The Promise (2016)

[Pieter V]

The Promise (2016) Blu-ray

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., May 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- From the Academy Award®-winning director of Hotel Rwanda Terry George, comes a powerful and sweeping epic set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, The Promise debuting on Digital HD on July 4, 2017 and on Blu-ray™ combo pack, DVD and On Demand on July 18, 2017 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION - BLU-RAY:
Street Date: July 18, 2017
Copyright: 2017 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Selection Numbers: 55187466000
Layers: BD-50
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 2.40:1
Rating: PG-13 for thematic material including war atrocities, violence and disturbing images, and for some sexuality
Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish Subtitles
Sound: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1/Dolby Digital Surround 2.0
Run Time: 2 Hour 14 Minutes

Bonus Features on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD:

• Deleted Scenes – Includes commentary by Director/Co-Writer Terry George
• The Love Story – Oscar Issac, Christian Bale, Charlotte Le Bon, and Terry George examine the love triangle at the center of the film.
• War and Struggle – A look at how the filmmakers balanced the historical responsibility of conveying the plight of Armenians during WWI accurately with the creative responsibility of developing relatable characters for the audience.
• A Cause – Hear director Terry George and the cast discuss why the theme of hope is so crucial to understanding Armenian resilience in the face of the wartime atrocities.
• Feature Commentary with Director Terry George and Producer Eric Esrailian

[javi92]

Missed out on this in the theater, since it was only in my area for 1 week. Definitely want to check it out though, as I think the critics might have been a bit harsh.

[warrian]

Blind-buying this. Want to do my tiny part to support this kind of storytelling, even if the film comes up short.

Strange that this and The Ottoman Lieutenant came out in the same year, no?

I mean dueling asteroid or volcano disaster films? Sure. Dueling Wyatt Earp biopics? I guess. But dueling historical romances set during the fall of the Ottoman Empire? You got to be crazy there my friends.

[Buscemi]

The only thing that I can say about this is that it's slightly better than The Ottoman Lieutenant (which was popular on IMDb and nowhere else).

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by warrian

Strange that this and The Ottoman Lieutenant came out in the same year, no?

I mean dueling asteroid or volcano disaster films? Sure. Dueling Wyatt Earp biopics? I guess. But dueling historical romances set during the fall of the Ottoman Empire? You got to be crazy there my friends.

It's no coincidence there were two films, with vastly different approaches to the same story:

"Battle Over 2 Films Reflects Turkey’s Quest to Control a Bitter History"
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/m...cide.html?_r=5

"'The Promise' vs. 'The Ottoman Lieutenant': Two Movies Battle Over the Armenian Genocide"
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...enocide-996196

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Buscemi

The only thing that I can say about this is that it's slightly better than The Ottoman Lieutenant (which was popular on IMDb and nowhere else).

The linked articles above explain the weird IMDB voting wars that occurred online between Turks and Armenians who had clearly never seen either film. The two films became a major political issue in those communities.

[warrian]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

The linked articles above explain the weird IMDB voting wars that occurred online between Turks and Armenians who had clearly never seen either film. The two films became a major political issue in those communities.

Fascinating stuff. Thanks for that.

[CelestialAgent]

I started listening to the commentary but it’s very dry, it talks about characters and their motivations and a little bit of the historical background, or narrative choices (a composite newspaper reporter and town), but there’s gaps also.