Director Atom Egoyan is one of Canada's most beloved and well known directors. What many might not know is that he is of Armenian descent. For people of that descent, the actions by Turkey in 1915 are something that they will never get over which is quite understandable in that Turkey to this day has denied that anything happened. What happened you might ask? Well back then Turkey decided to thin out its Armenian populace by killing off two-thirds of its 1.5 million citizens of Armenian descent. Such is genocide plain and simple. Turkey says it never occurred. Atom Egoyan made this film as answer to Turkey's denial of the events.
The film though is a flawed piece mostly because it is way too multilayered. Too many shifts and ties and connections are involved that tend to detach you as a viewer. That wasn't the intent so it is unfortunate that is occurs. What makes this occur is the complicated story. The film is about two survivors, Arshile Gorky (the painter) and American missionary Clarence Ussher. Instead of telling their story by detailing the past, Egoyan instead does a modern film about a film being made about what these people saw and lived through. It is interesting as the genocide is presented for us to know about, plus we get the film within a film for recreation of pivotal incidents, and then the characters are all based on real characters presented and working the actual film so it is just layer upon layer. Plus the film Ararat (which is also the name of the film in the film) is told in flashback.
Ararat makes its way to DVD courtesy of Miramax in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The transfer is well above average and gets great marks all around. The only issue would be some ringing and some light digital noise in a handful of transition scenes. Aside from that small quibble the transfer is very nice. Colors are well saturated with strong hues and flesh tones. Detail is high thanks to a crisp picture quality and proper levels of sharpness. Contrast and brightness settings couldn't be any better. Last of note is the print which is clean and free of debris.
Audio for Ararat is present in the form of a Dolby 2.0 track, a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, and a DTS track. Both 5.1 tracks are expansive and active mixes. The DTS gets the nod as it is louder with more effective bass as well as a stronger balance. Having smaller cues more pronounced on the DTS track works well to really envelope you into the action. As for dialogue, crystal clear and distortion free.
This is a 2 disc set with a load of extras. Good news for fans is that the majority of the extras is well made and quite informative and rises well above the traditional fluff-oriented stuff.
Disc 1 contains the film plus a very in-depth commentary by director Atom Egoyan. Egoyan takes this film very personal and discusses it with a passion that is enjoyable to listen to even if you don't have that much interest. What is unique about his commentary is that he mentions early on how he is going to discuss the symbolism on screen. That is just about all he does. Given the film is all about narrative and has so much going on with the characters, the commentary is a great extra when presented this way as you get perspective on what is going on at all times. Will definitely make you want to view the film again after having heard the commentary.
Disc 2 begins with a menu showcasing a lot of extras. Portrait of Arshile is a short film by Egoyan made back in 1995. It is based on the painting Portrait of the Artist and His Mother. Such is important as it relates heavily to the film Ararat. You can hear the original audio or listen to a commentary by Egoyan.
Next is a sobering piece that provides historical background on the Armenian genocide at the hands of the Turks.
Following is probably one of the most emotional making of specials I have ever seen. Running a half hour, The Making of Ararat is made up of short interviews from Atom Egoyan, producer Robert Lantos, co-producer Sandra Cunnigham, composer Mychael Danna, director of photography Paul Sarossy, editor Susan Shipton, sound designer Steve Munro, costume designer Beth Pasternak, production designed Philip Barker. The end run of the extra does eventually start falling into the mode of your average making of.
Raffi's Video Footage is a 9-minute compilation of the film's character Raffi's digital footage which is shown being recorded in the actual film. Hrair Hawk Khatcherian who actually recorded it provides commentary.
Rounding out disc 2 is a trailer for Ararat, 18 minutes of deleted footage (w/ optional Egoyan commentary), and another collection of interview snippets which features most of the cast plus Egoyan and producer Robert Lantos.
Ararat is a complicated film. It tells a very emotional story that more need to know about. The problem with that though is the narrative style tends to remove personal attachment which lessens the emotional commitment to the characters. Also there is a bit too much going on which is hard to keep focus on. Simplifying the film somewhat would have helped out. It is still is a powerful film and the obvious emotional context by all involved really make it a labor of love. That in itself is always good viewing. Miramax has released a nice 2 disc set for Ararat. The film features a strong transfer, good audio, and a really nice selection of extras that are both informative and relevant. I highly recommend this one as a rental as it is a film that needs to seen. For any fan, be sure to buy the DVD as it is a very pleasing release.
