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The Roots of Heaven

Play trailer Poster for The Roots of Heaven Released Oct 15, 1958 2h 11m Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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A drunken British ex-major (Errol Flynn) and a prostitute (Juliette Gréco) join an African elephant crusader (Trevor Howard).
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The Roots of Heaven

Critics Reviews

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Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine Well worth seeing, but somewhat disappointing nonetheless, this is ace director John Huston's screen version of Romain Gary's famed novel. Oct 21, 2019 Full Review Sean Axmaker Parallax View ...a different kind of African wildlife adventure: the heroes are early eco-warriors, animals rights activists who take on both private elephant poachers and government indifference... Feb 19, 2012 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member If the loss of Earth's magnificent creatures pains you this old movie will make you cry but give you some hope Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Well before its time. A groups sets out to defend the African Elephant. Not a bad movie. And one of Errol Flynn's last films. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member A man is never alone when he fights for a good cause. In the heart of Africa, at a lonely bar, an idealist speaks about his feelings regarding saving the elephants and their precious species being the root of heaven. He convinces several patrons to join him on a crusade to save the animals. In the middle of his acts, he is joined by political and international media trying to get in on the action. They will encounter poachers and restless natives on this adventure to preserve one of the most famous endangered species in Africa. "It is not when men take off their uniforms that they are at their worse. It is when they put them on." John Huston, director of The African Queen, The Maltese Falcon, The Man Who Would be King, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Captain Blood, Prizzi's Honor, Key Largo, Beat the Devil, and The Asphalt Jungle, delivers Roots of Heaven. The storyline for this picture is fairly straightforward and fairly predictable for this genre. The acting is better than average and includes Errol Flynn, Juliette Greco, Trevor Howard, Orson Welles, and Herbert Lom. "This is my friend, Toto." I was very excited to see this movie when I discovered it was directed by John Huston and starred Errol Flynn and Orson Welles. Unfortunately, this is a fairly cliché "save the elephants" movie that doesn't have the creativity and drama I was hoping for. Overall, this movie is very average and I would recommend skipping it. "You can never teach a man anything by killing him." Grade: C Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member A Gigantic Message against Elephant Hunting and Colonianism with a great Errol Flynn in his Last Part and beautiful Pictures of the African Nature and the Elephants and other Animals. The Directions, Camera Work, Music and all other Actors are great too. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Probably the first eco-thriller with the Huston-typical attitude. Welles and Flynn are astonishing in their roles. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member J'avais beaucoup aime le livre et le film n'est pas en reste. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Roots of Heaven

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A drunken British ex-major (Errol Flynn) and a prostitute (Juliette Gréco) join an African elephant crusader (Trevor Howard).
Director
John Huston
Producer
Darryl F Zanuck
Screenwriter
Romain Gary, Patrick Leigh-Fermor
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Genre
Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 15, 1958, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 1, 2010
Runtime
2h 11m
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