Out of Africa

Name: Out of Africa
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
Released: December 20, 1985
Duration: 161 min
Rating: 69
Cast: Joseph Thiaka, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Malick Bowens, Meryl Streep, Michael Gough

1985

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Ratings

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7.0

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7.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Ratings

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Out Of Africa

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Movie Details & Credits

Universal Pictures | Release Date: December 20, 1985 | PG

Starring: Joseph Thiaka, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Malick Bowens, Meryl Streep, Michael Gough, Michael Kitchen, Rachel Kempson, Robert Redford, Stephen Kinyanjui, Suzanna Hamilton

Summary: In 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter.

Director: Sydney Pollack

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, Romance

Rating: PG

Runtime: 161 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Roger Ebert

Out of Africa is a great movie to look at, breathtakingly filmed on location. It is a movie with the courage to be about complex, sweeping emotions, and to use the star power of its actors without apology. Read full review

Kathleen Carroll

Out of Africa is still an absolute knockout. It provides such an enchanting glimpse of the paradise that Dinesen tragically lost that audiences will completely understand her other grand passion for Africa itself. Read full review

Stanley Kauffmann

Meryl Streep is back in top form. This means that her performance in Out of Africa is at the highest level of acting in film today. Also, since she is Streep, it means that a return to form is not a return: she has realized a character utterly different from any she has done before. Read full review

Rita Kempley

Africa might have been another Gone With the Wind, blown by passion and buffeted by social upheaval. But in the end it's like a trip to a game park called Extinction. [20 Dec 1985, p.C1]

Empire Ian Nathan

Just as the film captures a world (Imperialism, hunting, colonialism) that has faded away, so this film feels like one of the last of it's kind. Read full review

James Harwood

At two-and-a-half hours, Out of Africa certainly makes a leisurely start into its story. Just short of boredom, however, the picture picks up pace and becomes a sensitive, enveloping romantic tragedy. Nonetheless it’s a long way to go for a downbeat ending, which may hurt broad appeal. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

For all that it may come out of Africa, the film's final destination is not many miles from Disneyland. Read full review

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User Reviews

DawdlingPoet

Nov 22, 2021

This is a gentle, slow watch which features some lovely settings and (thus) quite pretty cinematography (including aerial photography), with many of the animals Africa is well known for; being put on show (or should I say on screen?). There is a nice amount of chemistry between Karen (playedThis is a gentle, slow watch which features some lovely settings and (thus) quite pretty cinematography (including aerial photography), with many of the animals Africa is well known for; being put on show (or should I say on screen?). There is a nice amount of chemistry between Karen (played by Merl Streep) and Denys (played by Robert Redford). As the story continues, we learn more about Karens background and I found it an interesting watch. Its a nice, pleasant watch - not at all raunchy or saucy but with a definite romance angle and I thought the cast did well in their performances. At times there is relaltively little in the way of dialogue but then in a sense thats a good thing as it sort of clarifies the happiness felt by certain characters in just being where they are, soaking up the landscape, their situation and looking at things for what they are.

I felt frustrated by the way that some people treated the African locals - I wouldn't say their exactly respected as they perhaps should be but then again, maybe thats to be expected for the time the film is set in (the first half of the 20th century). I should perhaps also note that the film is based on a true story, the novel 'Out of Africa' by Karen Blixen.

At times it has the feel of an epic, although I would say that, in terms of criticism, it felt a little too long in terms of the running time, certainly near the start of the film, when the plot direction didn't seem especially clear - it didn't seem so much of an epic then but it did moreso towards the end. In any case, I was glad I stuck with it and overall I'd recommend it, yes.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Mahmus

Sep 25, 2020

Imagine Titanic but boring and if Jack and Rose had no chemestry.

Meryl Streep and Robert Redford are both phenomenal actors, but while Streep gives a great performance, Redford looks like he doesn't want to be there, and it makes their relationship really boring to watch. He's quite goodImagine Titanic but boring and if Jack and Rose had no chemestry.

Meryl Streep and Robert Redford are both phenomenal actors, but while Streep gives a great performance, Redford looks like he doesn't want to be there, and it makes their relationship really boring to watch. He's quite good in some scenes, but most times his performance ruins any possible investment in the already pretty boring characters.

The film is well made. The cinematography is beautiful, the african ladnsacapes are gorgeous and it has great score. (There's some truly awful use of blue screen at the beginning though).

The opening shot of this film clearly inpired the opening shot from The Lion King. As in, it's literally the same shot. I was half expecting "The Circle of Life" to start playing. I could hear in my head.

The best scene was the plane scene. It was like a symphony of beautiful nature shots and a nice break from the boring romance. It reminded me of the star-gate sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

It feels like a lesser David Lean epic. I don't know if it's the worst Best Picture winner, but it's probably one of the least interesting to sit through.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

FreddoFazbeardo

Apr 12, 2020

Bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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