DVD-Out of Place & Edward Said (Ar & En, 2-Disc set)

English, Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles
Director: Mike Dibb / A Film by Sato Makoto
DVD
Disc 1: 138 min, English, Arabic, Hebrew
Icarus Films, 2004, 2005
Disc 2: 114 min. English
854565001152
Documentary - Biography and Interview - political/cultural

Two Feature Documentaries: "Out of Place: Memories of Edward Said" & "Edward Said: The Last Interview", with bonus 16 page booklet with texts. "Entharalling! Touching, melancholic, and fierce." (The Times Online). "A riveting record!" (Jeanette Catsoulis, The New York Times). English, Arabic, and Hebrew with English subtitles.

Born in Jerusalem in 1935 and educated in Egypt and the United States, Edward W. Said was one of the most important literary critics of the late 20th century, and the most prominent spokesperson for the Palestinian cause in the U.S.

Borrowing its title from the author's memoir, OUT OF PLACE: Memories of Edward Said traces Said's life and work, celebrating his intellectual legacy, especially the importance of his work in literary criticism and postcolonial studies (he was the author of the landmark book Orientalism), his love of music, his role on the Palestinian National Council and his troubled relationship with Yasir Arafat. Filmed across the Middle East and in New York, we discover him through interviews with his family, friends and colleagues, including Ilan Pappe, Elias Khoury, Azmi Bishara, Daniel Barenboim, Rashid Khalidi, Michel Warschawski, Noam Chomsky and Dan Rabinowitz.

Less than a year before his death from leukemia in 2003, Edward Said was interviewed over the course of three days, during which he spoke at length with the filmmakers about his illness, his work, Palestine and politics, his life and education, and his continuing preoccupations. EDWARD SAID: The Last Interview is the remarkable final testament of this passionately committed intellectual.

Together, these two films - the first, reflections on Said made after his death (and from which he is absent), the second in which he is still and fully present - provide a uniquely comprehensive, intimate and moving portrait of one of the great and lasting thinkers of the 20th century.

"Out of Place and The Last Interview illustrate Said's life in as complete a form as possible...This two-disc set does a nice job presenting the scope of Edward Said, revealing the true core of a man whose struggles to find belonging and a place to call home drove one of the most brilliant academic careers of our time." - Jordan Richardson, blogcritics.org