Les dieux sont tombés sur la tête (1980)

A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.

Director:

Jamie Uys

Writer:

Jamie Uys

Stars:

N!xau, Marius Weyers, Sandra Prinsloo

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marius Weyers	...	Andrew Steyn
Sandra Prinsloo	...	Kate Thompson
N!xau	...	Xi
Louw Verwey	...	Sam Boga
Michael Thys	...	Mpudi
Nic de Jager	...	Jack Hind
Fanyana H. Sidumo	...	Card 1
Joe Seakatsie	...	Card 2
Brian O'Shaughnessy	...	Mr. Thompson
Ken Gampu	...	President
Paddy O'Byrne	...	Narrator (voice)

Storyline

A Sho in the Kalahari desert encounters technology for the first time--in the shape of a Coke bottle. He takes it back to his people, and they use it for many tasks. The people start to fight over it, so he decides to return it to the God--where he thinks it came from. Meanwhile, we are introduced to a school teacher assigned to a small village, a despotic revolutionary, and a clumsy biologist.

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Plot Keywords:

kalahari | bottle | desert | bushman | bra and panties | 

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Taglines:

At last, a comedy everyone can laugh with!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Botswana South Africa

Language:

English Afrikaans Ungwatsi

Release Date:

26 October 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les dieux sont tombés sur la tête

Filming Locations:

Johannesburg, South Africa

Box Office

Gross:

$51,200,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

CAT Films, Mimosa Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the Film Resources Unit, none of the Khoisan people who appeared in The Gods Must be Crazy ever received royalties from the film.

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Goofs

When the Bushmen make music with the Coke bottle, an empty bottle produces different notes. Changing tones should mean adding water.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: It looks like a paradise, but it is in fact the most treacherous desert in the world... the Kalahari. After the short rainy season, there are many waterholes, and even rivers. But after a few weeks, the water sinks away into the deep Kalahari sand, the waterholes dry up, and the rivers stop flowing. The grass fades to a beautiful blond colour that offers excellent grazing. But for the next nine months there will be no water to drink, so most of the animals move away, leaving the ...

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Connections

Referenced in Buster Reynolds Remembers Jamie Uys (2004)

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Soundtracks

Song of the Shepherd
(uncredited) [UK release print]
Music by Jack Trombey
De Wolfe Music Ltd

User Reviews

Crazy! Goofy! Silly!

Crazy, goofy, and silly are the three most operative words to describe "The Gods Must Be Crazy". But the movie is also very original. It's appropriate that the word crazy is in the title because this is the craziest movie I've ever seen. "The Gods Must Be Crazy" is a South African made comedy that was made back in the early 1980s but didn't get released until 3-4 years after shooting was completed. It became a surprise hit in the U.S. after it was released in 1984, and it did very well in other countries too. "The Gods Must Be Crazy" features three separate stories that get tied together towards the end. One story is about a bushman who goes on a journey to return a Coke bottle that he found to the Gods after the bottle starts causing harm to some of his family members. Another story revolves around a war that breaks out in Central Africa. And the other story centers around a clumsy scientist who tries to take a pretty South African woman to her new job as a schoolteacher in a small African village, and does everything wrong. This is my favorite part of the movie. The scientist is played by Marius Weyers, and he gives an inspired slapstick comedy performance. Some of the things that he does in the film had me exploding in laughter. The scenes with the jeep that he drives are priceless. Sandra Prinsloo is a good foil as the schoolteacher who unfortuneitly has no choice but to put up with his clumsiness. When Weyers and Prinsloo are on screen, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" is at its funniest. The other two stories are good, but not great. Nevertheless, there are some unusual scenes in these parts of the movie too. But the scenes involving the scientist and the schoolteacher are the best parts of "The Gods Must Be Crazy". It's too bad that they didn't turn up in the dull sequel. I think these parts of the movie alone is enough for me to recommend "The Gods Must Be Crazy".

*** (out of four)