was ridiculous. just because a snake pops out of his shirt, 20 people with no place to go literally disappear leaving them to have their way with the food? some other parts dragged making it difficult to keep my kids attention while others like the 'danger' scenes were just cheap scare tactics.

i am a cheerleader for this class of movie and was excited to sit down with the family to watch it but in my opinion it didn't stack up.

my 5 year old did cry at the end if that counts for anything. actually it was the second to last scene saying goodbye to the cheetah. i on the otherhand cried at the final scene at such a terrible ending with the boy reuniting with his mother. really bad...



4 out of 5 stars Great Movie   July 12, 2007
E. S. McDowell (Sandusky, Ohio USA)
This story tells how a little boy becomes a young man after dealing with some hard lessons. Set in Africa, the movie touches on the harshness as well as the wonder of that country. I recommend this movie to families who like watching movies together. (don't forget the tissues for some scenes)

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