Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Dry Summer Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 21, 2013

Winner of the prestigious Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, Turkish director Metin Erksan's "Susuz yaz" a.k.a. "Dry Summer" (1964) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment. The only supplemental feature on this disc is a short video introduction by director Martin Scorsese. In Turkish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

"I'll take you away, but I won't lay a finger on you..."

Note: Dry Summer is part of Eureka Entertainment's World Cinema Foundation: Volume One Blu-ray box set.

The two brothers could not be any more different. The older one, Osman (Erol Tas), is loud and pushy. He demands respect even when he does not deserve it because he knows that he is entitled to it. The younger one, Hasan (Ulvi Dogan), is quiet and unselfish. He is also a hard worker.

Immediately after the opening credits it is revealed that Hasan is madly in love with Bahar (Hulya Kocyigit), a young girl from the nearby village, and can’t wait to marry her. Bahar is also in love with Hasan, but tells her lover that they have to wait because her mother won’t let her go until the harvest season is over. But Hasan is convinced that he has waited enough. He has already decided to steal Bahar and by doing so let her mother know that his intentions for her daughter are serious. Shortly after, Bahar officially enters Hasan and Osman’s home.

Osman is happy to see Hasan and Bahar together, but the fact that he is a widower makes him feel insecure and angry. Late at night he secretly watches Hasan and Bahar making love, while during the day he quietly observes Bahar’s beautiful white legs while she works next to Hasan.

Eventually, the feisty Osman clashes with his neighbors after they demand that he allows them to use the water that runs through his property (a few acres of dry land). When they try to sabotage his work he kills one of them, and then asks Hasan to go to prison instead of him so that the family property is protected by the right man. Hasan foolishly agrees and leaves Bahar in Osman’s hands.

The beauty of this classic Turkish film directed by Metin Erksan comes from its visual simplicity. In many ways it reminds of the works of the great Italian neorealists, but it has a lively spirit that effectively enhances the melodrama and gives it a truly unique identity. Indeed, for a Turkish film directed in 1964, Dry Summer looks remarkably modern.

The focus of attention is on the flexible morality of the main protagonists. Throughout the film, all three are presented with difficult dilemmas that force them to make difficult decisions. These decisions indirectly challenge and expose the flaws of traditional Turkish understandings about responsibility and respect.

The erotic overtones in the film are also enormously impressive. Just like during the Cold War era the directors from the ex-Soviet bloc would frequently send important messages to their audiences by showing something that would actually imply something entirely different, in Dry Summer there are various sequences where Erksan effectively outsmarts the Turkish censors. Arguably the best one comes in the middle of the film where the beautiful Bahar is bitten by a snake.

Cinematographer Ali Ugur’s unique treatment of light and shadow reminds of Kiyomi Kuroda's stylish work in Kaneto Shindo's Onibaba. There are a couple of sequences, in particular, where the sunlight comes through the moving reeds that look absolutely fantastic. Also, the visuals are frequently complimented by lovely traditional Turkish music.

Dry Summer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Metin Erksan's Dry Summer arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Eureka Entertainment.

There are traces of some extremely mild noise corrections that must have been applied during the restoration process. I assume that they were done to rebalance the image as best as possible (the original 35mm negative and an interpositive were used for the restoration and reconstruction of Dry Summer). However, most of the daylight close-ups look excellent. Even during the nighttime confrontation image depth remains pleasing. In select sequences there are sporadic traces of very light fading around the edges of the image frame, but detail is never seriously compromised. Color saturation is good. Lastly, it is easy to see that large damage marks, debris, scratches, cuts, and stains have been removed as best as possible. Overall image stability is also very good. All in all, despite a few minor fluctuations Dry Summer has a pleasing organic look. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Dry Summer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Turkish LPCM 2.0. For the record, Eureka Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

Depth is very good throughout the entire film. The traditional Turkish music also impresses with excellent crispness. The dialog is sharp and free of background hiss. Also, there are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Dry Summer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction - director Martin Scorsese introduces Metin Erksan's Dry Summer and discusses the film's unusual production history. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Dry Summer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Metin Erksan's Dry Summer is a wonderful discovery for me. I think that it is a brilliantly structured and executed film, quite bold as well, which is why it probably had such a difficult time in its native country. Kudos to Fatih Akin for bringing the film to Martin Scorsese's attention and the World Cinema Foundation for restoring and reconstructing it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.