Ararat [2 Discs] DVD

Ararat
Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan explores his Armenian heritage, and how the country's tragic history has touched several generations of the nation's expatriates, in this ambitious drama. Edward Saroyan (Charles Aznavour), a veteran filmmaker of Armenian descent, is in Toronto shooting a film about the Siege of Van, in which invading Ottoman armies forced the evacuation of Armenian communities in 1915, leading to the genocide of over a million Armenian people at the hands of Turkish troops. Twenty-one-year-old Raffi (David Alpay) has been sent to Turkey to shoot background footage for the film; Raffi's mother Ani (Arsinee Khanjian), an author and historian, is also involved in the project as a consultant. Lately Raffi and Ani have been at odds; Raffi has been dating Celia (Marie-Josee Croze), Ani's stepdaughter, who is convinced that Ani is somehow responsible for the death of her father. Ani's first husband, who was Raffi's father, is also dead, after taking part in an assassination attempt on a Turkish political leader. As Raffi attempts to re-enter Canada with cans of exposed film, he's detained by David (Christopher Plummer), a suspicious customs official who has his own tenuous link to Saroyan's film -- David is struggling to come to terms with the gay lifestyle of his son Philip (Brent Carver), whose lover Ali (Elias Koteas) is playing the villain in the picture. Ararat also features Eric Bogosian and Bruce Greenwood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast David Alpay as Raffi Charles Aznavour as Edward Saroyan Eric Bogosian as Rouben Brent Carver as Philip Marie-Josée Croze as Celia Bruce Greenwood as Martin/Clarence Ussher Arsinée Khanjian as Ani Elias Koteas as Ali/Jevdet Bey Christopher Plummer as David Simon Abkarian as Arshile Gorky

Crew Katherine Climie - Art Director Kathleen Climie - Art Director Julia Rosenberg - Associate Producer Simone Urdl - Associate Producer Jenny Lewis - Casting John Buchan - Casting David J.Webb - Consultant/advisor Charles A. Taylor - Consultant/advisor Dave Spence-Sales - Conductor Nicolas Dodd - Conductor Al J. Vrkljan - Conductor Sandra Cunningham - Co-producer Beth Pasternak - Costume Designer Matthew Kershaw - First Assistant Director Garfield Russell - First Assistant Director Joanne D. Malo - First Assistant Director Fergus Barnes - First Assistant Director Atom Egoyan - Director Susan Shipton - Editor Vincent Sullivan - Hair Styles Eardley Wilmot - Location Manager Robert Hilton - Location Manager Mychael Danna - Composer (Music Score) Sylvain Cournoyer - Makeup Cam MacDonald - Camera Operator Phillip Barker - Production Designer Paul Sarossy - Cinematographer Janine Anderton - Production Manager Atom Egoyan - Producer Robert Lantos - Producer Don White - Recording American Folk - Recording Stepan Beroojanian - Recording Ron Mellegers - Recording Patricia Cuccia - Set Designer Peter Flood - Set Designer Ali Murva - Special Effects Ross Redfern - Sound/Sound Designer Steve Munro - Sound/Sound Designer Ross Redfern - Sound Recordist Jamie Jones - Stunts Coordinator Guy Bews - Stunts Coordinator Atom Egoyan - Screenwriter Ken Cade - Sound Effects Editor Rick Parker - Animal Trainer/Wrangler T.J. Bews - Animal Trainer/Wrangler Greg Choporian - Historical Consultant Paul Intson - Music Editor Mychael Danna - Music Producer Isabel Bayraksarian - Musical Performer Artyom Khachaturian - Musical Performer Gevork Dabaghian - Musical Performer Grigor Takushian - Musical Performer Karine Hovhannisian - Musical Performer Levon Tevanian - Musical Performer Kamo Khachaturian - Musical Performer Norayr Kartashian - Musical Performer Andranik Michaelian - Musical Performer Tigran Ambarian - Musical Performer Stepan Beroojanian - Musical Performer Douglas Wilkinson - Post Production Supervisor American Folk - Production Coordinator Kim Goddard-Rains - Production Coordinator Andranik Michaelian - Production Coordinator Francois Dagenais - Prosthetic Makeup Effects David Fraser - Screenplay Consultant Joanne Harwood - Script Supervisor Jordan Craig - Special Effects Coordinator Performance Solutions - Special Effects Coordinator Manuel Keusseyan - Translator Sue Conley - ADR Editor Greg Shim - ADR Recordist Dave Yonson - ADR Recordist Brent Roach - ADR Recordist An Henshaw - Costumes Supervisor David Dranie Taylor - Dialogue Editor Goro Koyama - Foley Artist Andy Malcolm - Foley Artist Andrew Rosen - Production Executive Ian Nelmes - Scenic Artist Mr. X Inc. - Visual Effects Film Effects - Title Design

Ararat
Ararat addresses a very emotional historical issue, the 1915 Armenian massacre, in a relatively detached and cerebral manner. The film's nonlinear structure, deliberate pace, somewhat opaque characterization, and themes of obsession and dysfunctional family relationships won't come as a great surprise to viewers familiar with writer-director Atom Egoyan's other films. However, those who are unfamiliar with his previous work and expect a historical drama about the Armenian massacre may be surprised to find that he cultivates emotional distance by telling this historical tale through a film-within-a-film and intertwining this story with several murky subplots. Indeed, Ararat could be considered less a film about the massacre itself than an exploration of the nature of mediated images and the difficulty of discovering the truth, which are themes that Egoyan has explored in previous films as well. This approach results in a movie that's filled with interesting ideas (although perhaps not as original or provocative as Egoyan may have hoped) but isn't engaging on an emotional level. Furthermore, some parts of the film feel unresolved (such as Raffi's reasons for going to Turkey and the details behind his father's death) while others seem overly contrived (particularly the way Egoyan uses the sequences in which a customs official interrogates Raffi as a pretext to lecture the audience on Armenian history). Egoyan deserves credit for creating a film that addresses this important but often neglected part of history while simultaneously acknowledging the difficulty in using movies to tell history, but it's unfortunate that he didn't make a film that was less cryptic and more affecting. ~ Todd Kristel, All Movie Guide
 

Arsinée Khanjian: Genie Awards, Best Actress (winner) Atom Egoyan: Genie Awards, Best Original Screenplay (nominated) Beth Pasternak: Genie Awards, Best Costume Design (winner) Christopher Plummer: Genie Awards, Best Actor (nominated) David Alpay: Genie Awards, Best Actor (nominated) Elias Koteas: Genie Awards, Best Supporting Actor (winner) Mychael Danna: Genie Awards, Best Orignal Score (winner) Phillip Barker: Genie Awards, Best Art Direction/Production Design (nominated)

Genie Awards, Best Picture (winner) National Board of Review, Freedom of Expression Award (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DTS: Digital Theater Systems (akin to 5.1) Additional Features: cc Feature commentary track w/ director Atom Egoyan Deleted scenes with optional commentary "Making of Ararat" featurette "Arsinée Khanjian on Ararat" featurette Film short "Portrait of Arshile" with optional commentary Raffi's video footage Historical information Theatrical trailer DVD-ROM links Dolby digital 5.1 surround Dolby DTS 5.1 surround Dolby digital 2.0 stereo Widescreen (1.78:1) - enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1: Alternate Wide Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 2 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 115 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- Disc 1 1. Opening Credits [:01] 2. Cultural Differences [4:34] 3. Normal Relations [4:32] 4. Making an Effort [3:34] 5. Tracing the Past [4:11] 6. Survivor Stories [6:12] 7. Re-Creating History [3:44] 8. Poetic License [2:28] 9. Cause and Effect [5:30] 10. Politically Sensitive [2:33] 11. Expressing Gratitude [2:14] 12. Deliver Us From Evil [2:34] 13. Systematic Destruction [5:25] 14. Tragic Heroes [4:05] 15. Threat to Security [3:08] 16. Anatomy of Hatred [4:03] 17. Private Viewing [6:05] 18. Gorky's Pain [4:47] 19. Story Left Untold [3:50] 20. Facing the Truth [3:09] 21. Sacred Code [3:46] 22. Crimes Against Humanity [2:12] 23. Mother and Child [2:39] 24. Long Road Home [5:01] 25. Exposing Evil [5:58] 26. Redemption [7:08] 27. Father's Ghost [3:14] 28. End Credits [3:38]