The Movie:  The Color of Paradise is about a blind boy who loves to learn at the school he attends for the blind. After school gets out for a break (the children live at the school), Mohammed's father doesn't show up for quite a while. His father thinks that Mohammed is more of a burden to him than a joy. Mohammed is instead taken care of by his loving grandmother and sisters. The Color of Paradise is a simplistic, but beautiful film - I belive Ebert put it best: "'The Color of Paradise' is a family film that shames the facile commercialism of a product like 'Pokemon' and its value system based on power and greed. Because they do not condescend to young audiences, Majidi's films of course are absorbing for adults as well, and there is a lesson here: Any family film not good enough for grownups is certainly not good enough for children."

The Picture:  The picture, unfortunately distracts from the film itself. The print used to make the DVD has quite a few problems, the least of them being the grain and dust apparent throughout the film (especially the dark scenes). Shimmering was also apparent in a couple of scenes, and although the colors are vibrant throughout which help the anamorphic presentation to show off the beautiful landscapes, the picture is a disappointment.

The Sound:  The sound is not much better. Presented solely in Farsi Dolby 2.0, while most likely the original sound source, it is a shame that the film didn't have other audio tracks or surround capabilities. What was surprising to me was when the movie is started, one would think being Region 1, subtitles would be engaged automatically, but you have to manually turn on the English, Spanish, or French subtitles if you do not speak Farsi.

Special Features: Theatrical Trailer, Talent Files

The Extras:  The extras are almost non-existent. Included are "Majid Majidi Talent Files" which are two screens of filmography/biography. Also included is a trailer for the film, along with trailers for Not One Less, The King of Masks, and The Emperor and the Assassin. All four trailers are not presented anamorphically.

The Insert:  The insert is a one page piece of paper with scene selections on one side along with a few shots from the movie. On the other, a few more screenshots along with the title of the movie. Nothing special at all.

Conclusion:  The Color of Paradise is a beautiful movie, and it's a shame the DVD transfer could not have been the same. The video, although anamorphic, leaves a lot to be desired, and the sound is not much better. The extras are sparse and the high price tag of $30 is a bit prohibitive. If you've seen the movie and loved it, this DVD may be for you, if not, rent it before spending $30.

Genres: Drama, Foreign
Rated: PG | 90 minutes
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Catalog #: 05606 | ISBN: 0-7678-5708-9