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Movies / On DVD / Out of Africa
Out of Africa

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Out of Africa (1985)

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Reviews Counted:31

Fresh:19

Rotten:12

Average Rating:6.2/10

Consensus: Though lensed with stunning cinematography and featuring a pair of winning performances from Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, Out of Africa suffers from excessive length and glacial pacing.

Runtime: 2 hrs 41 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Adapted from Isak Dinesen's novel, OUT OF AFRICA, this film plaintively tells the story of two troubled adults who meet and fall in love in the African wilderness. Karen Blixen-Flecke (Meryl... Adapted from Isak Dinesen's novel, OUT OF AFRICA, this film plaintively tells the story of two troubled adults who meet and fall in love in the African wilderness. Karen Blixen-Flecke (Meryl Streep) is a modern woman, caught in the shortcomings of a practical marriage. Finch Hatton (Robert Redford) is a gallant British hunter, lonely, but unable to commit. As they two meet and begin a torrid affair, they set out on an epic adventure in the badlands of Africa--an adventure that real-life Karen Blixen-Flecke would later novelize under the pen name Isak Dinesen. Sydney Pollack's opus, OUT OF AFRICA, is a full, visually compelling film. Its storyline evokes a plethora of emotions, ranging from fear and loathing to hope and the elation of love. Robert Redford and Meryl Streep are electric as the two damaged infidels in love. A key American film, OUT OF AFRICA is not to be missed. [More]

Starring: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Klaus Maria Brandauer

Starring: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Klaus Maria Brandauer

Director: Sydney Pollack

Director: Sydney Pollack
Screenwriter: Kurt Luedtke
Composer: John Barry

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 29, 2000

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Out of Africa

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Out of Africa is, at last, the free-spirited, fullhearted gesture that everyone has been waiting for the movies to make all decade long. It reclaims the emotional territory that is rightfully theirs.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
02/20/09
Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Lush, intelligent epic.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
05/28/08
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Dull biopic of the strong-willed Danish writer Isak Dinesen.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/25/08
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The film is so preened and self-satisfied.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/20/08
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine

The film runs for 161 minutes and does not have a strongly defined narrative.

Full Review Source: DVDLaser | comment Comment
01/28/08
Douglas Pratt
Douglas Pratt
DVDLaser

As the Academy found before awarding it seven Oscars, it is easy to be seduced by the lush cinematography and Barry's score. More difficult to tolerate is the slushy love story between Streep and Redford.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
01/28/08
Channel 4 Film

The movie is not drama and far from a compelling romance. Needless to say, the prestige and technical polish on display here were enough to win this flick a passel of Oscars.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
01/28/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Maybe the problem of the pacing is simply the nature of the beast these days with expensive period pieces. Once the difficult details are all in place, it may be too much to expect a director to resist milking every scene for more than it's worth.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/28/08
Joe Bigelow
Joe Bigelow
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
12/10/07
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

Sydney Pollack applies craftsmanship and restraint to a classic plot curve of longing, fulfillment, and loss, and although the denouement is a bit overextended, he never yields to facile, insistent sentimentality -- his effects are honestly won.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/05/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Despite a long-winded approach to moviemaking, Out of Africa is a sumptuous romantic epic with a wonderful lead performance from Meryl Streep.

Full Review Source: Oscar Guy | comment Comment
12/27/06
Wesley Lovell
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy

Bloated and tedious, Pollack's attempt at epic cinema is hampered by failure to provide any clues about the meaning of Africa for Dinesen as writer and woman, and Watkin's cinematography is impressively exotic in the manner of National Geographic.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment 2 Comments
07/28/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

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

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
10/10/05
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

No review available.

comment Comment
10/05/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

Meryl Streep trots out a classic performance in this 1985 Oscar-winner about Isak Dineson/Karen Blixen, a writer who lived in Africa for a short time and experienced all manner of adventure and heartache, dutifully recorded in this Sydney Pollack epic.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
05/19/05
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

beautiful but overrated

comment Comment
02/07/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

A lyrical and meditative movie about a strong-willed woman and the place she loves.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/22/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

A sumptuous romantic drama, Out of Africa spans continents and partners in while relating the tale of how Karen Blixen grew to become the world-famous author.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/01/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

With the exception of Miss Streep's performance, the pleasures of Out of Africa are all peripheral -- David Watkin's photography, the landscapes, the shots of animal life -all of which would fit neatly into a National Geographic layout.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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Latest News for Out of Africa

May 26, 2008: Sydney Pollack dies aged 73
Academy Award-winning director, producer and actor, Sydney Pollack, dies aged 73. More...

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