[Ronald Epstein]

One of the Most Critically Acclaimed Films of the Year!



“HEAD-ON”

DEBUTS ON DVD
FROM STRAND RELEASING HOME VIDEO

“The first very good movie of this year (2005)!” - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

“Raw, powerful, extraordinary… a love story of surprisingly epic proportions!”

“Brilliant” – David Ansen, Newsweek

“A stunning film that pulses with life” – The Wall Street Journal

“The most honestly electrifying film I’ve seen in years” – Seattle’s The Stranger

“A terrific piece of cinema” – Newsday

“Intoxicating” – New York Post

“Impeccably made”, “Uncompromising”, “Exceptional”, “Fierce and extreme”

- Los Angeles Times

“Passionate” – Variety

“Vital and passionate” – LA Weekly

“Compelling” – Philadelphia Daily News

“Full of surprise” – Washington Post

“A major artistic breakthrough”, “Beautiful… Intense” – Boston Globe

“Stunning”, “Every frame bristles with authenticity and honest emotion”

– Houston Chronicle

“Superbly acted” – Christian Science Monitor

“Fearless performances” – Fort Worth Star-Telegram





Perhaps the best-reviewed film of 2005 is “Head-On”, which will debut on DVD September 13th from Strand Releasing Home Video. The pre-book date is August 18th.

“Head-On” took the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival. It won five Lolas, the German Oscars, including best picture, director, actor and actress. It bested heavyweights “Bad Education,” “Vera Drake” and “The Sea Inside” for the continent-wide European Film Awards. “Is it that good?” asked critic Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times in his stellar review. “Absolutely. This savage and staggering film knows how to take our breath away.”

Writer/director Fatih Akin’s remarkable film is many things: an exploration of Turkish traditions and customs in Germany, a comedy, a tragedy, a heartbreaker, a farce and perhaps above all else, a romance. A collision of cultures and buried emotions, “Head-On” is a riveting love story like no other, about two people who bring joy and reckless abandon to each other – no matter how hard they try to bring agony to themselves.

In a relationship that begins from convenience, Cahit and Sibel’s fall towards each other happens slowly and inevitably, while always managing to surprise. The couple meet in a mental institution, where they both have landed after trying to commit suicide. Cahit drove his car, head-on, into a brick wall; Sibel slit her wrists, and probably not for the first time. He is dying for a drink and likely dying from drink. Meanwhile, what Sibel needs more than anything else is a Turkish husband.

A woman who wants to have sex with as many men as possible, Sibel feels so trapped by her conservative, traditional Muslin family she can only see two ways out: death, or a marriage to someone that her parents would accept. Someone Turkish, like Cahit, who is twice her age. Choosing the latter, these two extreme people who barely know each other make a go of it with a sexless marriage that allows Sibel to seduce the world and Cahit to retain both his drinking and a sometimes girlfriend. It’s only then the real adventure begins.

Exploring themes of self-hatred, violence and anger and combining those with animalistic sex and excessive drugs and liquor, “Head-On” is an amazing story of two self-destructive individuals who find each other and spark the flame of a relationship, albeit an unstable one, from the ashes of their lives.

Powerful, uplifting, erotically charged, darkly funny, passionate, all-consuming, desperate, combustible, emotional and, yes, enjoyable, it is easy to see why “Head-On” has won so many awards in Europe. This forceful love story takes viewers to extreme emotional places, on a journey you soon won’t forget.

“Head-On” stars Birol Unel as Cahit and Sibel Kekilli as Sibel. The DVD of “Head-On” is loaded with over 90 minutes of Special Features, including the original theatrical trailer, the Making of “Head-On”, deleted scenes, outtakes and the German promotional reel.

The Strand Releasing Home Video Website: www.strandreleasing.com


HEAD-ON

Street Date: September 13, 2005 Pre-Book Date: August 18, 2005

Format: DVD Catalog Number: DVD – 2411-2


Stats: 118 Minutes/Color Suggested Retail: DVD - $24.99

Rated R

Letterbox

In German and Turkish with English Subtitles