xREL.v3

A.Throw.Of.Dice.1929.NTSC-DVDR
Prapancha Pash

THEATRE DATE....: 8/16/1929
RELEASE DATE....: 1/17/2009
STORE DATE......: 7/15/2008
GENRE...........: Drama/Silent Film
RATiNG..........: 7.2/10 (43 Votes)

RUNTiME.........: 76 Minutes
ViDEO BiTRATE...: 5401 kBit/sec 6-pass CCE
AUDiO BiTRATE...: DD 2.0 @ 192, Orchestra
ASPECT RATiO....: 4:3
ARCHiVES .......: dvdr-a.throw.of.dice.rar *95x50MB*
DVD SiZE........: *4.374 GB* *4,479 MB* *4,586,760 KB*
SUBTiTLES.......: No subtitles, EN Intertitles

A lavish silent super-production comprising 10,00 extras, a thousand horses, and scores
of elephants, A Throw of Dice is the climax of German film pioneer Franz Osten's richly
cinematic sojourn in India. In this "fairy tale for adults" (BBC) inspired by the ancient
Sanskrit epic poem The Mahabharata, royal cousins and rulers of adjoining kingdoms King
Sohat (producer/star Himansu Rai) and King Ranjit (Charu Roy) share a reckless passion
for gambling, the perilous jungle tiger hunt, and the beautiful maiden Sunita (Seta Devi).
After a tiger nearly claims Ranjit's life, Sunita nurses the handsome young king back to
health and becomes his bride. Knowing that the only thing stronger than love in Ranjit's
heart is a compulsive fascination with games of chance, jealous Sohat challenges his
cousin to a winner-take-all contest where the stakes are freedom, marriage, and life
itself.

"Lovingly restored" (The Guardian UK) by the British Film Institute to a level of ravishing
spectacle and splendor unseen since its debut in 1929, this "immaculately dressed and
beautifully shot" (Times of London) masterpiece of the late silent period is complemented
by a "stirring" (Guardian) and "brilliantly evocative new score" (BBC) composed by Nitin
Sawhney. A sensation when it re-premiered in London's Trafalgar Square in 2007, Kino is
proud to present A Throw of Dice for the first time on U.S. DVD.

Director .......  Franz Osten

Seeta Devi .....  Sunita
Himansu Rai ....  Sohan
Charu Roy ......  Ranjit
Sarada Gupta ...  The Hermit

Kino may have been "proud to present A Throw of Dice for the first time on U.S. DVD", but
apparently not proud enough to have prepared a proper NTSC master for it. They used the
PAL master and field-blended the heck out of it. So, even though this thing was on a
DVD-5, I decided to unblend it and reencode it to make it look more presentable. The main
extra I left untouched.

I realize that a silent Indian film isn't everyone's idea of great viewing, but if your
tastes are more eclectic than those of the average movie fan, give it a try. The two extras
are:

* INTERVIEW WITH COMPOSER NITIN SAWNEY (35:12)
* STILLS GALLERY

IMDB: http://former.imdb.com/title/tt0020286/
RETAIL DVD: http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?item_id=1407922

DVD REVIEW: http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=10042
DVD REVIEW: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/33983/throw-of-dice-a/
DVD REVIEW: http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-on-dvd/a-throw-of-the-dice/