Out of Africa (1985)

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

Karen Blixen (book)
Judith Thurman (book)
(more)

Release Date:

18 December 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | 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 | Plantation | Marriage | Africa | Farm

Awards:

Won 7 Oscars. Another 24 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Meryl Streep	...	Karen
Robert Redford	...	Denys
Klaus Maria Brandauer	...	Bror
Michael Kitchen	...	Berkeley
Malick Bowens	...	Farah
Joseph Thiaka	...	Kamante
Stephen Kinyanjui	...	Kinanjui
Michael Gough	...	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
Mohammed Umar	...	Ismail
Donal McCann	...	Doctor
Kenneth Mason	...	Banker
Tristram Jellinek	...	First Commissioner
Stephen B. Grimes	...	Second Commissioner (as Stephen Grimes)
Annabel Maule	...	Lady Byrne
Benny Young	...	Minister
Sbish Trzebinski	...	Beefy Drunk
Allaudin Qureshi	...	Rajiv
Niven Boyd	...	Young Officer
Iman	...	Mariammo
Peter Strong	...	Huge Man
Abdulla Sunado	...	Esa (as Abdullah Sunado)
Amanda Parkin	...	Victoria
Muriel Gross	...	Lady Delamere
Ann Palmer	...	Dowager
Keith Pearson	...	Missionary Teacher

Directed by
Sydney Pollack

Writing credits
Karen Blixen		(book "Out of Africa" and other writings)
Judith Thurman		(book "Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Story Teller")
Errol Trzebinski		(book "Silence Will Speak")
Kurt Luedtke		(screenplay)

Produced by
Anna Cataldi	....	associate producer
Terence A. Clegg	....	co-producer (as Terence Clegg)
Kim Jorgensen	....	executive producer
Sydney Pollack	....	producer
Judith Thurman	....	associate producer

Original Music by
John Barry

Cinematography by
David Watkin		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Pembroke J. Herring		(as Pembroke Herring)
Sheldon Kahn
Fredric Steinkamp
William Steinkamp

Casting by
Mary Selway

Production Design by
Stephen B. Grimes		(as Stephen Grimes)

Art Direction by
Colin Grimes
Cliff Robinson
Herbert Westbrook

Set Decoration by
Josie MacAvin

Costume Design by
Milena Canonero

Makeup Department
J. Roy Helland	....	hair stylist: Miss Streep
J. Roy Helland	....	makeup artist: Miss Streep
Norma Hill	....	makeup artist
Mary Hillman	....	chief makeup artist
Joyce James	....	hairdresser
Gary Liddiard	....	makeup artist: Mr. Redford
Vera Mitchell	....	chief hairdresser
Suzanne Belcher	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Robin Forman	....	post-production supervisor
Gerry Levy	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Roy Button	....	second assistant director
Jack Couffer	....	second unit director
Patrick Kinney	....	assistant director
George Menoe	....	assistant director
Meja Mwangi	....	assistant director
Tom Mwangi	....	assistant director
David Tomblin	....	first assistant director
Simon Trevor	....	second unit director
Lee Cleary	....	key second assistant director: UK (uncredited)
Michael Zimbrich	....	first assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Bert Hearn	....	prop master
Geoff Langley	....	construction manager
Frank Billington-Marks	....	assistant property master (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gary Alexander	....	sound re-recording mixer
Peter Handford	....	sound mixer
Chris Jenkins	....	sound re-recording mixer
William L. Manger	....	adr editor (as William Manger)
Tom McCarthy Jr.	....	supervising sound editor
Larry Stensvold	....	sound re-recording mixer
John Stevenson	....	boom operator
Blake R. Cornett	....	first assistant sound editor (uncredited)
Malcolm Davies	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Paul Pavelka	....	sound re-recording engineer (uncredited)
Idin Roshan	....	sound transfer engineer (uncredited)
Lionel Strutt	....	adr mixer (uncredited)
John Sutton	....	sound mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
David Harris	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Syd Dutton	....	special visual effects: matte paintings (uncredited)
Mark Freund	....	optical cameraman: Illusion Arts (uncredited)
Steve Gawley	....	model maker (uncredited)
Michael Gleason	....	visual effects editor (uncredited)
Jay Riddle	....	animation camera: ILM (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Allwork	....	aerial photographer
Alan Barry	....	best boy
Frank Connor	....	still photographer
Freddie Cooper	....	camera operator
Maurice Gillett	....	gaffer
Rodrigo Gutierrez	....	camera operator: second unit
Ray Hall	....	grip
Ricky Hall	....	grip
Ibrahim Jibril	....	grip
Ali Matata	....	grip
Mohamed Ngela	....	grip
Mahmud Sheikh Omar	....	grip
Stephen St. John	....	steadicam operator (as Steve St. John)
Mohamed Wafula	....	grip
Douglas Kirkland	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department
Barbara Harris	....	voice casting
Sarah Withey	....	local casting: Kenya

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Stephen Cornish	....	wardrobe
Ken Crouch	....	wardrobe (as Kenny Crouch)
David Garrett	....	costume maker
Jenny Hawkins	....	wardrobe (as Jennie Hawkins)
Joanna Johnston	....	assistant costume designer
Pat McEwan	....	wardrobe
Elizabeth Ryrie	....	wardrobe
Andres Fernandez Sotillos	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Donah Bassett	....	negative cutter
Jeffrey James Bell	....	assistant editor (as Jeffrey Bell)
Don Brochu	....	assistant editor
Claudio M. Cutry	....	associate editor (as Claudio Cutry)
Craig Herring	....	assistant editor
Rick Meyer	....	assistant editor
Joe Mosca	....	assistant editor (as Joseph Mosca)
Saul Saladow	....	assistant editor
Karl F. Steinkamp	....	assistant editor (as Karl Steinkamp)

Music Department
John Barry	....	conductor
Cliff Kohlweck	....	music editor (as Clif Kohlweck)
George W. Senoga-Zake	....	music advisor: African music
Alan Smyth	....	music researcher
Dan Wallin	....	music scoring mixer
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist (uncredited)
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist (uncredited)
James Thatcher	....	musician: French horn (uncredited)

Other crew
Margaret Adams	....	production coordinator
Christine Buuri	....	production secretary
Nelson Chege	....	advisor: Kikuyu
Nikki Clapp	....	script supervisor
Brian Gibbs	....	production accountant
David Hilton	....	production assistant
Allan James	....	location manager
Patricia Johnson	....	publicist
Phill Norman	....	title designer: main title
Grania O'Shannon	....	location manager
Lissa Ruben	....	script supervisor
Monty Ruben	....	production consultant
John Sutton	....	field consultant
John Sutton	....	location consultant
Thomas Thanangadan	....	production assistant
Hubert Wells	....	chief animal trainer
Alex Matcham	....	assistant accountant (uncredited)

Thanks
Syd Dutton	....	special thanks: Illusion Arts, Inc.
Bill Taylor	....	special thanks: Illusion Arts, Inc.

Production Companies

• Mirage Enterprises
• Universal Pictures (copyright holder) (as Universal Pictures Limited)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1985) (USA) (theatrical) (as Universal) (An MCA Company)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1994) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1986) (Australia) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (1985) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• CIC Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1988) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Hollydan Works (1998) (Yugoslavia) (DVD)
• MCA Home Video (1986) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MCA Home Video (1996) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Nordisk Film (2001) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Phillips (1991) (Germany) (video) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2004) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray) (25th anniversary edition)

Special Effects

• Effects Associates (uncredited)
• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) (uncredited)
• Makeup Effects Laboratories (uncredited)

Other Companies

• Audiolink Radio Communications  walkie talkies (uncredited)
• Dolby Laboratories  sound post-production (uncredited)
• Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing  special thanks: vintage clothing rentals (uncredited)
• Ker & Downey Safaris  location camps and safari transport services provided by (as Ker & Downey Safaris, Kenya)
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment (uncredited)
• MCA Records  original soundtrack album available on (as MCA Records and Cassettes)
• Mayflower Recording  adr recording (uncredited)
• Pacific Title  titles
• Rungstedlund Foundation, The  special thanks
• Todd-AO Studios  re-recording
• Universal Title  opticals

Also Known As:

Runtime:

161 min

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) (as Dolby Stereo)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:16 | Peru:PT | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Norway:11 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG (PCA #27983) | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Mirage Enterprises

Trivia:

In one scene, Karen Blixen, travels across dangerous terrain to bring supply wagons to her husband's regiment. During the night, a lion attacks one of the oxen and Karen tries to fight it off with a whip. Meryl Streep was assured that the lion would be tethered by one of its back legs so he couldn't get too close. When the scene was shot, the lion had no restraint. The lion got closer than Streep anticipated; the fear on her face is real.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: In the plants.

Quotes:

Kamante:I think that you had better get up. I think that God is coming.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "What I Like About You: Girls Night Out (#1.12)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Missouri Waltz

Hits all the right notes, at multiple levels.

This is one of those rare movies that has something for everybody and is nearly perfect in many respects. Many of the negative comments about the film here are one dimensional and fail to see the multiple levels on which the movie operates.

First, there's the political level: Colonial Africa before, during, and after World War II populated by all of Europe (and America), and Karen Blixen caught in the middle between Germany and England. Interestingly, the settlers are willing to die for their countries eventhough they have little idea why they are going to war, and communication between Kenya and Europe lags by months, not weeks.

There's the sociological level: White Europeans attempting to civilize and Westernize an essentially foreign land and people. I think the movie does a great job of intimating how the Kikuyus, the Somali, and Masai saw European settlers in their land - comical, enigmatic, and out of their element. Instead of fading into the background, the movie would fail without the simple wisdom of Farah who knows more than any of the white settlers in his land. ("This water must go to Mombasa". "God is great, Saboo"). Interestingly, Sikh Indians are brought to the English Gentlemen's club to act as servants and when Karen dares to enter the men's only den, it's the Sikh who is responsible for escorting her out; none of the English "gentlemen" have the balls or nerve to do it. An interesting observation on the English White man's view of the world before World War I.

Historically, the film portrays real people with some fidelity since all of the characters, even Farah and Kumante, were based on actual people; Kumante was even alive and consulted during the filming in 1982/3. The character of Felicity is based on Beryl Markham, a truly magnificent woman who wrote "West with the Night" which might even portray colonial Africa better than Isak Dineson did.

As a travel log, the movie works as well as any National Geographic since we see, (vicariously through Karen) as she watches a platoon of Masai warriers running through salt flats in full battle dress, as she learns about lions in wild, and how a herd of Elephants looks and sounds from a biplane.

Narratively, "Out of Africa" is not just a "chic flic" as someone posted, unless the poster thinks that all romances are essentially chic flics. I generally can't stand romances, but this operates not just as a romance between people (Karen and Blix, Karen and Dennis) but between people and place. The passion they felt for each other was matched or exceeded by their passion for Africa. When the movie was over, I too had fallen in love with Africa.

The movie can be watched simply for its Cinematography, editing, sound, and set design alone. What other movie integrates poetry by Coleridge and Houseman, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, and the writing of Isak Dineson so easily that you barely notice it? Many scenes translate into still works of art: A bottle of wine and peaches on the hunting table, a Victrola playing Mozart in the African bush, a rainbow over raging falls, lions surveying the land from the Ngong hills.

Such a great and beautiful movie. One that I will watch over and over again until an opportunity to see Victoria falls comes my way.

By the way. I agree that the weakest link in the movie is Robert Redford as Dennis Finch Hadden since his accent is non-existent, but then again I thought that as an American in colonial England (as Hemingway was at this same time), it plays much better.