A Good Man in Africa
| A Good Man in Africa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Bruce Beresford |
| Produced by |
John Fiedler Mark Tarlov Bruce Beresford |
| Screenplay by | William Boyd |
| Based on |
A Good Man in Africa by William Boyd |
| Starring | |
| Music by | John Du Prez |
| Edited by | Jim Clark |
Production company | |
| Distributed by |
Gramercy Pictures (US) UIP (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 min |
| Country |
United States United Kingdom South Africa |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million |
| Box office | $2,308,390 |
A Good Man in Africa is a 1994 film, based on William Boyd's 1981 novel A Good Man in Africa and directed by Bruce Beresford.[1][2]
Bruce Beresford did not remember the film fondly:
God, that was horrible. That was the worst film experience I ever had. It was cast wrong, the crew was all strange. We were filming in the wrong place. We filmed in South Africa, it was set in West Africa. Which is like shooting in Alaska when it’s set in New Orleans. And I realized that although the novel that it’s based on is terribly funny, it was very anecdotal. It had no narrative. I think on about the second day I realized it was never going to work, because the scenes don’t link. I thought, “I’m sunk! I’m never gonna get out.”[3]
Plot
Morgan Leafy (Colin Friels) is a British diplomat living in Kinjanja, an African nation recently freed from British rule. Arthur Fanshawe (John Lithgow), a new diplomat eager to leave Africa, learns that Kinjanja sits on top of a huge oil reserve. Unfortunately, Morgan is too preoccupied with alcohol and women to know what to do with the oil. To make matters worse, a woman is struck by lightning on the British compound, creating a tense political situation with the local government.
Cast
- Colin Friels as Morgan Leafy
- Sean Connery as Dr. Alex Murray
- John Lithgow as Arthur Fanshawe
- Diana Rigg as Chloe Fanshawe
- Louis Gossett, Jr. as Prof. Sam Adekunle
- Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as Celia Adekunle
- Sarah-Jane Fenton as Priscilla Fanshawe
- Simon Laverie as Dr. Alex Murray's Son
- Maynard Eziashi[4] as Friday, Leafy's Houseman
Reception
The movie received mixed to poor reviews.[5][6][7]
DVD release
Focus Features released an Amazon.com exclusive DVD of the film on January 11, 2010.
References
- ↑ Kraft, Scott (1993-05-30). "MOVIES : South Africa, Take 2 : What happens when Bruce Beresford brings 'A Good Man in Africa' to the country as the first post-cultural embargo film". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-10.
- ↑ Clark, John (1994-09-18). "PAGE TO SCREEN : Boyd's Good Man". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
- ↑ "Driving Miss Daisy Director Bruce Beresford on Aussie Cinema, Powerless Characters, and His Worst Film Experience" 23 Sept 2015
- ↑ Onikoyi, Ayo (2012-01-22). "Nollywood is doing fabulously well, says Nigerian Hollywood star". Vanguard. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ↑ "A Good Man in Africa". Chicago Sun Times. 1994-09-09. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ↑ "A Good Man in Africa". Washington Post. 1994-09-09. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ↑ Maslin, Janet (1994-09-09). "FILM REVIEW; Of Colonials in Africa And Insults That Insult". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-03.
External links
- A Good Man in Africa on IMDb
- A Good Man in Africa at Box Office Mojo
- A Good Man in Africa at Rotten Tomatoes