On the 22nd day of my 34 Days of Oscar, I saw the movie "Out of Africa". This film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, winning 7 of them. It won for Best Picture, Best Director (Sydney Pollack), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Art Direction and Best Sound. It was also nominated for Best Actress (Meryl Streep), Best Supporting Actor (Klaus Maria Brandauer), Best Costume Design and Best Film Editing.The Academy Award for Best Director has been around as long as the Academy Awards have been given out. At the 1st Academy Awards, there were 2 different directing awards: Dramatic Direction and Comedy Direction. The Award for Comedy Direction was eliminated the following year and the award has favored dramatic movies ever since. The award for Best Director has always been closely linked with Best Picture. Of the 83 movies that have won Best Picture, 62 have also won Best Director as well. At the first 2 Academy Awards, the Best Director category had a little confusion to it. The first few years, 1928/1929 and in 1930 an actor or cinematographer could be nominated and win for multiple films, but a director could only win for 1 film. At the 2nd Academy Awards in 1930, Frank Lloyd was officially nominated one time for 3 different films but when he won the award, it was only for one movie "The Divine Lady". 
This was changed for the 1931 awards and going forward, a director could only be nominated for a single film.
This was changed for the 1931 awards and going forward, a director could only be nominated for a single film. "Out of Africa" is the story of Danish author Karen Blixen's time living in Africa. Karen (Meryl Streep) moved there to enter a marriage of convenience with her friend Bror (Klaus Maria Brandauer) and start up a farm there. While originally a marriage of convenience, Karen begins to develop feelings for Bror, but finds him unfaithful. While in Africa, Karen develops friendships with the locals including big-game hunter Denys Hatton (Robert Redford). Karen's marriage to Bror falls apart after she contacts syphilis from him after his many affairs and she asks him to move out. Karen begins to spend more time & become better friends with Denys, eventually falling in 
love with him. They have a love affair and he eventually moves in, but his desire to be free like the animals he hunts clashes with Karen's desire to keep everything she loves within arms distance.
I thought "Out of Africa" was a well made, good looking movie. The scenes of Africa made me want to go there right away. This movie was really a love letter to the people and area of Africa. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture and won because of how beautiful it was and the attention to detail it paid to the time period it was set in. I read somewhere that they spent a
year building the sets in the same area as the original Karen lived in and it probably won Best Art Direction for that alone. Meryl Streep was nominated for Best Actress for role as Karen, but I found her accent hard to understand at times and inconsistent. Her acting was great though and she really carried this movie well. I have no idea why Klaus Maria Brandauer was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. He had no real great acting scenes and his performance was mostly forgettable. The Award winning score for "Out of Africa" by John Barry is considered one of the most iconic soundtracks and is listed at #15 in AFI's top 25 scores. At a running time of 2 hours and 41 minutes, I was shocked to see this 
was nominated for Best Editing - but not surprised to see that it didn't win.
love with him. They have a love affair and he eventually moves in, but his desire to be free like the animals he hunts clashes with Karen's desire to keep everything she loves within arms distance.I thought "Out of Africa" was a well made, good looking movie. The scenes of Africa made me want to go there right away. This movie was really a love letter to the people and area of Africa. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture and won because of how beautiful it was and the attention to detail it paid to the time period it was set in. I read somewhere that they spent a
year building the sets in the same area as the original Karen lived in and it probably won Best Art Direction for that alone. Meryl Streep was nominated for Best Actress for role as Karen, but I found her accent hard to understand at times and inconsistent. Her acting was great though and she really carried this movie well. I have no idea why Klaus Maria Brandauer was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. He had no real great acting scenes and his performance was mostly forgettable. The Award winning score for "Out of Africa" by John Barry is considered one of the most iconic soundtracks and is listed at #15 in AFI's top 25 scores. At a running time of 2 hours and 41 minutes, I was shocked to see this 
was nominated for Best Editing - but not surprised to see that it didn't win.Overall, I give "Out of Africa" 3 out of 5 stars. It was about 40 minutes too long and at times it was difficult to understand what Streep's character was saying. It did, however, have some absolutely beautiful scenery shots and I can certainly understand why it won award for Director and Cinematography. If you are a big Streep or Redford fan or if you are interested in checking out big time Best Picture winners, I absolutely would recommend seeing this film. Although it runs a little too long, it paints a beautiful picture of Africa and makes me want to sign up for a safari today.
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