Friday, January 27, 2012

Out of Africa (1985)

This film, adapted from author Isak Denison's autobiographical book of the same title, was an awards hound in the '80s. It won seven Oscars, including Big Daddies Best Picture, and Best Director for the late, great, Sydney Pollack. The film stars Meryl Streep (who was nominated and has an excellent accent) and Robert Redford (who wasn't and doesn't) as two European ex-pats who meet in British East Africa before the First World War and develop an intense attraction despite Streep's Baroness Karen Blixen (Denison's married name) being in a marriage of convenience to a lazy, philandering sot. The romance between Karen and Redford's Denys Finch Hatton is widely lauded as one of the most romantic in cinema history. The AFI thought so, naming the film in its "100 Years . . . 100 Passions" compilation. I for one am looking forward to a certain memorable shampoo scene.

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