7/10
Sex, Lions and Videotape
9 March 2021
Another Disney Plus documentary, near the top alphabetically is "The African Lion" an addition to the "True Life Adventures" documentary series that was originally released in 1955, when animal documentaries were perhaps not as ubiquitous as they are now - indeed you can only imagine that for many this was their first ever look at African wildlife in their natural habitat.

Alfred and Elma Milotte spent three years filming the African Wildlife in three countries in Africa, Kenya, Tanganika (Now part of Tanzania) and Uganda. Their film focuses on African Lions and their behaviours but widens to show the rest of the ecosystem and how the animals interact with one another. Though the film is edited to provide a narrative of sorts, it's (thankfully) not the same cloying method as utilised with "A Tale of Two Critters".

Honestly, despite its age, I found myself sticking with "The African Lion" through to its conclusion and appreciating a lot of what I saw. It was edited to a really impressive orchestral score that I enjoyed and had some truly stunning visuals. The sky so full of locusts they reflect the sun and look like a flowing silver sea is something I hadn't seen before and that will stay with me.

Hidden cameras and High definition have, of course, surpassed this film in terms of showing the animal kingdom, but this was impressive for it's time and still retains some of that power today.
3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed