Waltz With Bashir Released on DVD

Ari Folman Film Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics

Apr 28, 2009

Sony Pictures Classics is releasing the harrowing animated documentary Waltz With Bashir to DVD on June 23rd.

Sony Pictures Classics will release the Oscar-nominated animated documentary Waltz With Bashir (click through to read Suite 101's review) in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats. Nominated for the Academy Award's Best Foreign Language Film in 2008, the film follows filmmaker, and former Israeli soldier, Ari Folman as he tries to remember his role in the 1982 Sabra and Shatila Massacres.

According to DVDActive.com, the autobiographical movie will have an MSRP of $28.96 for the DVD and $39.95 for the Blu-Ray. The DVD version is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, and also has both Hebrew and English 5.1 tracks. English subtitles will also be provided.

Extra features will include a director's audio commentary, a Q & A featurette with director Ari Folman, and 2 other featurettes: "Surreal Soldiers: Making Waltz with Bashir", plus "Building the Scenes - Animatics." It's not known at this time what further extras the Blu-Ray edition will contain.

"Inspired by actual events, Waltz with Bashir chronicles one man's descent into his own half-forgotten past. Filmmaker Ari Folman, an Israeli veteran of the First Lebanon War, encounters an old friend suffering from nightmares of the conflict. Ari begins to wonder why his own memories are full of gaps. In an effort to uncover the truth, he reconnects with old friends and dares to confront the horrors of war. Hailed by the L.A. Times as "innovative" and "devastating," Waltz with Bashir fuses animation and documentary to create an experience unlike anything you've ever witnessed."

The film made a major splash when it was released last year. In addition to its Oscar nomination, the prestigious National Society of Film Critics voted Waltz With Bashir to be the best film of 2008.

In addition, it also received 6 awards from the Israeli Film Academy – including Best Film, Best Director and Best Art Direction for David Polonsky – plus it won (among others) the Best Foreign Independent Film award from the British Independent Film Awards, Best Foreign Language Film from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Foreign Film from France's César Awards, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary from the Director's Guild USA, Best Composer from the European Film Awards, and Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes.

Sony Pictures Classics is the conglomerate's arthouse division. It has done well with animated films: the previous year, the company distributed Persepolis, a film based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi. That film won the prestigious Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007, incurring the ire of the Iranian government.

The copyright of the article Waltz With Bashir Released on DVD in International Animated Films is owned by Dominic von Riedemann. Permission to republish Waltz With Bashir Released on DVD in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.