Born Free

Unrated

6/22/19661h 35m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ From The Pages Of The Beloved Best Seller... A Motion Picture To Delight All The World! ~

Overview:

At a national park in Kenya, English game warden George Adamson and his wife, Joy, care for three orphaned lion cubs. After the two larger lions are shipped off to a zoo in the Netherlands, the smallest of the three, Elsa, stays with the couple. When Elsa is blamed for causing an elephant stampede in the nearby village, head warden John Kendall demands the young lion either be trained to survive in the wilds of the Serengeti or be sent to a zoo.

Director:

James Hill

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

parent child relationship
freedom
lion
animal attack
rifle
game warden
lioness
lion cub
animal rights
warthog
wildlife
based on memoir or autobiography
animals
nature

Cast

Virginia McKenna

~ as ~

Joy Adamson

Bill Travers

~ as ~

George Adamson

Geoffrey Keen

~ as ~

Kendall

Peter Lukoye

~ as ~

Nuru

Omar Chambati

~ as ~

Makkede

Bill Godden

~ as ~

Sam

Robert S. Young

~ as ~

James

Bryan Epsom

~ as ~

Baker

Geoffrey Best

~ as ~

Watson

Robert Cheetham

~ as ~

Ken

View full cast & crew

Reviews (2)

John Chard
Written 9 year(s) ago
8
The wonders of Elsa.

Born Free is based on George and Joy Adamson and their raising of a lioness during their time living at a game reserve in Kenya. It's directed by James Hill, adapted to screenplay by Lester Cole, and stars Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as the Adamsons. Music is by John Barry and cinematography by Kenneth Talbot.

It's a classic case of a family film keeping everything simple for maximum results. A big hit upon release, as was the book written by Joy Adamson, the beautiful landscapes and emotionally swirling musical score marry up perfectly with the story being told. There's some liberties taken with the facts, both with humans and lions, but we aren't in to this pic for any sort of misery or grimy drama. We want, and get, feel good, a time for animal lovers to rejoice and wipe that fly from the eye. 8/10
Reno
Written 8 year(s) ago
8

We want them to be an angel, but being wild is what defines them.

I thought I dreamt about these lions when I was a kid, but when I came to know about this film that made me realise I actually saw this film when I was a very young to remember anything. It was a few images remained in memory, that's how I tracked it. So while watching this now brought back those scary moments. Yep, I was scared like hell, like the character Kendall from it was. Childhood is like a dream, until we re-encounter those things we held, met, seen, which wakes up our memory after a long time and becoming adults.

I really enjoyed watching it, because I love animals. But what I did not like was harming the animals. I don't think animals were harmed while making this film, and they even smartly censored story/scene that consists harming/killing them. Actually the film was inspired by the real story, in that, the animals were killed and that is what this film depicted, yet disappoints from that perspective. The time has changed, now it is different, we learnt our lesson, so I hope we focus on protecting this magnificent animal to be born free and to be wild.

The Africa was very beautifully portrayed. One of the best films on the wild animal theme I've ever seen. It was a documentary style narration with a little story from the human couple. Hats off to the real Joy and George Adamson. It won a couple of Oscars in the category of music and song. But I think it deserved more than that. I can't believe it is rated PG, but I scared watching it as a kid and I believe the young children with the awareness of the true nature of the lions would do the same. But still highly recommended for all ages. We have now 'Duma', 'Two Brothers' and many more, but this film is something special and you will know it after a watch.

8/10