Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6800 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-01-19
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Maori
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 97 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the most charming and critically acclaimed films of 2003, the New Zealand hit Whale Rider effectively combines Maori tribal tradition with the timely "girl power" of a vibrant new millennium. Despite the discouragement of her gruff and disapproving grandfather (Rawiri Paratene), who nearly disowns her because she is female and therefore traditionally disqualified from tribal leadership, 12-year-old Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is convinced that she is a tribal leader and sets out to prove it.

Rather than inflate this story (from a novel by Witi Ihimaera) with artificial sentiment, writer-director Niki Caro develops very real and turbulent family relationships, intimate and yet torn by a collision between stubborn tradition and changing attitudes. The mythic whale rider--the ultimate symbol of Maori connection to nature--is also the harbinger of Pai's destiny, and the appealing Castle-Hughes gives a luminous, astonishingly powerful performance that won't leave a dry eye in the house. With its fresh take on a familiar tale, Whale Rider is definitely one from the heart. --Jeff Shannon

DVD Description
In a culture steeped in tradition, one young girl challenged the past and found hope for the future. A magical coming-of-age story of a young girl’s struggle to fulfil her destiny.

Special Features

• Behind the Scenes Featurette (26 mins)
  
• Director’s Audio Commentary
  
• Tribal Featurette (11 mins)
  
• 8 deleted scenes with commentary
  
• Cast Screen Tests
  
• Trailers
  
• Photo Gallery

DVD Technical Information:

• Language: English
  
• Subtitles: English, English HOH
  
• Running Time: 97 mins approx.

Customer Reviews

Political correctness served with gooey sentimentality.
Ugh! The current self-flagellation so fashionable in N.Z. is brought to its apogee in this movie. Setting aside the fact that the European settlers have nothing to apologise for (the Maoris arguably having wiped-out the aboriginal people when they arrived around a thousand years ago, and quite reasonably don't feel guilty about it)...this film says nothing new. The camera-work is woeful, given the opportunities for beauty. The young lady who stars does a fine job, as do the supporting cast. But the end of the film...the moment when the girl rides the whale...is as mishandled a piece of film-making as you'll ever see. Or to be precise, NOT see. Presumably they didn't have the budget, in which case they shouldn't have embarked on the project. Buy 'Once were warriors' to get the best look at the modern Maori dilemma, or 'Billy Elliot' for a child conquering prejudice, and the redemption of his society. Neither bends the knee to PC, and neither is gooey. More importantly, they are complete films.

A MAORI MASTERPIECE.
I come from Aotearoa (new zealand) and though i am from white descendents i have always felt close to Maori people. As my spiritual path has opened up over the years every time i go back to Aotearoa i feel more and more connection with Maori life, and it is so nice to see the Maori culture growing and the people softening as their faith is slowly coming back. This movie is such a beautiful representation of that spiritual growth.
If you really want to get a taste of Aotearoa and its long term inhabitants and not some Bunjy jumping package tour this movie captures the mystical calling of the land and the Maori connection with it.
You will be a better person for watching this journey.
10 out of 10.

Very moving film
Even when is a predictable film, is a beautiful one where we can see, over and over again the cultural lost of the old tribes, their problem with their lack of identity and problems with alcohol, like in other Indigenas cultures in the world once they have been touched for the white hand. Is a good reminder of the strengh of unity and the need of identity with the ancestors, with the connection with the earth, spirit and animals, the harmony in all life. Once again I had tears in my eyes, because this film remind me what we are doing with this world and the people that still have the knowledge to connect with it.