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Invictus

  • 2009
  • AL
  • 2h 14m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
166K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,668
950
Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in Invictus (2009)
A look at life for Nelson Mandela after the fall of apartheid in South Africa during his first term as president when campaigned to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event as an opportunity to unite his countrymen.
Play trailer2:33
23 Videos
99+ Photos
ActionAdventureBiography

Nelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby... Read allNelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.Nelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

  • Director
    • Clint Eastwood
  • Writers
    • Anthony Peckham
    • John Carlin
  • Stars
    • Morgan Freeman
    • Matt Damon
    • Tony Kgoroge
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    166K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,668
    950
    • Director
      • Clint Eastwood
    • Writers
      • Anthony Peckham
      • John Carlin
    • Stars
      • Morgan Freeman
      • Matt Damon
      • Tony Kgoroge
    • 345User reviews
    • 308Critic reviews
    • 74Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 12 wins & 38 nominations total

    Videos23

    Invictus
    Trailer 2:33
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    Invictus
    Clip 0:37
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    Invictus
    Clip 1:15
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    Invictus
    Clip 0:48
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    Invictus
    Clip 1:02
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    Invictus
    Clip 1:26
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    Invictus
    Clip 1:32
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    Invictus
    Clip 1:12
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    Invictus
    Clip 1:10
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    Invictus: This Is The Time To Rebuild Our Nation
    Clip 1:25
    Watch Invictus: This Is The Time To Rebuild Our Nation
    Invictus: Are You Thinking About Tomorrow?
    Clip 0:36
    Watch Invictus: Are You Thinking About Tomorrow?
    Invictus: We Need Inspiration
    Clip 1:11
    Watch Invictus: We Need Inspiration

    Photos114

    Matt Damon and Nelson Mandela in Invictus (2009)
    Matt Damon in Invictus (2009)
    Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in Invictus (2009)
    Matt Damon in Invictus (2009)
    Matt Damon in Invictus (2009)
    Matt Damon in Invictus (2009)
    Morgan Freeman in Invictus (2009)
    Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in Invictus (2009)
    Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in Invictus (2009)
    Morgan Freeman in Invictus (2009)
    Morgan Freeman in Invictus (2009)
    Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in Invictus (2009)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Morgan Freeman
    Morgan Freeman
    • Nelson Mandela
    Matt Damon
    Matt Damon
    • Francois Pienaar
    Tony Kgoroge
    • Jason Tshabalala
    Patrick Mofokeng
    • Linga Moonsamy
    Matt Stern
    • Hendrick Booyens
    Julian Lewis Jones
    Julian Lewis Jones
    • Etienne Feyder
    Adjoa Andoh
    Adjoa Andoh
    • Brenda Mazibuko
    Marguerite Wheatley
    • Nerine
    Leleti Khumalo
    Leleti Khumalo
    • Mary
    Patrick Lyster
    Patrick Lyster
    • Mr. Pienaar
    Penny Downie
    Penny Downie
    • Mrs. Pienaar
    Sibongile Nojila
    • Eunice
    Bonnie Mbuli
    Bonnie Mbuli
    • Zindzi
    • (as Bonnie Henna)
    Shakes Myeko
    • Minister of Sport
    Louis Minnaar
    • Springbok Coach
    • (as Louis Minaar)
    Danny Keogh
    Danny Keogh
    • Rugby President
    Dan Robbertse
    • Boer
    Robin Smith
    Robin Smith
    • Johan De Villiers
    • Director
      • Clint Eastwood
    • Writers
      • Anthony Peckham
      • John Carlin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Nelson Mandela said that only Morgan Freeman could portray him. Freeman was the first actor cast.
    • Goofs
      When Nelson Mandela leaves the conference room in the middle of a presentation by Taiwan officials, the sign outside the room is written in simplified Chinese characters. However, these are not generally used in Taiwan where the more complex traditional characters are preferred, and the simplified writing is considered a Communist perversion of Chinese culture.
    • Quotes

      Nelson Mandela: In 1966, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank prison. All they found of him was a muddy set of prison clothes, a bar of soap, and an old rock hammer, damn near worn down to the nub. I remember thinking it would take a man six hundred years to tunnel through the wall with it. Old Andy did it in less than twenty. Oh, Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, million years of mountain building there. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes really, pressure, and time. That, and a big goddamn poster. Like I said, in prison a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied. Turns out Andy's favorite hobby was totin' his wall out into the exercise yard, a handful at a time. I guess after Tommy was killed, Andy decided he'd been here just about long enough. Andy did like he was told, buffed those shoes to a high mirror shine. The guards simply didn't notice. Neither did I... I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a mans shoes? Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of shit smelling foulness I can't even imagine, or maybe I just don't want to. Five hundred yards... that's the length of five football fields, just shy of half a mile.

    • Crazy credits
      The Warner Bros logo is the 90s era logo, in keeping with the time period of the film.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Michael Jackson's This Is It/The House of the Devil/Gentlemen Broncos (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      Invictus 9,000 Days
      (2009)

      Music by Clint Eastwood and Michael Stevens

      Lyrics by Dina Eastwood and Emile Welman

      Performed by Overtone and Yollandi Nortjie

    User reviews345

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Well Made, But Completely Forgettable
    Nelson Mandela has been released from prison and was voted as the South African president. Wanting to unite his country, he found a way to do so with rugby and in the South African team captain, Francois Pienaar.

    Morgan Freeman was born to play this role, he knew so, and that's why he produced this film. A dream project of his, waiting for someone to take the job of directing, his old friend Clint Eastwood steps in. Who says no to Clint? Especially Freeman, who under Eastwood's direction won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Invictus, William Ernest Henley, which is read by Mandela in the film, is well crafted and has a strong lead role. Unfortunately, the film is a by the numbers product that you seem to forget once you leave the theatre.

    My main problem with the film is the lack of emotion. I couldn't care for any of the characters in this film, save for Freeman, who as I stated does an excellent job. Matt Damon, who is shown on the poster, has the supporting role here. But he is given absolutely nothing to do except play rugby. His character has no story to him, but aren't we suppose to believe in him? After all, Mandela does. He gives him inspiration to win the world cup. Matt Damon does an alright job, but nothing worth mentioning. The same goes for the rest of the cast, they seem to be there just because the story is based on real life.

    Eastwood knows how to direct a film, the Academy seems to think so too, so you know going into it that it well be well crafted. This is Eastwood's first step into a semi sports movie genre. The sport is rugby, and after watching the film, I still have no idea how to play it. The final act of the game is in slow motion as well, clichéd? You know it. You can hear every grunt from every player. It is elongated to the point of annoyance. The rugby sequences did not pull me in, nor did I care for who was going to win. It doesn't feel like he is trying to step out of his comfort zone either. It feels like an Eastwood movie, take that as you want.

    The best parts of the film, are when Freeman commands the screen. His presence is more interesting and entertaining than any of the rugby scenes. Speaking of a rugby scenes, I must say that every 'epic' shot of the fans in the stands looked horribly fake. At some points I thought I was watching a PS3 game. It really took me out of the experience of the film.

    If the film were a bit shorter and more focused (is it a sports film or character driven film?) than I could maybe invest my interest. It seemed to balance both as nice as it could, but ultimately gave out to one more than the other and unfortunately it's the weaker part. Eastwood chooses to sidestep more important things in the film. Is this because of the script? Are we suppose to want to keep watching Mandela inspire a rugby team to unite nation? The racial undertones are there at the beginning, then completely forgotten. In the end, I wanted more from this film.

    The film is not bad, it's moderately good. Some scenes are actually inspiring, but that's more because of Freeman and not the generic script. I guess I wanted a little bit more from this one. Everyone involved made it seem like it should have been a great success, instead it comes off as something that everyone just decided to throw together. This is another film that belongs in that category of good, but not good enough for me to want to recommend it to you for theatre viewing.
    helpful•115
    70
    • Matt_Layden
    • Dec 17, 2009

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    FAQ27

    • How long is Invictus?Powered by Alexa
    • Is "Invictus" based on a book?
    • Who is Nelson Mandela?
    • What was apartheid?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 4, 2010 (Netherlands)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Warner Bros. (Japan)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Afrikaans
      • Maori
      • Zulu
      • Xhosa
      • Sotho
    • Also known as
      • The Human Factor
    • Filming locations
      • Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • Spyglass Entertainment
      • Revelations Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $60,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $37,491,364
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $8,611,147
      • Dec 13, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $122,426,792
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 14 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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