Der Schlächter Idi Amin

As a child, I lived in Kenya and remember the time when my father went to Kampala for business. But then Milton Obote was overthrown and Idi Amin came into power. A few months later, our business in Kampala had to be shut down and soon after that, Amin ordered all Indians to leave Uganda. Some came across the border into Kenya but most went to England and remained there. It was only later that the news began to come out of the Uganda on how brutal as well as cruel the Ugandan dictator really was.

In the early 1970's Idi Amin overthrew President Milton Obote. The coup was supported by many but soon they this turned ugly and Amin ordered the Indians to leave Uganda. He also started to deal with anyone who opposed him, or, said anything against him. His critics, as well as his opponents are put in prisons and are tortured and killed. At the same time he raped women and did not care for diplomacy - even on International level. At one point he orders the British Ambassdor to kneel before him and at the same time, he calls himself "The King of Scotland."

Directed by Sharad Patel, The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin, is filmed in Kenya and has multi cast, which includes the most well known Kenyan actor, who was also a newscaster on what was then "Voice of Kenya," Norbert Okare as the judge that Amin orders to be killed. Jospeh Olita has done an excellent job as "Idi Amin." If at all possible, for those who think that they can watch such a "bloody" (this is not used in swearing sense at all but in real terms of the word) film. And those who would like to know what it was like under Idi Amin, then this is a film that is worth while to watch.

As a matter of interest and as the movie was filmed in Kenya, the scene that depicts Indians leaving their businesses, homes, shops, etc, was filmed with real Indians and not actors in the capital, Naiorbi, in the area of "River Road," which at the time did consist of shops owned by Indians. A lot of the Indians were actually invited to participate in that scene. The swimming pool scene was filmed at the "Nairobi Gymnkhana," which was known as "Patel Club" as well.

I watched this film a while ago now, and to me it plays more like an 80's action film than a genuine historical account of what went on during Amin's reign in Uganda. It's the way the film was paced, that leads a viewer to this impression. The film focuses only on Amin's reign in Uganda and not his early life, or how he came to be one of the worst dictators in history.

However, I will say this, Joseph Olita, the actor who is playing Amin is very, very believable as the dictator. He steals every scene he is in, because of his remarkable physical resemblance to Amin. The scene where he orders the group of school children to observe the aftermath of the execution of one of his wives is a prime example of the genuine air of menace than Olita manages to convey.

The film also captures much of the madness that was Amin. Whether he is awarding his young son Uganda's highest military Honor's, or consulting a witch doctor to determine who is plotting against him and then ordering the massacre of several tribes based on such advice is hard to fathom happening in the real world; but of course all available evidence said it did.

So in summary, I guess this film is best enjoyed as an account of some of the horrors that took place in Uganda during Amin's reign. It doesn't provide any real insight in Amin, but that's not necessary a bad thing. Any insights into why Amin did what he did must be inferred because of the craziness of this man, and this film does a fairly good job of capturing some of that craziness.

The mere fact that there are enough exploitation films based on Idi Amin to merit their own genre in a video store, Idi Aminxploitation is truly disturbing.

I don't just mean films about Idi Amin, I mean outright exploitations films which use the Ugandan dictator to include as much sex and violence as possible.

This one's unique by taking the bold move casting real Africans actors to play Africans rather than American Mulattos with fake accents. The authentic African accents are a double edged sword. While it does make us feel like this really is Africa but their accents are so strong it can be difficult to understand what they're saying. And now that I think of it they shouldn't even be speaking English at all! Oh well, still better than those American Mulattos.

Idi Amin is right up there with Caligula as not being too important to history itself but extremely memorably simply for his insanity and debauchery.

There's never a dull moment in this film. It's fast paced and Amin's insanity provides non stop entertainment.

The only major problem is that if you don't actually know the history of Idi Amin you'll be lost. The film doesn't actually explain the context for many scenes. For example, the Israeli hostages and the raid at Entebbe are never explained.

The ending is also a major let down. It just ends out of nowhere! There's no climax, no resolution, it's just ends by saying the film is devoted to Amin's victims. Yeah right! They made an exploitation film to honor the dead?

It's certainly worth a watch and stands out as far better than any of the other Idi Aminxploitation films.

This movie is disturbing, grisly, and unpleasant - much like the reign of Idi Amin that it depicts. The film is quite graphic in its violence, and while this will make it hard to watch for some it is necessary to tell the true story of Amin. Olita plays Amin to the hilt, portraying him as a pompous killer who has no regard for human life or the fate of Uganda. We follow how Amin angers one foreign power after another, causing most Western powers to abandon Uganda; one memorable scene in the movie shows when the Soviets, Amin's last ally, pack up to leave the country and Amin rushes to the airport to try to stop them. Throughout the film he also murders anyone who opposes him, or even offends him in the slightest way. This movie really lays Amin and his rule bare; you see what a true despot was and Olita portrays his as having absolutely no redeeming qualities. Not easy to watch, but a fascinating story of a bizarre politician.

The whole warts story of Idi Amin from the taking of power to his subsequent flight to freedom in Saudi Arabia after Tanzania invaded to put an end to his craziness. This is a film that dwells with Amin's lurid and nasty side as we get little snapshots of all of the terrible tings that he did. Not particularly graphic, much of the nastiness is implied rather than shown. There is no good here only the insane man himself.

This film was a Times Square cinema staple for years prior to the "Disnification" of the area, but other than that this film has been largely unseen for the past 25 years (an early home video release was never repeated and it appears no one has officially released it on DVD). Recently one of the cable channels ran it much to my shock and amusement, since I was finally able to see the film for myself.

As an exploitation film this film is dynamite. Its got sex and violence and more violence and bad behavior and heads in a freezer and everything you could want for a lurid time at the movies. There is a reason this played for years on 42nd Street, namely its feeds into a persons basic need for low brow entertainment while allowing us to be feel we're learning something since its based on real events.

Unfortunately after a while you realize that a little bit goes a long way. With Amin as the focus of the film you never really get any rest from the ever escalating insanity. Its just Amin doing crazy stuff and while thats fun for the first half of the movie, it becomes a bit of a drag for the second. Its a problem that the film shares with Barbet Schroeder's film Idi Amin Dada which is a documentary of Amin in his own words. There is only so much one can take of a crazy man before one has to call it quits.

Still its worth seeing if your tastes tend to be exploitive, and since this is legendary and classic film of that ilk its a must see. Those with out the bug for exploitation films may want to tune into see what the fuss is about, but they'll probably find themselves tuning out after awhile.

5 out of 10 for the half before it repeats itself.