The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)

Director:

Jamie Uys

Writer:

Jamie Uys (written by)

Release Date:

10 September 1980 (South Africa)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Tagline:

At last, a comedy everyone can laugh with!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Bottle | Kalahari | Desert | Bushman | Gas Station

Awards:

3 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
Ken Gampu	...	President
Paddy O'Byrne	...	Narrator (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Vera Blacker	...	Mrs. Thompson (uncredited)
Jamie Uys	...	The Reverend (uncredited)

Directed by
Jamie Uys

Writing credits
Jamie Uys		(written by)

Produced by
Boet Troskie	....	executive producer
Jamie Uys	....	producer

Original Music by
John Boshoff

Cinematography by
Jamie Uys		(filmed by)
Robert Lewis		(uncredited)
Buster Reynolds		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Jamie Uys

Art Direction by
Caroline Burls		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Gail Grobbelaar
Mij Reynolds

Makeup Department
William Bell	....	makeup artist (as Bill Bell)
Olga Lombard	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Rina Venter	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kobus Kruger	....	assistant director (as Kobus Krüger)

Art Department
Caroline Burls	....	artwork
Caroline Burls	....	graphics
Piet Esterhuizen	....	constructor
Piet Esterhuizen	....	sets
Wilhelm Esterhuizen	....	constructor
Wilhelm Esterhuizen	....	sets

Sound Department
Tiny Burman	....	synchronizer
Chris Fellows	....	final mixer
Avram D. Gold	....	supervising adr editor (US release)
Nelson Mabasha	....	sound operator
Roelf Van Jaarsveld	....	sound editor
Chris Fellows	....	sound re-recordist (uncredited)
Joseph Holsen	....	sound editor (uncredited)
Martha Burns Holsen	....	sound editor (uncredited)
John Roesch	....	foley artist (uncredited)
John Rotondi	....	sound engineer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Paul Ballinger	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Lewis	....	camera operator
Buster Reynolds	....	camera operator
Jamie Uys	....	camera operator
Anthony Bannister	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Nelson Mabasha	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Les Reynolds	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Wolfgang Wiesner	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Stanford C. Allen	....	consulting editor
Sue Antelme	....	assistant editor
Gerda Vanden Broeck	....	assistant editor (as Gerda Van den Broek)
Ricardo Olivero	....	color timer (uncredited)

Other crew
Viv Bristow	....	animal trainer
Caroline Burls	....	continuity
Daan Retief	....	dialogue coach
Jack Seale	....	animal trainer
Gerda Vanden Broeck	....	assistant to producer (as Gerda Van den Broek)
Di Yates	....	continuity
Sheryl Friederichsen	....	foreign marketing producer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• CAT Films
• Mimosa

Distributors

• Jensen Farley Pictures (1982) (USA) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox (1983) (France) (theatrical)
• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1984) (USA) (theatrical)
• Playhouse Home Video (1986) (USA) (VHS) (For CBS Fox Video)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Irene Film Laboratories  colour

Also Known As:

"Miracle World: Bushman" - Japan (English title)

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

Botswana | South Africa

Language:

English | Afrikaans | Ungwatsi

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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 | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | Australia:PG | New Zealand:PG | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

South Africa

Company:

CAT Films

Trivia:

Was banned shortly after release in Trinidad and Tobago following protests from pressure groups that claimed it was racist.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the Bushmen were making music with the Coke bottle, they were getting different notes, even though an empty bottle will produce only one note. To change tones would require adding water.

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...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Og Must Be Crazy (1990)

Soundtrack:

Song of the Shepherd

Masterpiece

A unique film with a brilliant combination of slapstick, subtle humour, wonderful music, brilliant wildlife and scenic shots, all beautifully woven into a piece in an almost "road-style" movie around the adventures of a bushman.

Like any story, there are some aspects which are slightly unbelievable if you stop to think - but the skill of the film is that it is sufficiently convincing to suspend such unbelief whilst you watch.

The message of the film is brilliantly presented, subtly challenging the belief that white civilization has all the answers, gently poking fun at many of our western assumptions (no idea why anyone thinks it's racist - it may be the opposite)!

Some of the high points for me personally were the scenery, the wildlife, and the African huts, children and music. Having lived in Africa for 3 years it was absolutely true to life, and brought back fond memories. This is a classic that will bear watching time and time again, and so different from the run of the mill films generally churned out.

A classic - 9/10.