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| Duma (Full Screen Edition) |
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List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $11.79
You Save: $8.19 (41%)
Buy New/Used from $9.39
Avg. Customer Rating:  (based on 28 reviews)
Sales Rank: 5580
Category: DVD
Director: Carroll Ballard
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Studio: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Label: Warner Home Video
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 100 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 085393898328
EAN: 0085393898328
ASIN: B0009XRZS8
Release Date: May 16, 2006
Theatrical Release Date: November 30, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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
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.
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Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Impressive Young Warrior June 29, 2006
Well perhaps not a warrior but the young man here certainly learns the way of life and lessons that will change him forever. He basicly goes from a young kid to young adult. His father and him find a baby Cheetah that has lost its mother. He raises it. About half the movie is him and the Cheetah growing older. His dad then suggest he return the Cheetah, which he has named Duma, to the wild as had he said they would have to do from the time they first got it. He is apprehensive not only because Duma is his best friend, but his father is ill with cancer. When his father passes away he decides he must do what his father suggested and return Duma to the wild near where they first found him. Since it is far from his home he takes his father's motorcycle and heads out without his mothers knowledge. He encounters a native to the land and they both make the journey which teaches them both something of human and animal nature. I liked this movie for a number of reasons. I appreciate the fact they used people that were from the region, and filmed on location. It added reality to the whole movie and it helped me understand and appreciate what it would really be like to make the journey. Good acting, superb animal sequences, incredible camera work, and nice music make it an above average movie. If you are a fan of Disney animal movies you will probably want to buy a copy.
 Excellent film; great for families, and a favorite for the kids! June 29, 2006
When I saw that the Los Angeles Times listed DUMA as one of the top ten films of '2005, I was intrigued. Why hadn't I heard about this film, if it were so great? Regardless of my skepticism, I decided to give the film a shot, and must now agree with Mr. Turan. The film is superb... and quite possibly, one of the top ten films of '2005 (due in large part to last year's overall crop of films being rather substandard by most critic's accounts). Still, DUMA holds its own, and is well worth the affordable DVD purchase price offered on Amazon.com.
An important and incredibly beautiful film June 22, 2006
Not since "Two Brothers" has a film about the kinship we have with wildlife, the fragility of beauty, and the sadness of loss been so beautifully rendered in this remarkable and deeply touching film. There is something so refreshingly pure and almost sacred about this film and its portayal of the struggles of a young boy and his closest friend, a cheetah name Duma. His interaction with humans and his wild friend is one that is simultaneously life-affirming and heartbreaking. Every family should watch this film together and learn about eachother through it. It is about courage, compassion, letting go, and about the spirit. It is extraordinary filmaking.
Love remains June 20, 2006
Despite the distance
Despite one of you taking other paths
Despite someone dying
Young Xan and his father discover a cheetah cub in the South African bush. They raise the cheetah to a young adult and just as its time for the cat, Duma, to be released, Xan's father dies. Xan's Mom wants Duma to go to a preserve, but Xan goes with his heart and takes Duma back where he and his Dad had found him.
Not since "Born Free" have I loved an African big cat story so much. This is a good film for all ages about friendship and family. "Duma" is well-acted, well-scored, and well-photographed. A joy all around and a film that could be easily watched again and again.
Pure Bliss... June 12, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
How did this movie get overlooked when it was released? I never saw any marketing for it. What an unexpected joy to discover through home rental. We rented this, but will purchase a copy of our own.
The story is good and the cinematography is excellent. It's a gentle movie, but the main character does face his share of perils. This movie has the cute factor (who can resist a baby cheetah?) going for it, but the story carries it. I'd recommend it for the entire family.
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Copyright Runningonkarma.com 2006
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