DVD Reviews

Out of Africa – Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll May 13, 2010, 16:10 GMT

Winner of 7Academy Awards®, including Best Picture, Out of Africa is a cinematic masterpiece filled with breathtaking passion and majestic imagery. Robert Redford and Meryl Streep star in the fascinating true story of a woman who travels to Kenya to be with her cold husband and falls in love with a mysterious adventurer. Directed by Sydney Pollack, this epic tale of love, loss and self-discovery amid the stunning vistas of ...more

Sydney Pollack’s epic African romance is given the high definition treatment and it makes me sad that he’s not around to see it.  

In 1914, Karen (Meryl Streep) is being romanced by Hans Blixen, but he’s just using her for a good time.  She realizes that marriage is the furthest thing from his mind so she makes a pact with his twin brother Bror (Klaus Maria Brandauer) to enter into a marriage of convenience. 

On the way to her wedding in Africa, her train was stopped so that hunter Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford) could put some ivory on the train.  Bror had gone ahead to Africa to set up a dairy, but when Karen arrives she discovers that he’s actually bought a plantation to plant coffee upon and their marriage is in an hour. 

Bror and Karen get married and she tries to make the best of the coffee plantation, even though the crop is not a recommended one for the land.  Bror doesn’t seem interested in either the marriage or the plantation and wants to spend his time hunting big game. 

That game is not all that he’s interested in as Karen discovers the unintended consequences of his dalliances.  This puts a permanent rift in their marriage and she turns to Denys for love.  

The winner of seven Academy Awards, best picture, director, art direction, cinematography, adapted screenplay, score, and sound, and based on the book by Isak Dinesen (the pseudonym of Karen Blixen) is finally given the high definition treatment.  Director Sydney Pollack tries his hand and the epic film and certainly scored according to the Academy tally above. 

The views of Africa are sweeping and beautiful, made even better in high definition, but it is the personal story and acting that ultimately lifts the picture.  Meryl Streep is excellent as the strong willed Lady Blixen.  She would be nominated as best actress but would not win (to date she’s the actor with the most nominations). 

Also compelling is Robert Redford as the “great white hunter” who is much different than the novel’s conception.  The novel has Denys being an Englishman, but heck it’s Robert Redford.  He wanted to do the accent but Pollack thought it would be too distracting for the audience, perhaps wisely so as it is we’re drawn into their romance and we might focus too much on the accent if he affected it. 

The one who gets lost in the mix maybe is Klaus Maria Brandauer, who also got an Oscar nomination for supporting actor.  He could’ve played the convenient husband as a monster and we would’ve understood Denys and Karen’s romance better. 

However, he plays him as a somewhat likeable fellow that really isn’t terrible to Karen, but his philandering ways come back to haunt her in a horrible way.  It’s a sweeping romance made even better when played out against the fantastic African backdrop.  

Out of Africa is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (1.85:1).  Special features are presented in standard definition and include a commentary from late director Sydney Pollack, the 72 minute “Song of Africa” about the real Blixen and the film, 15 minutes of deleted scenes, and the 2 minute trailer.  One side of the disc is the Blu-ray (remember to put it in with the blue band on the disc up) and the other side is a DVD copy.  

Out of Africa is both romantic and a travelogue of Africa.  The three main players excel in their acting ability and the Blu-ray offers some smashing views (with some grain here and there).  It’s a journey well taken.  

Visit the DVD database for more information.