Product Details

• Actors: Alex Michaeletos, Campbell Scott, Mary Makhatho, Nthabiseng Kenoshi, Hope Davis
• Directors: Carroll Ballard
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: May 16, 2006
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009XRZS8
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,209 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #4 in	Movies & TV > Action & Adventure > Animal Action
  #53 in	Movies & TV > Kids & Family > Animals

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
This African tale follow the rhythms of director Carroll Ballard's earlier films The Black Stallion and Fly Away Home, namely a child is drawn into the mysteries and magic of an animal. Xan (newcomer Alexander Michaletos) is a 12-year-old living in South Africa with his parents (Campbell Scott and Hope Davis, who appeared as a much different couple three years earlier in The Secret Life of Dentists) when they find an abandoned baby cheetah. They bring it up as their own and name it the Swahili word for cheetah, Duma. After some time, the creature is too big to stay domesticated and Dad tells the boy they will have to journey back to Duma's home to set him free. A sickness makes the family pull up stakes and head to the city where Xan and Duma don't fare well. Xan must take Duma on his own to set him free. To tell more would be a crime. As with any Ballard film, the story is subtext, the visuals rule. First-time cinematographer Werner Maritz fills the screen with the desert landscape and is able to capture the magnificent speed of the cheetah. Ballard's films seem to build on their own inertia, creating scenes that seem to be simply happening instead of scripted, although this often suffers in the balance of wonderment versus all-too-lucky occurrences. Based on the children's picture book/memoir How It Was with Dooms by Xan and Carol Cawthra Hopcraft, this is a film worth seeking out, especially for families and kids above 5 years old. --Doug Thomas

Product Description
Carroll Ballard (The Black Stallion, Fly Away Home) directs the exciting story of 12-year-old Xan (Alexander Michaletos), who decides to return the cheetah he raised from a cub to the wild instead of allowing pursuers to place it in captivity. Harsh South African landscapes, stalking lions, crocodiles, river rapids and a mysterious drifter (Eamonn Walker) who may intend to turn the big cat in for cash - all will test Xan's courage and resolve. Join him in this tale of growing up and letting go. It's a journey you won't want to miss.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WOW STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL AND MOVING, May 8, 2006

By	Robin Simmons (Palm Springs area, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Duma (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

This exquisite little love story about a boy and a cheetah was poorly advertised when it was in theaters. It came and went and was overlooked by audiences. It deserves rediscovery on DVD. It is that rare thing, a true family film that is not insulting to kids or adults.

There is a fierce beauty to many of the scenes and close ups of the cheetah's face convey a kind of intelligence and dignity rarely seen on the screen or anywhere, for that matter.

The story is simple and remains true to the spirirt of the book. The screenplay adaptation is lean. But it is the extraordinary look of the movie that lingers in the mind. It casts a spell. As does the regal grace of the cheetah.

This simple story has no profound revelations, but it is not a waste of time and, without going into detail, I found the acting, locations, cinematography, music, and especially the directing to be of the highest order.

I highly recommend this wonderful little gem of a film.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No violence, no sex, yet plenty of drama, May 17, 2006

By	Bob Drake "BobDrake" (Bronx, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duma (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

Alex Michaeletos, a South African, was selected over many other boys as Xan, despite casting calls around the world, because he had a pet cheetah himself, and went up to the animal he would be co-starring with and introduced himself by ruffling the cheetah's fur. Most potential Xans were too scared of the beast to approach it. It is this comfort level between Alex/Xan and Duma that makes the film believable, and Alex's slight Afrikaans accent just heightens the realism.

The fictional plot is a bit contrived, but the film takes you in unexpectedly interesting directions through amazing landscapes. Carroll Ballard directed Never Cry Wolf as well as Fly Away Home and deserved better with Duma. Warner should have released the film in more places than Chicago and New York. Test marketing in the Southwest was not very successful. Why not the Midwest?

There is nothing in the film to date it. I expect Duma to be enjoyed by families for years to come.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another family-friendly, engaging film from the director of "Fly Away Home", October 1, 2005

By	The Campbells "campbellkidz" (CA United States) - See all my reviews

My son "made" us see this movie, and we're so glad we did! Although there are some parallels to Fly Away Home (orphaned critters) and the Black Stallion (marooned far away from civilization), the story is completely different--somewhat predictable, but nevertheless pleasant to watch. Probably no Oscars for acting here, but definitely worth our time.