45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

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stephan73
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45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#1 Post by stephan73 » Sun Mar 18, 2007 6:04 pm

General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

Image

If this mind-boggling documentary about one of the twentieth century's most reviled dictators were fiction it would be acclaimed as a comic masterpiece... but it is all true. With an ambition the size of Napoleon, Idi Amin considered himself a major leader and revolutionary on the world stage. In reality, his regime was amateurish, disorganised, and his maniacal command both hilarious and bizarre.

Knowing that Amin put at least 300,000 people to death between 1971 and 1979 gives the film a uniquely chilling tone. Through his anti-Semitic rages, fetish for artillery and military power, and the aggression that drifts through almost every speech, Amin attempts to transform himself into a figure of heroic proportions. He awarded himself the title: "His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, King of Scotland, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular".

The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Barbet Schroeder's General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait which, amazingly, was made with the full support and participation of Amin himself. Schroeder (Maitresse, Barfly, Single White Female) lets Amin do all the work, and instead of the carefully managed PR piece Amin clearly hoped for, we instead see a preening, vain, psychotic clown who aspires to be Africa's Hitler.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New restored transfer from the original Ektachrome 16mm
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• 24-PAGE FULL-COLOUR BOOKLET containing a rare Barbet Schroeder Interview from December 1976; Notes on the cuts made to General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait (which have since been restored); and A Chronos Who Devours Children – a psychological profile of Amin by Dr. Tilo Held, which uses Schroeder's film as its source material.

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CSM126
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#2 Post by CSM126 » Sun Mar 18, 2007 6:18 pm

Well that cover sure looks awesome either way.

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lazier than a toad
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#3 Post by lazier than a toad » Sun Mar 18, 2007 8:46 pm

There's also a Eureka Entertainment listing for this on amzon.co.uk with the same release date.

No image though.

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a.khan
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#4 Post by a.khan » Mon Mar 19, 2007 7:19 am

I would say that the release for this title was expedited given the renewed interest in Idi Ami following Forest Whitaker's Oscar win.

Hate to exhume an earlier debate (in another thread), but I much prefer MoC releasing non-CC titles, even though I appreciate the rationale Nick has put forward.

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Caligula
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#5 Post by Caligula » Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:07 am

That cover (especially the top red bar) looks like MoC to me.

Coupled with a 28-page booklet (nice!) I'd guess it as a MoC release.

Wish one could enlarge the cover - really looks impressive!

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Steven H
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#6 Post by Steven H » Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:19 pm

I like the cover. It reminds me of this:

Image

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mbalson
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#7 Post by mbalson » Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:35 pm

Holy Christ! that's a crazy poster/whatever.

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manicsounds
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#8 Post by manicsounds » Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:19 am

Image

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a.khan
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#9 Post by a.khan » Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:10 am

The mismatched left-right alignment on the title and Schroeder's credit is driving me nuts!

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feckless boy
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#10 Post by feckless boy » Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:30 am

Wasn't Shinoda's Silence supposed to be #44? Postponed in favor of the Schroeder film? I hope not, Chinmoku is the one MoC i've been waiting for.

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Richard
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#11 Post by Richard » Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:22 am

The UK dvd of The Last King Of Scotland is supposed to be released on the same day as this one.

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souvenir
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#12 Post by souvenir » Wed Apr 18, 2007 12:35 pm

Announced by DVD Times as coming in May. Only extra is a 28-page booklet and cover art indicates #44 as well.

peerpee
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#13 Post by peerpee » Wed Apr 18, 2007 4:28 pm

I can confirm it's going to be #45.

Shinoda's SILENCE is #44 and will be released in either July or August.

It's looking like TABU will be coming before DIE NIBELUNGEN.

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bigP
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#14 Post by bigP » Sun Sep 13, 2009 4:14 pm

DVDBeaver review up, and it appears Gary has stopped screening submitted reviews.

"The colors are muted and pale, and are not very pleasant to watch"

The screencaps posted defy the last statement, the colours look pretty strong to me given it's 16mm source and natural docu-handling.

peerpee
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#15 Post by peerpee » Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:17 pm

Reviews like that just make me want to bang my head against the fucking wall.

The disc is an exemplary transfer for a film shot on 16mm.

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sidehacker
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#16 Post by sidehacker » Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:29 pm

Yes, it looks so grainy too. What's with that, Nick?

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MichaelB
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#17 Post by MichaelB » Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:36 pm

I'm intrigued to see that some of the footage was exorcised - then again, Amin had some pretty peculiar ideas...

There's nothing wrong with the transfer at all - if you read Nestor Almendros' A Man with a Camera, it becomes abundantly clear why the source footage is sometimes less than perfectly lit, and it's no reflection on either the film or MoC.

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tojoed
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#18 Post by tojoed » Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:40 pm

Is it me, or is DVD Beaver just getting worse and worse?

peerpee
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#19 Post by peerpee » Sun Sep 13, 2009 5:57 pm

btw. this review has now been altered. In case anybody's wondering what the fuss is.

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tojoed
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#20 Post by tojoed » Sun Sep 13, 2009 6:02 pm

The guy who wrote that review is a member here. Perhaps he can explain.

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bigP
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#21 Post by bigP » Sun Sep 13, 2009 6:03 pm

MichaelB wrote:I'm intrigued to see that some of the footage was exorcised - then again, Amin had some pretty peculiar ideas...
peerpee wrote:btw. this review has now been altered. In case anybody's wondering what the fuss is.
Idi's exorcism remains... but it's good the review has been ammended.

James
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#22 Post by James » Sun Sep 13, 2009 6:24 pm

I'm confused... didn't this come out like a year or two ago?

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MichaelB
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#23 Post by MichaelB » Sun Sep 13, 2009 6:28 pm

james wrote:I'm confused... didn't this come out like a year or two ago?
A slow writer, evidently.

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perkizitore
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#24 Post by perkizitore » Sun Sep 13, 2009 7:02 pm

I think Gary can be excused for not reviewing every DVD on the planet. However, i have to admit i am frustrated as well sometimes for the lack of some comparisons.

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aox
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Re: 45 General Idi Amin Dada Autoportrait

#25 Post by aox » Sun Sep 13, 2009 8:49 pm

excellent documentary

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