Out of Africa

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Out of Africa

PG

1985

2h 40m

Romance

Biography

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

90 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Initially set on being a dairy farmer, the aristocratic Karen Blixen travels to Africa to join her husband, Bror, who instead spends their money on a coffee plantation. After discovering Bror is unfaithful, Karen develops feelings for hunter Denys, but realizes he prefers a simplistic lifestyle compared to her upper class background. The two continue on until a series of events force Karen to choose between her love and personal growth.

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Critics Consensus

Though lensed with stunning cinematography and featuring a pair of winning performances from Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, Out of Africa suffers from excessive length and glacial pacing.

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Mike McGrady

Newsday

05/25/2023

3.5/4

Once again, Streep adds a third dimension to a two-dimensional medium; once again she brings humanity and intelligence to a remarkable portrait that must be added to what has become a gallery of such portraits.

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Rick Lyman

Philadelphia Inquirer

01/13/2021

4/4

Sydney Pollack's glorious and stirring Out of Africa is a big-screen epic in the very best sense.

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David Denby

New York Magazine/Vulture

01/13/2021

The beauty of Out of Africa, From the very opening shots, is rhapsodic and illustrative rather than dramatic. This large-scale adaptation of Isak Dinesen's marvelous memoir never catches fire.

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Oct 13

3/4

It’s no coincidence that the movie came out two years after clothing retailer The Gap bought Banana Republic...

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

02/11/2025

5/10

Unfortunately, its memoir story is enormously dull and not even Meryl Streep's delicate performance can prevent the love affair from plummeting into predictable plains. [Full review in Spanish]

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Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

06/22/2024

2.5/5

A disjointed, lumpen snoozer that improves in its final half but completely whiffs the ending. It's also one of Meryl Streep's least interesting and most perfunctorily Oscar-nominated performances.

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Jayzon

Feb 13

It was good but Redford’s character was too shallow. Will rewatch on 4k

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Robert P

@Superbad 19h

It's a shame that this movie beat out The Color Purple for an Academy Award. This movie was boring and slow, I frankly could not finish it! Shame Academy Awards!

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Nancy T

@NancyT80 Aug 19

One of the most beautiful epic films ever. The scenery is magnificent and the music is amazing and unforgettable. The acting is superb!! I love this film!!

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Mary Jo P

@MJP73 Jul 15

I watched it again last night for first time in over 30 yrs. It was like seeing it for the first time. It is glorious, the photography is stunning. The acting is sublime. Meryl Streep a force of nature, Redford perfect. So sexy. This is what movies today are missing. "I had a farm in Africa"

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Romas M

@Romas Apr 30

Greetings from Lithuania. "Out of Africa" (1985) is one of those movies that can be categorised under the tag line "They sure don't make movies like this no more". As of 2026 I watched this movie few times and last time was on a beautiful 4K UHD disk that I bought which was released in 2025. This is still a great movie in my opinion, that has great actors Meryl Streep and Robert Redford doing great work here. Klaus Maria Brandauer has also a very good performance here. But the star of this movie is location and the way it is captured. Landscapes look gorgeous to say the least. And this movie is also about love - but it is not to sweet and it features some great dialogs and ideas about belonging to another person. Overall, "Out of Africa" is like a time capsule movie that shows the time that is long past, was created by people who are mostly gone. It is a film that definitely wort watching and rewatching as this is a great cinema.

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Christian K

@ckacar Feb 4

A natural and scenic look at the beautiful vistas and scenery of Africa. All while white people take over and the indigenous people are all cool with it and love them.

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Sydney Pollack

Director

Meryl Streep

Karen Christence Dinesen Blixen-Finecke

Robert Redford

Denys George Finch Hatton

Klaus Maria Brandauer

Bror Blixen

Michael Kitchen

Berkeley Cole

Malick Bowens

Farah

Out of Africa: Official Clip - He Was Not Mine

1:53

Now Playing

Out of Africa: Official Clip - All Gone

2:55

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Out of Africa: Official Clip - A Glimpse of the World Through God's Eye

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Out of Africa: Official Clip - You Do Like to Change Things

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Out of Africa: Official Clip - Karen Takes the Shot

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Out of Africa: Official Clip - Lion Attack

2:38

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Out of Africa: Official Clip - Shampoo By the River

1:07

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Out of Africa: Official Clip - Karen's New Home

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Out of Africa: Official Clip - Karen Says Goodbye

2:47

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Out of Africa: Official Clip - Shoot Her!

1:29

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Synopsis

Initially set on being a dairy farmer, the aristocratic Karen Blixen travels to Africa to join her husband, Bror, who instead spends their money on a coffee plantation. After discovering Bror is unfaithful, Karen develops feelings for hunter Denys, but realizes he prefers a simplistic lifestyle compared to her upper class background. The two continue on until a series of events force Karen to choose between her love and personal growth.

Director: Sydney Pollack
Producer: Sydney Pollack
Screenwriter: Kurt Luedtke
Distributor: MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 18, 1985, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 19, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $83.1M
Runtime: 2h 40m
Sound Mix: Surround, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track

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