Buena Vista Home Video CRY, The Beloved Country

I scheduled this book as part of my son's homeschooling literature course and I hadn't read it before so I decided to read it with him. The book is excellent, one of the best of the best.And throughout the movie, I just kept thinking about how they were sticking so closely to the book. Until the end. Until they took out the most hopeful part of the book! I was so disappointed in the ending, not because it was bad, but because they left out what I thought was the biggest point of the book.I recommend reading the book first, or even better, listen to the audiobook while reading along. The narration by Maggie Soboil is excellent...you get the right pronunciations with the rich African accent. And you will get see the part of the book that I believe the author intended as his point, and what makes this great literature, Jarvis sending a farming teacher to bring hope back to the Africans, hope of having success with their own farms, which would prevent so many from leaving for the big city where there is nothing for them except working for white people while staying poor just because of how "things were done".

A poor black Anglican priest in South Africa during the time of apartheid must come to grips with the fact that his son has, during the course of committing a robbery, murdered a white man. Moreover the murdered white man had grown up on a wealthy plantation neighboring the black priest's church. The son of prejudiced white parents, the murdered white man had grown to become an outstanding, well recognized spokesman against apartheid and for equality among the races in South Africa. When the murdered man's father, ignorant of his son's work, reads it, he embraces the concepts. Ultimately the black priest and the white landowner meet one another, although both had been much aware of the other's existence. The humble priest must reveal that it was his son who took away the life of the other man's son. The scene never fails to create streams of tears to flow down my face. This newer version of Alan Paton's novel is touchingly portrayed by two outstanding actors - Richard Harris and James Earl Jones. Having seen the earlier version of "Cry, the Beloved Country," I thought I would not enjoy this rendition because the first one had been prepared with a modest simplicity which such a movie deserves in order to bring the theme to the forefront. I feared that Harris, with his flare for the dramatic, and Jones, with his magnificent voice, would draw too much attention to themselves. But both men are masterful actors and their performances only added to the pathos of the story, which subtly says there is hope for people.

Great performance by James Earl Jones. I bought the movie to compare with the book for extra credit in my college english class. While the book has more details and character development, I did enjoy the movie just as much. I would recommend this movie to anyone wanting a good history lesson on the struggle of Africa.The way they speak is straight out of the book, so to help you I'll just say, Umfundisi is a priest. Umzana is a word of respect like Sir. Go well, and stay well are their way of saying have a good day, or see you later.The distance Stephen Kumalo travels to Johannesburg and surrounding towns takes DAYS. It's not a 2 hr. train ride. This man lamented over finding his son.The end of the movie is not accurate with the book so much. It should have ended at DAWN, not the middle of the day as portrayed in the movie, but thats ok. I still liked it.

'Cry the Beloved Country' :This movie moved me to tears. Set just after the war when whites and blacks lived in reasonable harmony. During that time I seldom questioned he fact that black people were living humbly and in poverty while we whites enjoyed a high standard of living, using them as cheap labour. It was the correct order of things that coloured people knew their place. They were to be treated with Christian kindness and provided with a basic education and health care. Of course in separate institutions from ours.The film precedes the change when the Afrikaner Nationalist government gained power. They were filled with hate. They were the descendants of the Boers and kept reminding people how they had suffered under the Black tribes (eight 'Kaffir' Wars) and by the 'English' (Boer War). They succeeded in removing the scales from my eyes. I became aware of the plight of black people and horrified by the brutality towards them.I left my beloved country in despair, never to live there again. I could not have envisaged a great man would come along and despite 18 years of imprisonment, be determined to bring back democracy without bloodshed. This film is dedicated to him - Nelson Mandela.

I lived in South Africa from 1970 to 1974. I read this book while there and when I went back this February for a holiday, I took that same copy with me and read it while there. So I watched this film with great interest and some hope that it would be faithful to the book. I wanted the 1951 version since it was made just 3 years after the formal and legal introduction of apartheid. As a film it suffers from patchy acting, poor cutting from scene to scene, and dodgy sound. Is it true to the book? Yes of course it starts and finishes as does the book; but significant scenes are omitted. Scenes that are needed to explain the narrative and the lives of the characters. Am I glad I saw it with all its imperfections? Yes I am. The lack of a modern day gloss, and knowing when it was made, makes it real to me. And in addition, knowing that Canada Lee and Sidney Poitier had to be smuggled in under false pretences, adds a special piquancy.

Powerful film

As expected.

The case was brokenn, but the DVD is great, great movie

Good CD but found the film rather boring and dated.