Description
Original 1955 US half sheet, used, folded (56 x 71 cm)
The African Lion is a 1955 feature-length Technicolor documentary directed by James Algar. It was released by Walt Disney Productions as part of its True-Life Adventures series. The film, which was shot over a 30-month period in Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda, focuses on the life of the lion within the complexity of the African ecosystem. At the 6th Berlin International Film Festival it won the Silver Bear (Documentaries) award.
It was released on DVD in 2006 as part of the Walt Disney Legacy Collection. It can be found on the third volume of the True-Life Adventures series where it has been fully restored.
Reception
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that “we’re fairly certain that no visitor to the famous high plateaus of Kenya and Tanganyika, where the excellent color footage of this picture was exposed, ever succeeds in seeing as much of the local wild life or getting as close to it as one does in this handsome film … A commendable job of direction and editing has been done by James Algar, and an excellent score of music has been provided by Paul Smith.” Variety stated that “the Milottes have gotten some of the best wildlife footage ever to come out of Africa … but spectacular as it is, it’s not enough to compensate for the ‘I’ve seen this before’ feeling the subject matter engenders.” “Much of it is startling stuff,” reported Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times, who also noted that the narration “is fairly free of the cloying cuteness typical of earlier True-Life Adventures. To be sure, many of the effects are contrived, for laughter or thrill, in the editing and scoring — but this, after all, is the function of the filmmaker and legitimate enough.” The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, “The consistently brilliant and absorbing photographic methods employed here succeed in infusing new life into what is relatively familiar material.”
Directed by James Algar
Produced by Ben Sharpsteen
Written by James Algar, Winston Hibler
Narrated by Winston Hibler
Music by Paul J. Smith
Production company: Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by Buena Vista Distribution
Release date: September 14, 1955
Running time: 75 minutes
Country: United States
Box office: $2.1 million (US)
