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Out of Africa
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Out of Africa (1985) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   17,049 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 8% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Sydney Pollack
Writers:
Karen Blixen (books)
Judith Thurman (book)
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Out of Africa on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 December 1985 (USA) more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 7 Oscars. Another 22 wins & 17 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(9 articles)
Streep Picked For Lifetime Achievement Award
 (From WENN. 27 April 2009, 5:05 AM, PDT)

Streep Stuffed Her Bra To Land Sexy Roles
 (From WENN. 25 February 2009, 4:10 AM, PST)

User Comments:
Liked It A Lot More After Several Viewings more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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 ... Lord 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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
150 min | USA:160 min (TCM print)
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Swahili
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)
Filming Locations:
England, UK more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Audrey Hepburn was originally offered the role of Karen. more
Goofs:
Continuity: Denys is shown peeling nearly half a dozen oranges when talking to Karen outside. more
Quotes:
Karen Blixen: [Voiceover] I had a farm in Africa at the foot of the Ngong Hills. The Equator runs across these highlands, a hundred miles to the north, and the farm lay at an altitude of over six thousand feet. In the day-time you felt that you had got high up; near to the sun, but the early mornings and evenings were limpid and restful, and the nights were cold. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Saturday Night Live: The Best of David Spade (2005) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Three Divertimenti (K.136,137,138) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
18 out of 27 people found the following comment useful:-
Liked It A Lot More After Several Viewings, 24 June 2006
8/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Few movies ever increased in my ratings as much as this one did from first viewing to the last one - the fourth, about 5-8 years ago. I guess I am due to see this again soon.

Early on, after seeing this on widescreen, my rating of it began to increase dramatically. I hadn't realized on those first two early viewings on formatted-to-TV VHS just how beautiful this movie was shot. The accompanying music score also is outstanding. The main score, the theme song of the movie, if you will, still ranks as perhaps the prettiest I have ever heard on ANY film. (For the full version of the music, stay with the ending credits.)

In addition to a greater appreciation of the visuals and soundtrack, I enjoyed the story much more by the third time and Meryl Streep's Danish accent as "Karen Blixen" went from annoying to acceptable. It is a romance story and there isn't much action, and parts of it can drag a bit, but not for long. I even found I could enjoy this 161-minute film broken up into several viewings.

One credibility problem, the other main character: " Denys," played by Robert Redford, was supposed to be British but had a 100 percent American accent. He didn't even try to fake it! His character also was a little too secular-humanistic for me to root for him, anyway. He didn't have much a moral base ("marriage is just a sheet of paper"-type beliefs). Streep's character wasn't all that hot, either, and I'm wondering if the real Karen Blixen was more Christian-like than shown in this movie. It wouldn't surprise me. Character-wise, I liked Blixen's husband, played by Klaus Maria Brandauer, probably best in this movie.

This is such a classy-looking film that I can overlook a few flaws and too-secular main characters and enjoy what the rest has to offer: mainly the magnificent African scenery, mellow story and rich music.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Out of Africa (1985)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Berkely Cole sylvan97
Berkeley Cole question CrazyMaryT
What is the story Karen told to Denys and Berkeley after dinner? ppsantos
Redford casting sdemauri
Torchlight Parade linnigran
I'd curtsey, but I'm drunk sylvan97
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