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Summary: "Eyy hhad a fffaahm in Awfweeka..."
Review: The panoramic scenery in this sad romance is certainly noteworthy, and Streep is pretty good. Redford seems a little ill at ease with this role. Also, the plot has moments of contrived silliness - like why the hell do they suddenly buy her a drink in the all men's club when she is leaving Africa, while they wouldn't even let her in when she arrived? What has she done to merit this sudden respect from them - had her lover die? Fail at farming?
Rating: 
Summary: Painful
Review: This movie is excrutiating to watch. The most boring film ever imaginable. This is an example of Hollywood believing that big stars and a big budget does not need to be accompanied by a good plot or a director's vision. The emperor has no clothes.
Rating:
Summary: Mannered, overlong, pompous
Review: Unspeakable. One of the worst movies ever to win an Oscar for Best Picture. It has all the earmarks of Quality Cinema: foreign accents, Meryl Streep, foreign locales, a doomed romance, excruciating tedium, and a three-hour running time. What it does not have is an interesting script, interesting direction, or really anything of interest or value. Only Klaus Maria Brandauer emerges from this ponderous disaster unscathed. He delivers a performance of wit and dexterity, and leaves one praying for his appearance onscreen. See it for him, and feel free to Fast-Forward between his scenes.
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Summary: Best Movie I Have Ever Seen
Review: This is by far the best movie I have ever seen. I can watch it over and over again and still end up crying at the end. The acting is supurb and the cinematography is excellent. Highly recommended!
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Summary: Streep is dynamite...
Review: in this visually gorgeous film. Redford doesn't even attempt a British accent, but there was probably a good reason for this. Watch this film with a big box of Kleenex -- you'll probably need them. The length of the film is fine to me (although L. Maltin thinks it too long, I don't agree). Spectacular cinematography, almost unbearingly sad story, beautifully told and acted. Deserved the Oscar for Best Picture.
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Summary: Definately a must-see!
Review: The cinematography is outstanding and the storyline is touching! Redford and Streep have an amazing chemistry! It makes a great addition to any video library!
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Summary: Takes My Breath Away....
Review: This review refers to the Universal Widescreen "Collector's Edition" DVD of "Out Of Africa"....."Out Of Africa" not only takes my breath away, but for 2 hours and 40 minutes I am transported to another time and place. A beautiful story in a wonderous setting will have you mesmerized as well. No matter how many times I view this film, I never tire of the gorgeous cinematography,the lulling music, the compelling story and of course the superb acting all brought together by the wonderful direction of Sydney Pollack. Based on a true story, it depicts the life of Karen Blixen(who wrote under the name of Isak Dinesen) She marries a philandering Baron, and gains a title but discovers he has squandered her money on a coffee plantation in Kenya. Left to run it on her own, she befriends the local residents "The Kikuyu", offers them education and medical help, survives on her own strong willed nature and falls in love with the country, the people and local hunter Denis Finch Hatton. The story is told in narrative by Karen, as she is now an old woman, thinking back to this time of love, passion, adventure and loss. Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and Klaus Maria Brandauer are masters of their craft as they bring these characters to life. The film was honored with several academy awards including Best Picture(1985),a well deserved Best Director for Pollack, Best Screenplay by Kurt Luedtke, Orginal Score for the genuis of John Barry, and one for the gorgeous Cinematography among others. I loved the music so much, which includes many works by Mozart, I just ordered the soundtrack! The DVD transfer by Universal is outstanding. All the colors and sounds of Africa, seem to come alive right there in your living room. The growl of a lion, the texture of the landscape, the music all magnificent. The picture is presented in anamorphic widescreen(1.85:1), and the dolby digital 4.1 surround sound is perfect!. The extras include commentary with Sydney Pollack production notes, cast bios,captioning, and a not to be missed documentary "Song of Africa" where you will find interviews with Pollack, Streep, and John Barry discussing the film and the music. This a great DVD buy at a great price. Enjoy this very romantic film over and over again.....Laurie
Rating:
Summary: Avoid unless you thirst for empty drivel.
Review: This is the worst film ever to win the best picture Oscar.
All the beautiful cinematography is wasted on a trite plot and tepid performances. When you start to probe further into the rationale of the characters and look for any real themes, the search turns up dust. Out of Africa is as empty as a blind man's sockets. It seems to have something there, but it lies. To see the same type of film, but with real characters, interesting thematic elements and powerful direction, watch The English Patient. God, I want my 3 hours back! AHHHHHHH! Die Stupid Movie!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Haunting, romantic, yet somehow unfinished
Review: Isak Diensen's life story became the source of her two well-known memoirs of her years in Africa: "Out of Africa," and "Shadows on the Grass." This movie is (obviously) based on the former. The setting is primarily in Kenya, where the Danish Baroness (by marriage) Blixen moves with her friend-turned-husband, the Swede Bror Blixen. He is tempermentally unsuited to the life of a gentleman farmer, and ceases to be husband, in all but name, while remaining a friend. The story focuses on the growing love of the Baroness Karen Blixen for a free spirited Englishman, Denys Finch-Hutton, a hunter and backwoodsman. The epic sweep of the movie carries them through the war years, and into a society that dosen't quite return to normalcy afterward. Years after their initial, rather tense meeting, they become lovers. The movie is brilliantly filmed, lucious in its' depiction of the wild places of Africa. The score is haunting and melodic. Meryl Streep, as Baroness Blixen, is magnificant. Robert Redford, as Finch-Hutton, is very good, but clearly himself - not so much an English adventurer as Robert as he would have been, had he lived then. still, that's no knock on a good performance. The supporting cast do very well, with some flavor for backwater colonial nobility and native Kukuyu simplicity and dignity showing through. The movie, one I've watched a number of times, does not satisfy, in one regard: There are several olaces where you are led along, expecting something climatcic or memorable to happen, without it occuring. There are also lines spoken by characters that you know are meant to be profound, but somehow they just don't come off. Nonetheless, one of the better movies you'll ever see. -Lloyd A. Conway
Rating:
Summary: Great, adult romance. Beautiful DVD.
Review: This movie puts Isak Dinesen's "Out of Africa" up on the screen, and for my money it is the finest filmed version of a book ever done. The reasons for this do not come from Sydney Pollack's vision of the book being "faithful" exactly (although it is pretty faithful). It is more that he perfectly captured the feel of Dinesen's Africa. The characters in the movie are all based on real people, primarily Isak Denisen (real name Karen Blixen), her husband Bror Blixen, and Denys Finch Hatton. Suffice to say that Meryl Streep, Klaus Maria Brandauer, and Robert Redford all give great performances. In real life both Hatton and Blixen were great white hunters who, despite sleeping with one another's wives and acquaintances, (including aviator Beryl Markham) somehow remained good friends. For me, despite great, intelligent acting from Streep and Brandauer, this is a Robert Redford film. Redford's intense, understated style was never put to better use (Pollack always seemed to know the best use for this actor) and it is a pleasure to watch the way he says so little, but you can see a rich, internal life happening all the time. Plus, it is a kind of kick to see Redford, a staunch conservationist and liberal, playing a great, white hunter in end-of-Empire Africa. Finally, if you own this film on VHS, it is worth going for the DVD. It is simply beautiful looking.
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