Out of Africa (1985)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

Karen Blixen (books)
Judith Thurman (book)

Release Date:

18 December 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Based on a true story.

Plot:

In 20th century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate but ultimately doomed love affair with a free-sprited big-game hunter.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Marriage | Plantation | Africa | Farm

Awards:

Won 7 Oscars. Another 22 wins & 17 nominations

Cast

Meryl Streep	...	Karen Blixen
Robert Redford	...	Denys Finch Hatton
Klaus Maria Brandauer	...	Bror Blixen / Hans Blixen
Michael Kitchen	...	Berkeley Cole
Malick Bowens	...	Farah
Joseph Thiaka	...	Kamante
Stephen Kinyanjui	...	Kinanjui
Michael Gough	...	Lord Delamere
Suzanna Hamilton	...	Felicity
Rachel Kempson	...	Lady Belfield
Graham Crowden	...	Lord Belfield
Leslie Phillips	...	Sir Joseph
Shane Rimmer	...	Belknap
Mike Bugara	...	Juma
Job Seda	...	Kanuthia

Runtime:

150 min | USA:160 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Swahili

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:16 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Mirage Enterprises

Trivia:

The character of Felicity is modeled on Beryl Markham, another writer who resided in East Africa and was supposed to be another lover of Denys Finch Hatton. Markham was also famous for being one of the first female aviatrixes to fly the Atlantic. Sydney Pollack was fortunate enough to meet the elderly Markham early in the film's pre-production.

Goofs:

Continuity: Karen's champagne glass is empty when she slaps a rude man at the New Year's Eve party. Denys takes her arm and pulls her immediately onto the dance floor, but her glass has champagne in it again while they dance.

Quotes:

Karen Blixen: [Voiceover] I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills. The Equator runs across these highlands, a hundred miles to the north, and the farm lay at an altitude of over six thousand feet. In the day-time you felt that you had got high up; near to the sun, but the early mornings and evenings were limpid and restful, and the nights were cold.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Nanny: A Fine Friendship (#2.19)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Three Divertimenti (K.136,137,138)

Africa as it was

Out Of Africa is a poetical rendition of an Africa that is slowly losing its exotic appeal to the Western World.

Sydney Pollack directs this brilliant movie with skill, helped no doubt by a well-written script. The performances are above average, although Robert Redford might have lost his opportunity at an Oscar for refusing to play an Englishman.

Sometimes slow, and perhaps even boring, the sets nonetheless capture the viewer for their sheer beauty, and the score is just great to listen.

A small classic that hasn't lost its strenght over the years, and still entertains me after multiple viewings.