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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Time for Drunken Horses, A (Zamani Barayé Masti Asbha) (2000)

Time for Drunken Horses, A (Zamani Barayé Masti Asbha) (2000)

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Released 14-Apr-2003

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Theatrical Trailer
Biographies-Crew-Bahman Ghobadi
Trailer-The Cat's Meow; The Circle; Kandahar;Molokai;Monsoon Wedding
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2000
Running Time 75:04 (Case: 80)
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Bahman Ghobadi
Studio
Distributor

Madman Entertainment
Starring Ayoub Ahmadi
Rojin Younessi
Amaneh Ekhtiar-dini
Madi Ekhtiar-dini
Kolsolum Ekhtiar-dini
Karim Ekhtiar-dini
Rahman Salehi
Osman Karimi
Nezhad Ekhtiar-dini
Case Click
RPI ? Music Hossein Alizadeh


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.66:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.66:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures Yes
Subtitles English Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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Plot Synopsis

    A Time For Drunken Horses is a film about a young Kurdish boy who is forced into taking a dangerous and physically demanding job to support his family.

    Twelve year old Ayoub and his family live in a small Kurdish village on the border of Iraq and Iran. When his father is killed smuggling goods across the border, Ayoub becomes responsible for the other children in his family and he must find some way of supporting them. With few options, Ayoub takes on the same dangerous job that killed his father, smuggling everyday goods across the border. When it becomes clear that his disabled brother Madi requires an operation to prolong his life, Ayoub must take great risks in order to earn enough money for the surgery.

    This film contains a number of visually stunning scenes and competent performances by the lead actors but due to the film's storyline it is quite depressing. Despite this, the film is still able to hold the viewer's attention, showing the sacrifices that people will make to keep their families together. The film was honoured with the Camera d'Or for the Best First Film award at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for writer/director Bahman Ghobadi, and received wide critical acclaim.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The transfer is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is extremely sharp throughout and it always displays very high levels of detail. No low-level noise was detected at any time during the transfer. During the small number of dark scenes, excellent levels of shadow detail may always be seen.

    The colour palette displayed during the transfer employs a large percentage of dirty greens, greys and browns, reflecting the harsh conditions that the film is set in.

    No MPEG artefacts were detected at any time during the transfer. A very small number of aliasing artefacts may be seen during the transfer at 6:53, 22:05 and 47:09. Each of these artefacts is very minor and is unlikely to be detected by most viewers. A small number of film artefacts may be seen during the transfer. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 2:34, 7:44, 8:11, 10:56 and 21:47. All of these artefacts are very minor and are never annoying.

    A single set of yellow English subtitles is provided for the transfer. They are always clear and easy to read but on a small number of occasions fail to translate background lines of dialogue.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    A single Farsi/Kurdish Dolby Digital 224 kbps 2.0 soundtrack is provided on this disc.

    The dialogue is always clear and easy to understand at all times during the transfer. No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected at any time during the transfer.

    The traditional original musical score by Hossein Alizadeh is used sparingly throughout the transfer and always suits the on-screen action while never drawing attention to itself.

    The surround and LFE channels were not utilized during this transfer.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Menu

    The non-animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

Theatrical Trailer (1:23)

    This trailer is presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Director Biography

    This is a four-page biography and filmography for writer/director Bahman Ghobadi.

Trailer: The Cats Meow (2:08)

    This trailer is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Trailer: The Circle (1:10)

    This trailer is presented with an Iranian Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: Kandahar (1:24)

    This trailer is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: Molokai (1:28)

    This trailer is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

Trailer: Monsoon Wedding (2:13)

    This trailer is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it is not 16x9 enhanced.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    This film does not appear to be currently available in Region 1.

Summary

    A Time For Drunken Horses is a well crafted story detailing the hardships that many people must endure to survive each day.

    The video transfer is of extremely high quality and it only displays a small number of very minor artefacts.

    The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is suitable for the style of material presented.

    The very small collection of extras provides minimal insight into the film.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Anthony Kable (read my bio)
Friday, November 01, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDToshiba 2109, using S-Video output
DisplaySony KP-E41SN11. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationFront left/right: ME75b; Center: DA50ES; rear left/right: DA50ES; subwoofer: NAD 2600 (Bridged)
SpeakersFront left/right: VAF DC-X; Center: VAF DC-6; rear left/right: VAF DC-7; subwoofer: Custom NHT-1259

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