Search - Esther Kahn on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Movie Release: 2000 DVD Release: 12/03/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 22 mins Studio: Fox Lorber Members Wishing: 3 Genres: Drama, Period Film, Showbiz Drama

The English-language debut of French director Arnaud Desplechin, Esther Kahn charts the ascension of a lower-class Jewish girl from a turn-of-the-century London ghetto to one of the stage's leading actresses. Esther (Summer Phoenix) feels set apart from her large, raucous family, who are all employed in the garment business. Her life is changed when she attends a Yiddish theatre performance, and she is suddenly determined to become an actress. After joining a small theatre company, she becomes the protégé of Nathan (Ian Holm), a stage veteran who instructs her in her chosen craft. Esther gradually works her way up in the ranks -- taking a lover, brainy French theatre critic Philippe (Fabrice Desplechin), along the way -- until she is cast in the title role of Hedda Gabler, which she performs to great acclaim. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Summer Phoenix - Esther Kahn
Ian Holm - Nathan Quellen
Fabrice Desplechin - Philippe Haygard
Frances Barber - Rivka Kahn
Laszlo Szabo - Ytzhok Kahn

Arnaud Desplechin's tale of the theater in the 19th century, Esther Kahn comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of the film. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Supplemental materials include deleted scenes, trailers, filmographies, and an interview with star Summer Phoenix. This is a quality release from Wellspring that should be of interest to anyone who enjoys film made outside the Hollywood mainstream. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide