/33kRnZfiYd6WPKpMge5OQhzxYGN.jpg
AdventureFamilyDramaHistory

Born Free

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

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.

Release Date : 1966-03-26

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : High RoadOpen Road Films

Production Country : United KingdomUnited States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Virginia McKenna

Character Name : Joy Adamson

Original Name : Virginia McKenna

Gender : Female

Bill Travers

Character Name : George Adamson

Original Name : Bill Travers

Gender : Male

Geoffrey Keen

Character Name : Kendall

Original Name : Geoffrey Keen

Gender : Male

Peter Lukoye

Character Name : Nuru

Original Name : Peter Lukoye

Gender : Male

Omar Chambati

Character Name : Makkede

Original Name : Omar Chambati

Gender : Male

Bill Godden

Character Name : Sam

Original Name : Bill Godden

Gender : Male

Robert S. Young

Character Name : James

Original Name : Robert S. Young

Gender : Male

Bryan Epsom

Character Name : Baker

Original Name : Bryan Epsom

Gender : Male

Geoffrey Best

Character Name : Watson

Original Name : Geoffrey Best

Gender : Male

Robert Cheetham

Character Name : Ken

Original Name : Robert Cheetham

Gender : Male

Surya Patel

Character Name : Doctor

Original Name : Surya Patel

Gender : Male

Elsa

Character Name : Lion Cub/Lioness (uncredited)

Original Name : Elsa

Gender : Male

Pati

Character Name : Rock Hyrax (uncredited)

Original Name : Pati

Gender : Male

Reviews

J

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

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

R

Reno

@Rangan

2024-05-16

> 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