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A Throw of Dice
(1929)

Adapted from the Sanskrit epic poem The Mahabharata, A Throw of Dice is the tale of King Sohat (Himansu Rai) and King Rajit (Charu Roy) of neighboring kingdoms, who share a passion for life, gambling, and love for the beautiful Sunita (Seeta Devi). After a tiger attacks Rajit, Sunita focuses her attention on nursing the handsome king back to health, then agrees to become his bride. The jealous Sohat then challenges Rajit to a game of chance, with the high stakes of his freedom, his bride and even his life.

An epic production touting 10,000 extras, 1000 horses, and legions of elephants, A Throw of Dice is a prime example of German film director Franz Osten’s fascination and respect for the culture and literature of India.

Kino International
2008 DVD edition

A Throw of Dice (1929), black & white, 74 minutes, not rated.

Kino International,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD-R disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 15 July 2008.
Country of origin: USA •

This American DVD edition features the 35mm restoration version from the British Film Institute.

The film is accompanied by a new orchestral score by Nitin Sawhney, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Supplemental materials include an interview with composer Sawhney.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

British Film Institute
2007 DVD edition

A Throw of Dice (1929), black & white, 74 minutes, BBFC Classification U.

BFI Video Publishing,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 2 PAL DVD disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; £19.99.
Release date: 29 October 2007.
Country of origin: United Kingdom

This original home video DVD edition of Franz Osten’s A Throw of Dice has been mastered from the British Film Institute’s restoration.

The film is accompanied by a new orchestral score by Nitin Sawhney, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

North American collectors will need a region-free PAL DVD player capable of outputting an NTSC-compatible signal to view this edition.

United Kingdom: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 2 PAL DVD edition from Amazon.co.uk. Support Silent Era.

This Region 2 PAL DVD edition is available directly from . . .

Alive
2007 DVD edition

A Throw of Dice (1929), black & white, 76 minutes, not rated.

Alive DVD, unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 2 PAL DVD disc; 1.33:1 aspect ratio picture in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 576 pixels) interlaced scan image encoded in SDR MPEG-2 format at ? Mbps average video bit rate (capable of progressive scan upscaling to ? fps); Dolby Digital (AC3) 2.0 stereo sound encoded at ? Kbps audio bit rate; German language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles; chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; €22,99.
Release date: 7 December 2007.
Country of origin: Germany