Product Details

• Actors: Marie Gillain, Alex Descas, Lucia Bosé, Valeria Golino, Malick Bowens
• Directors: Ferzan Ozpetek
• Writers: Ferzan Ozpetek, Gianni Romoli
• Producers: Abdullah Baykal, Gianni Romoli, Jean-Luc Ormières, Régine Konckier, Tilde Corsi
• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French, Italian, Turkish
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Strand Releasing
• DVD Release Date: March 18, 2003
• Run Time: 125 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00008PBYZ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,390 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Harem" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Studio: Strand Releasing Release Date: 04/06/2006

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating storytelling, June 25, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Harem (DVD)

Most of the story is set in the Sultan's multi-ethnic harem in the last days of the Ottoman Empire. It is fascinating, "lush" historical drama and story-telling, beautifully acted. The film also raises interesting questions about memory and the telling of stories. Because of the way the story is told, with flashbacks within flashbacks, I had to watch it more than once to figure out what was going on, but I enjoyed each viewing immensely. Also, if you watch Ozpetek's "Steam Bath" ("Hamam"), which is set in modern-day Istanbul, you will see an understated link to this story. (...)

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No bad and you learn some history, July 16, 2010

By 

Zita - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Harem (Amazon Instant Video)

I enjoyed the movie. It teaches you a little bit about the Ottoman Empire from the point of view of women assigned to the ruler's harem. At first, I didn't want to see it because I thought it was some sort of porn, but it isn't at all. It's a decent movie.

25 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good setting and intrigue. Too bad the DVD was faulty., March 5, 2005

By 

Linda Linguvic (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Harem (DVD)

This 1999 film in Turkish, Italian and French seemed interesting. It's set in 1908 during the fall of the Ottoman Empire and depicts one of the last harems. It's also a story of intrigue and romance. Some of it was quite interesting, especially the depictions of the daily life of the women. The acting was good and the mood was set just right, the cinematography showing the opulence of the palace as well as its restrictions.

Something was wrong with the screenplay however. My guess is that too much was left on the cutting room floor. As per the cover of the DVD, it was supposed to last 1 hour and 45 minutes. However, the disc I viewed was only about 1 hour and 15 minutes. It was hard to figure out exactly what was happening and the story didn't fit together at all. There were flashbacks and flash forwards held together by a tale told by a servant which seemed to foretell the future. And the ending left a lot of questions unanswered.

Therefore, although there were some parts of this film that were good, and it might have been better when it was playing in the theaters, I just cannot recommend this DVD.