Cry Freedom

PG

Released Nov 6, 1987

2 hr. 36 min.

History

Drama

Biography

List

74%

27 Reviews

Tomatometer

87%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Set in apartheid-torn South Africa. Donald Woods is the editor of the East London Daily Express and Steve Biko is a young black leader struggling to improve life in the townships. The two form an unlikely friendship but when Biko is taken into police custody and then murdered, Woods is placed under house arrest. Fearing for his family's safety, he decides to smuggle them over the border.

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dave s

Cry Freedom tells the story of newspaper editor Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) and his relationship with activist Stephen Biko (Denzel Washington) at the height of apartheid in 1970s South Africa. The first half of the film is an insightful and powerful examination of the horrific policies implemented by South Africa's government and Biko's attempts to bring justice and equality to the victims of the racist laws. However, the second half of the film pivots unexpectedly into a Sound of Music-like story, minus the annoying songs, where Woods and his family try to escape from South Africa. The film is worth watching for the first half and if getting two movies for the price of one sounds like a bargain, feel free to slog through the second half.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An inspiring movie. Denzel Washington does a great job portraying Steve Biko.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Spoilers: Richard Attenborough explores the story of Steve Biko, a South African activist who fought against apartheid and a name I was embarrassingly unfamiliar with, and his relationship with editor Donald Woods, who also wrote the book this film was based on. Attenborough presents his dual biopic on a pretty grand scale and, aided by two solid performances from Washington and Kline, is definitely a story that resonates well today. It does end up running way too long for me, concentrating on the plight of Woods in the final third, turning what for me was an inspiring story of a young man fighting for equality against the Goliath sized apparatus put in place by his country to stop him, into an escape thriller that had me immediately conjuring images of the Von Trapp family. It almost felt like there were two movies here and unfortunately trying to end the film with Woods' heroics, aside from stretching it to almost 160 minutes, muddles and even lessens the important themes and messages taken from the first two hours. It is even evident Attenborough may have realized this by throwing in that final scene depicting the massacre at Soweto, and while surely emotionally stirring, it just felt out of place and a way of making sure the audience didn't forget about the real victims after watching the would be consultants of this film heroically escape to a much better life abroad. Overall a more than worthwhile film as I definitely gained some knowledge and perspective but unfortunately felt potential for this to be REALLY good so was disappointed when it started to drag and change tones late.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

steve d

Washington is so good it hurts the film. When he is not on screen everything else feels anticlimactic.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

ashley h

Cry Freedom is an excellent film. It is about South African journalist Donald Woods who is forced to flee the country after attempting to investigate the death in custody of his friend, the black activist Steve Biko. Kevin Kline and Denzel Washington give amazing performances. The screenplay is well written. Richard Attenborough did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the drama. Cry Freedom is a must see.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

PEter R

The best movie that DW has been in, that no one has ever heard of.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/17/20

Full Review

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Richard Attenborough

Director

Kevin Kline

Donald Woods

Denzel Washington

Steve Biko

Penelope Wilton

Wendy Woods

Kevin R. McNally

Ken

John Thaw

Kruger

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Cry Freedom: Official Clip - Detained, Denied and Banned

2:45

Cry Freedom: Official Clip - Steve Biko's Day in Court

4:15

Cry Freedom: Official Clip - Soccer Game Speech

2:07

Cry Freedom: Official Clip - Escaping South Africa

3:29

Cry Freedom: Official Clip - The Poisoned T-Shirts

1:58

Cry Freedom: Official Clip - Beaten to Death by the Cops

3:34

Cry Freedom: Official Clip - Flying out of South Africa

3:31

Cry Freedom: Official Clip - Biko's Funeral

3:19

Cry Freedom: Official Clip - We Want to Live as Africans

3:01

Cry Freedom: Official Clip - The Soweto Youth Uprising

2:42

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Kurt Jacobsen

Chicago Reader

Nonetheless, this more than slightly askew epic merits a look, and one hopes that other films, which match some of the superb plays and novels by South African authors, will be encouraged by Cry Freedom’s box office.

Rated: 2/4

May 10, 2022

Full Review

Bob Thomas

Associated Press

Attenborough maintains firm control of the narrative, and Cry Freedom is a triumph of dedication.

Rated: 4/4

Jul 17, 2019

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Washington does a remarkable job of transforming himself into the articulte and mesmerizing black nationalist leader, whose refusal to keep silent led to his death in police custody and a subsequent coverup.

Jun 19, 2008

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Becomes a type of escape melodrama in the vain of a very lazy Hitchcock. [Full review in Spanish]

Jun 28, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

For a superior picture about the horrors of apartheid, see 1989's A Dry White Season instead.

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 16, 2020

Full Review

Ángel Fernández-Santos

El Pais (Spain)

[Richard] Attenborough manages to skillfully balance entertainment with didacticism. [Full Review in Spanish]

Apr 17, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Set in apartheid-torn South Africa. Donald Woods is the editor of the East London Daily Express and Steve Biko is a young black leader struggling to improve life in the townships. The two form an unlikely friendship but when Biko is taken into police custody and then murdered, Woods is placed under house arrest. Fearing for his family's safety, he decides to smuggle them over the border.

Director: Richard Attenborough
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal/Universal Int
Rating: PG
Genre: History, Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 6, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 11, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.9M
Sound Mix: Surround

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