Karen Blixen in Kenya, 1918
One of my very favorite movies is Sydney_Pollack's Out of Africa. Sydney was born in Lafayette, Indiana. I did not know this until I googled him, but since I was born in Indiana this means something to me. (From wikipedia: Sydney Pollack was born in Lafayette, Indiana, to a family of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine,[1] the son of Rebecca (née Miller) and David Pollack, a semi-professional boxer and pharmacist.[1] The family relocated to South Bend and his parents divorced when he was young. His mother, an alcoholic with emotional problems, died at the age of 37 while Pollack was a student.[2]Despite earlier plans to attend college and then medical school, Pollack left Indiana for New York City soon after finishing high school at age 17. Read more)
The very special relationship between Karen Blixen (17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962), (Meryl Streep) and Farah (Malick Bowens) is one of the highlights of the film beyond the scenery and the way it was edited and presented with wonderful music, beyond the love story between Karen and Denis (Robert Redford), beyond Berkeley Cole (Michael Kitchen). Even the more minor parts are superbly acted.
I am reading two of the books used for the film ~ Isak Dinesen: The Life of a Storyteller by the wonderful writer Judith Thurman and Silence Will Speak: A Study of the Life of Denys Finch Hatton and His Relationship with Karen Blixen by Errol Trzebinski which is a dynamic book about the man played by Robert Redford.
Also, I especially enjoy the special features on the dvd, including Sydney's commentary with the movie.
Sydney prefers widescreen
Click the post title for Sydney Pollack : press conference (France) - Sydney talks about directing Robert Redford and says his only complaint is that RR is always late.
Tribute to Sydney Pollack
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There isn't much on youtube with clips of Out of Africa, probably due to copyright restrictions. But here is the burial scene of Denys.
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- Meryl Streep - Karen Blixen
- Robert Redford - Denys Finch Hatton
- Klaus Maria Brandauer - Bror Blixen/Hans Blixen
- Michael Kitchen - Berkeley Cole
- Malick Bowens - Farah
- Joseph Thiaka - Kamante
- Stephen Kinyanjui - Kinanjui
- Michael Gough - Baron Delamere
- Suzanna Hamilton - Felicity
- Rachel Kempson - Lady Belfield
- Graham Crowden - Lord Belfield
- Benny Young - Minister
- Leslie Phillips - Sir Joseph (this was presumably meant to be Sir Joseph Aloysius Byrne, who took office as the Governor in early 1931)
- Annabel Maule - Lady Byrne
- Dr. Steven Kee - Extra
- Iman - Mariammo
Academy Awards
The film won seven Academy Awards and was nominated in a further four categories.[4]
- Won
- Best Picture
- Best Director (Sydney Pollack)
- Best Art Direction (Stephen Grimes, Josie MacAvin)
- Best Cinematography (David Watkin)
- Writing Adapted Screenplay (Kurt Luedtke)
- Original Music Score
- Sound
- Nominated
- Best Actress (Meryl Streep)
- Best Supporting Actor (Klaus Maria Brandauer)
- Costume Design (Milena Canonero)
- Film Editing (Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp, Pembroke Herring, and Sheldon Kahn)
[edit] Golden Globes
The film won three Golden Globes (Best Picture, Supporting Actor, Original Score).
[edit] AFI
American Film Institute recognition
- 2002 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions #13
- 2005 AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores #15
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Part 2 of Sydney Pollack's interview (Out of Africa)
Sydney answers about actors not going out to "sell" a movie when it is released.
Uploaded by dvdguy2011
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