Personal
Richard Attenborough, born on August 29, 1923 in Cambridge,
was a British actor, director and business man.
He is the former President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
As a film director and producer, he won two Academy Awards
for Gandhi in 1983. He has also won four BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globe
Awards. As an actor he is perhaps best known for his roles in Brighton Rock,
The Great Escape, 10 Rillington Place, Miracle on 34th Street and Jurassic
Park.
He is the elder brother of naturalist and broadcaster David
Attenborough and John Attenborough, who was executive at Alfa Romeo before his
death in 2012., one of three brothers including the BBC naturalist and
presenter David Attenborough.
Our main focus Cry
Freedom (US/UK, 1987), one of the few serious films made in the 1980's
attacking apartheid in South Africa. Although the film was criticized for being
too partial a view of the South African activist Steve Biko, and for giving too
great an emphasis to the role played by the white journalist Donald Woods (on
whose book the film is based), Attenborough's sincerity shines through. As so
often with his films, Cry Freedom is characterized by very strong performances
and concludes with a complicated stylistic flourish, in which the escape of the
Woods family is inter-cut with flashbacks to a massacre of young black
demonstrators and to scenes between Woods and Biko.
CRY FREEDOM
Besides the cast, the scenery, location, and the depiction of actual events further the historical accuracy that Attenborough is trying to convey. Adding to the authenticity of the film is the fact that it is directed principally in The Republic of Zimbabwe. This gives the viewer a real feel for the African continent even though it is not filmed in South Africa. Also, his choice of scenery accurately depicts the life of the black South Africans. The viewer is shown the slums they lived in, the African schools, their clothing, the vehicles they drove, etc. Furthermore, while the film is in motion, there are captions at the bottom of the screen explaining events with giving exact dates and statistics. Even from the beginning, there is a caption that states that all facts stated in the film are true. There is a detailed event in the film when T-shirts soaked in an acid called ninhydrin, are given to Woods’ family from the South African government. The government is trying to show their disrespect for Donald Woods. As it also happened in real life, Donald Woods’ youngest daughter is burned by the acid. Even little details such as this example help to picture the exact experiences that are associated with the South African government during apartheid. Overall, there are many contributions to making this a decently accurate film and gives the viewer a real sense of the time period it reflects. He also makes a good choice of characters to portray Biko and Woods.
major critism that can be said about the film is that it does not focus on the aspects of Steve Biko’s life; rather it focuses on the life of Donald Woods. Cry Freedom describes how Woods meets Biko, how he witnesses the life of the black South Africans, and how Woods escapes South Africa after being banned by the government. Although the movie took up the cause of apartheid, it put too much emphasis on Donald Woods’ accomplishments and his strife for racial equality, whereas the real hero of the film is Steve Biko. Roger Ebert, a famous reviewer says he “[knows] when there is something wrong with the premise of the film when [he] [sees] that the actress who plays the editor’s wife is billed above the actor who plays the black leader.” This film promises to be honest of the happenings in South Africa, but then there are still ways in which white superiority is shown. Maybe someday there will be a film that shows true racial equality, putting the more important black hero on top of the less important white actor. Overall, the film is historically accurate when it comes down to the subject of apartheid, however the theme could be better expressed if the film centered on the life of Steve Biko rather than Donald Woods.
In conclusion, Attenborough created a great portrayal of the theme of apartheid in South Africa as it is during the time period in the film Cry Freedom. This is accomplished by the realism in choice of cast, scenery, location, and illustrations of actual events. Another main concept that Attenborough achieves is depicting Steve Biko through the life of Donald Woods as a hero, to gain human rights for each and every South African. This one day is rewarded and Steve Biko would be a proud man to witness his goals become a reality. Despite some minor critism to the film, the major themes that the film reflects are still clearly shown. Although Steve Biko never lives to see the day when segregation in South Africa ends, he will always be remembered for the will and fight he had in making South Africa an equal, non-violent nation.
CRY FREEDOM
Besides the cast, the scenery, location, and the depiction of actual events further the historical accuracy that Attenborough is trying to convey. Adding to the authenticity of the film is the fact that it is directed principally in The Republic of Zimbabwe. This gives the viewer a real feel for the African continent even though it is not filmed in South Africa. Also, his choice of scenery accurately depicts the life of the black South Africans. The viewer is shown the slums they lived in, the African schools, their clothing, the vehicles they drove, etc. Furthermore, while the film is in motion, there are captions at the bottom of the screen explaining events with giving exact dates and statistics. Even from the beginning, there is a caption that states that all facts stated in the film are true. There is a detailed event in the film when T-shirts soaked in an acid called ninhydrin, are given to Woods’ family from the South African government. The government is trying to show their disrespect for Donald Woods. As it also happened in real life, Donald Woods’ youngest daughter is burned by the acid. Even little details such as this example help to picture the exact experiences that are associated with the South African government during apartheid. Overall, there are many contributions to making this a decently accurate film and gives the viewer a real sense of the time period it reflects. He also makes a good choice of characters to portray Biko and Woods.
major critism that can be said about the film is that it does not focus on the aspects of Steve Biko’s life; rather it focuses on the life of Donald Woods. Cry Freedom describes how Woods meets Biko, how he witnesses the life of the black South Africans, and how Woods escapes South Africa after being banned by the government. Although the movie took up the cause of apartheid, it put too much emphasis on Donald Woods’ accomplishments and his strife for racial equality, whereas the real hero of the film is Steve Biko. Roger Ebert, a famous reviewer says he “[knows] when there is something wrong with the premise of the film when [he] [sees] that the actress who plays the editor’s wife is billed above the actor who plays the black leader.” This film promises to be honest of the happenings in South Africa, but then there are still ways in which white superiority is shown. Maybe someday there will be a film that shows true racial equality, putting the more important black hero on top of the less important white actor. Overall, the film is historically accurate when it comes down to the subject of apartheid, however the theme could be better expressed if the film centered on the life of Steve Biko rather than Donald Woods.
In conclusion, Attenborough created a great portrayal of the theme of apartheid in South Africa as it is during the time period in the film Cry Freedom. This is accomplished by the realism in choice of cast, scenery, location, and illustrations of actual events. Another main concept that Attenborough achieves is depicting Steve Biko through the life of Donald Woods as a hero, to gain human rights for each and every South African. This one day is rewarded and Steve Biko would be a proud man to witness his goals become a reality. Despite some minor critism to the film, the major themes that the film reflects are still clearly shown. Although Steve Biko never lives to see the day when segregation in South Africa ends, he will always be remembered for the will and fight he had in making South Africa an equal, non-violent nation.
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