The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Jamie Uys

Writer:

Jamie Uys (writer)

Release Date:

21 August 1981 (Norway)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

The critics are raving... the natives are restless... and the laughter is non-stop!

Plot:

A Sho in the Kalahari desert encounters technology for the first time--in the shape of a Coke bottle...

Plot Keywords:

Bottle | Kalahari | Desert | Baboon | Lion

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

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
Vera Blacker	...	Mrs. Thompson
Ken Gampu	...	President
Paddy O'Byrne	...	Narrator (voice)
Jamie Uys	...	The Reverend

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

Botswana | South Africa

Language:

English | Afrikaans | Ungwatsi

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:All | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Australia:PG | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Germany:12 | Norway:11 (re-rating) | Norway:12 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company:

CAT Films

Trivia:

Biggest foreign box office hit during its release.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Mr.Steyn helps Ms.Thompson get her out of a watape tree, she covers herself with a towel. In the next shot the towel reverses sides.

Quotes:

[Xixo has been thrown in jail]
Mpudi: He never seen a wall in his life, now he got walls all around him. He gonna die for sure.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#17.6)" (2004)

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)