I started compiling this list to select films for a course I used to teach on "Africa
in Literature" and got a bit carried away. I have gathered many, though I am very aware that it must not be complete.
I make no claim for the aesthetic or cultural value of any item on this list.
Some are widely acclaimed productions (Ghandi,Out of Africa,
and The English Patient won many awards, including Oscars for Best
Picture); some are the most shameless sort of kitsch (Panther Girl of
the Kongo speaks for itself). Some are cartoons; some are shorts;
some are documentaries; some are comedies;
some are tragic. Some are downright offensive (Africa—Texas Style!
). They were made between 1912 and the present. I include African,
European, and American productions.
The parameters for putting the
list together have been very general: "films in which Africa becomes
a substantial theme." I have leaned towards sub-Saharan Africa,
which means that many movies about, say, ancient Egypt (mummy films, Old
Testament narratives, etc.) or the Saharan theater of WWII do not appear
here (though a few do). Even so, I am sure that I've missed a lot.
Yet it is worth noting that even if this list contained all the films within
these limited parameters, it would still probably be in some ways incomplete:
many use "Africa" without naming it. King Kong is an excellent
example. Even though the giant gorilla is captured on a remote, unnamed
island, the place is clearly typed as "African" to judge by the portrayal
of the native tribe that lives there and the fact that gorillas only come
from Africa anyway.
Where what kind of animals come from, however, can matter little;
Voodoo Tiger, one of the "Jungle Jim" series of films starring
Johnny Weissmuller, concerns (apparently) a cult of tiger-worshippers, though
of course there are no tigers in Africa. Such ignorance, while laughable,
can also be very revealing: Africa has been seen by the European civilization
for much of history as a cipher, "a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously
over," as Joseph Conrad's Marlow says. Since most of the films on this
list are western, they continue this European dream, alive since at least
the time of Antony and Cleopatra, to use "Africa" as a space on which to
inscribe deeply felt desires and secretly whispered fears. A review
of the titles alone can bear out this conclusion.
For information about films to
which I haven't provided links, I suggest starting with an internet index
of films such as the Internet Movie Database
, or a video store such as Reel.com, Blockbuster, or
Amazon.com (though
not all are available to buy). For contemporary
films, the Movie Review Query Database
is a great way to access lots of on-line movie reviews at once. Other
sites particularly concerned with African Film include the page devoted
to African
Film on Stanford University's Africa
South of the Sahara page; and the
Music, Videos, and Films page on the African Studies
WWW server at Penn. H-AfrLitCine is a discussion
list you can subscribe to on African cinema. The Filmaker's Library lists lots
of documentaries and educational films, including many about African culture.
Insight Media markets videos
of plays and documentaries for classroom use.
Ndebele Women: The Rituals of Rebellion, prod. Shelagh Lubbock
(documentary, 1997)
Nel continente nero (a.k.a. On the Dark Continent; 1993)
The New Adventures of Tarzan (a.k.a. Tarzan and the Lost Goddess,
Tarzan in Guatemala; 1935)
The New Adventures of Tarzan (a.k.a. Tarzan's New Adventure; 1935)
The New South Africa: A Personal Journey, prod. Tug Yourgrau
and Joel Olicker (documentary)
Ngo hai sui (1998)
Nice To Meet You, Please Don't Rape Me! (1995)
De Noorderlingen (1992)
Nossos Irmãos, os Africanos (1963)
Notes for an African Orestes (a.k.a. Appunti per una Orestiade africana;
1970)
The Nun's Story (1959)
Oba Kosa: Nigerian Drama, narr. Margaret Croydon (National
Theater of Nigeria; 1975)
The Ocre People, prod. Abraham Vorster (documentary)
One Step to Hell (a.k.a. King of Africa; 1967)
Ostafrika (a.k.a. Eastafrica; 1993)
Out of Africa, dir. Sidney Pollack (1985)
Outbreak (1995)
Panther Girl of the Kongo (1955)
Paul J. Rainey's African Hunt (a.k.a. Paul J. Rainey's Jungle Pictures,
Paul Rainey's African Hunt; 1912)
Piedone l'africano (a.k.a. Inspecteur Bulldozer, The Knock Out Cop,
Plattfuß in Afrika, Trinity: Tracking for Trouble; 1977)
Pink Ice (1965)
Place of Weeping (1986)
Plastered in Paris (1966)
Pole Pole (1996)
Pole to Pole (documentary/TV series; 1992)
Ponjola (1923)
Pori (1929)
Portuguese Africa, Today and Tomorrow (1961)
The Potters of Buur Heybe, Somalia, prod. Tara Belkin (documentary)
The Power of One (1992)
Professione: reporter (a.k.a. The Passenger, Profession: reporter,
El Reportero; 1975)
Las Provincias españolas de África (1962)
Puerta entornada (a.k.a. La España en África ecuatorial;
1954)
Puteshestvie tovarischa Stalina v Afriku (a.k.a. Comrade Stalin
Goes to Africa; 1991)
Pygmy Island (1950)
Raid on Entebbe (TV; 1977)
Rainey's African Hunt (1914)
The Rat Patrol (TV series; 1966)
Rwanda: History of Genocide, prod. Robert Genoud (documentary,
1997)
The Revenge of Tarzan (a.k.a. The Return of Tarzan; 1920)
Rhodes (a.k.a. Rhodes of Africa; 1936)
Rhodes (TV Mini-series, 1996)
Rise and Fall of Idi Amin (1980)
Rites, dir. Penny Dedman (documentary, 1991)
Riusciranno i nostri eroi a ritrovare l'amico misteriosamente scomparso
in Africa? (a.k.a. Will Our Friends Succeed in Finding Their Friend Who Disappeared
In Africa?, Will Our Heroes Be Able to Find Their Friend Who Has Mysteriously
Disappeared in Africa?; 1968)
The River of Light (1921)
Rivers of Fire and Ice (a.k.a. African Safari; 1968)
The Road to Mecca, dir. Athol Fugard and Peter Goldsmid (1992)
Road to Zanzibar (1941)
The Romance of Tarzan (1918)
Roots (TV series)
Rope of Sand (1949)
Rosa de África (1941)
Roughest Africa (1923)
The Royal African Rifles (a.k.a. Storm Over Africa; 1953)
Running Wild (1992)
Safari 3000 (1982)
Sahara (1943)
Samora Machel, Son of Africa (1989)
Sanders of the River (1935)
Sands of the Kalahari (1965)
Sango: The Legendary African King (1998)
Sarafina!
Savage Africa (1950)
Savage Mutiny (1953)
Scavengers (1988)
Scipione detto anche l'africano (1971)
Scipione l'africano (1937)
Secret Service in Darkest Africa (a.k.a. Manhunt in the African
Jungles; 1943)
Seven Days and Seven Nights, prod. Maurice Dores (documentary)
Seven Minutes Africa (1995)
Shackles of Memory: The Atlantic Slave Trade, prod. Michel
Moreau and Jean-Marc Masseaut (documentary)
Shaft in Africa (1973)
Shaka Zulu (TV Mini-series; 1984)
Sheena (1984)
The Sheltering Sky (1990)
Shot Down
Shout at the Devil
The Silent Killer: AIDS in South Africa, prod. Marika Griehsel
(TV documentary)
The Silent Lover (1926)
Simba (a.k.a. Simba - Mark of Mau Mau!; 1955)
Simba: The King of the Beasts (a.k.a. Simba; 1928)
The Sins of Rachel Cade (1961)
Sizwe Bansi is Dead (BBC, 1977)
The Slaver (1927)
So This is Africa
(1933)
Something of Value (1957)
Son of Tarzan (1920)
The Soul City Project
South of Suez (1940)
Soweto Green (1994)
Spite, An African Prophet-Healer, prod. J.P. Colleyn and Catherine
De Clippel (documentary)
Spooking About Africa (1957)
Sport and Travel in Central Africa (1914)
Der Stern von Afrika (a.k.a. La Estrella de África;
1959)
Strijd zonder einde (a.k.a. The Rival World; 1955)
Such is Life in South Africa (1916)
The Sun Never Sets (1939)
Tanganyika (1954)
Target of an Assassin (a.k.a. African Rage; 1976)
Tarzan (TV series; 1966)
Tarzán (TV series; 1991)
Tarzan and His Mate (1934)
Tarzan and the Amazons (1945)
Tarzan and the Four O'Clock Army (1968)
Tarzan and the Golden Lion (1927)
Tarzan and the Great River (1967)
Tarzan and the Green Goddess (1938)
Tarzan and the Huntress (1947)
Tarzan and the Jungle Boy (1968)
Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946)
Tarzan and the Lost City (1998)
Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957)
Tarzan and the Mermaids (1948) 4
Tarzan and the Perils of Charity Jones (1967)
Tarzan and the She-Devil (1953)
Tarzan and the Slave Girl (1950)
Tarzan and the Trappers (1958)
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1966)
Tarzán contra los Hombres Leopardo (1967)
Tarzán en la gruta del oro (1969)
Tarzán en las minas del rey Salomón (a.k.a. Tarzan
in King Solomon's Mines; 1973)
Tarzan Escapes (1936)
Tarzan Finds a Son! (1939)
Tarzan Goes to India (1962)
Tarzan in Manhattan (TV; 1989)
Tarzan of Manisa (1994)
Tarzan of the Apes (1918)
Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
Tarzan the Fearless (1933)
Tarzan the Magnificent (1960)
Tarzan the Mighty (1928)
Tarzan the Tiger (1929)
Tarzan Triumphs (1943)
Tarzán y el arco iris (a.k.a. Tarzan e la pantera nera; 1972)
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976) (TV Series)
Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959)
Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981)
Tarzan: The Legacy of Edgar Rice Burroughs (TV; 1996)
Tarzan's Deadly Silence (1970)
Tarzan's Desert Mystery (1943)
Tarzan's Fight for Life (1958)
Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959)
Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955)
Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion (1965)
Tarzan's Magic Fountain (1949)
Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942)
Tarzan's Peril (a.k.a. Tarzan and the Jungle Goddess; 1951)
Tarzan's Revenge (1938)
Tarzan's Savage Fury (a.k.a. Tarzan, the Hunted; 1952)
Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941)
Tarzan's Three Challenges (1963)
Tarzoon, la honte de la jungle (a.k.a. Jungle Burger, Shame of the Jungle;
1975)
Il Tesoro dell'Africa (1953)
The Piedone l'africano (1977)
These Girls are Missing: The Gender Gap in Africa's Schools,
prod. Shari Robertson and Michale Camerini (documentary, 1996)
Thokosa Video Dialogue
Three Businessmen (1998)
Thru Thin and Thicket (a.k.a. Who's Zoo in Africa; 1933)
Thunder in the City (1937)
Thunder Over Sangoland (1955)
Tierärztin Christine III: Abenteuer in Südafrika
(TV; 1998)
The Track of the African Bongo (1977)
Two Dollars with or without a Condom, prod. Cadmos films for STV
(documentary)
Une femme en Afrique (a.k.a. Empty Quarter: A Woman in Africa; 1985)
Untamed Africa (TV series)
Valley of the Headhunters (1953)
Vento d'Africa (1949)
Viaje a Sudáfrica (1969)
Victory at Entebbe (TV; 1976)
Village Theater in Senegal: Queen Ndate and the French Conquest
(1989)
I started compiling this list to select films for a course I used to teach on "Africa
in Literature" and got a bit carried away. I have gathered many, though I am very aware that it must not be complete.
I make no claim for the aesthetic or cultural value of any item on this list.
Some are widely acclaimed productions (Ghandi, Out of Africa,
and The English Patient won many awards, including Oscars for Best
Picture); some are the most shameless sort of kitsch (Panther Girl of
the Kongo speaks for itself). Some are cartoons; some are shorts;
some are documentaries; some are comedies;
some are tragic. Some are downright offensive (Africa—Texas Style!
). They were made between 1912 and the present. I include African,
European, and American productions. 
171,15 - te besteden in Afrika (a.k.a. 171,15 - To Be Spent in Africa;
1994)
An African Love Story (TV, 1996)
Blonde Savage (1952)
Bomba and the Hidden City (a.k.a. The Hidden City; 1950)
Chez les buveurs de sang
The Cohens and the Kellys in Africa (1930)
Cry, the Beloved Country (a.k.a. African Fury; 1951)
Danger Zone (1996)
Drums of Africa (1963)
Duel in the Jungle (1954)
Flame (1996)
Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search for Livingstone (1997)
Headhunter (1990)
Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
La Llamada de África (1952)
Masters of the Congo Jungle (a.k.a. Lords of the Forest, Les Seigneurs
de la forêt; 1959)
Mississippi Masala (1991)
The Nun's Story (1959)
Outbreak (1995)
Rainey's African Hunt (1914)
Rhodes (a.k.a. Rhodes of Africa; 1936)
Sands of the Kalahari (1965)
Savage Mutiny (1953)
Soweto Green (1994)
Strijd zonder einde (a.k.a. The Rival World; 1955)
Tarzan and the Lost Safari (1957)
Tarzan Triumphs (1943)
Tarzoon, la honte de la jungle (a.k.a. Jungle Burger, Shame of the Jungle;
1975)
Thru Thin and Thicket (a.k.a. Who's Zoo in Africa; 1933)
Wings Over Africa (1937)
Won in the Clouds (1928)