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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: 20th Century Fox
Salesrank: 3586
Released: April 17, 2007 |
| Our Price: $3.52 |
| Used Price: $2.60 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
The new president of Uganda, Idi Amin, immediately takes a liking to a young Scottish doctor working in a rural African hospital and places him in a senior position in the health department, becoming one of his closest advisors.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 22-JAN-2007
Media Type: DVD
Description of The Last King of Scotland (Widescreen Edition):
As the evil Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker gives an unforgettable performance in The Last King of Scotland. Powerfully illustrating the terrible truth that absolute power corrupts absolutely, this fictionalized chronicle of Amin's rise and fall is based on the acclaimed novel by Giles Foden, in which Amin's despotic reign of terror is viewed through the eyes of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a Scottish doctor who arrives in Uganda in the early 1970s to serve as Amin's personal physician. His outsider's perspective causes him to be initially impressed by Amin's calculated rise to power, but as the story progresses--and as Whitaker's award-worthy performance grows increasingly monstrous--The Last King of Scotland turns into a pointed examination of how independent Uganda (a British colony until 1962) became a breeding ground for Amin's genocidal tyranny. As Whitaker plays him, Amin is both seductive and horribly destructive--sometimes in the same breath--and McAvoy effectively conveys the tragic cost of his character's naiveté, which grows increasingly prone to exploitation. As directed by Kevin Macdonald (who made the riveting semi-documentary Into the Void), this potent cautionary tale my prompt some viewers to check out Barbet Schroeder's equally revealing documentary General Idi Amin Dada, an essential source for much of this film's authentic detail. --Jeff Shannon
Beyond The Last King of Scotland
More from Forest Whitaker | 
General Idi Amin Dada | 
The Last King of Scotland (Paperback) |
Stills from The Last King of Scotland The Last King of Scotland (Widescreen Edition) Reviews:
The Last King of Scotland 
2008-09-14 - While Nicholas Garrigan never existed, he was the sum of several people who were close to Idi Amin. Forest Whitaker was both charming and terrifying as Amin. James McAvoy, an up and coming actor was good with the character that was given him. He was much better in the later half of the movie when it became apparent that he was no longer the trusted advisor, but a target of the man who claimed to be the father of his people and who claimed to love Garrigan. McAvoy shines in his latest roles in Becoming Jane and Wanted. Whitaker deserved the Oscar he garnered.
A truly dazzling look at a fictional truth... 
2008-08-28 - `The Last King of Scotland' opens almost childishly, kind of amateurish, as if it was going to make light of a very serious subject. Almost immediately though it shifts gears and begins its gradual decline into darker waters, submersing the audience in the stirring madness that was the reign of Idi Amin. Told through the eyes of fictitious character Dr. Nicholas Garrigan, `The Last King of Scotland' attempts to give the audience a ringside seat to the tragic events surrounding Amin's rise to power; and for the most part it succeeds very well.
One must remember that this is not a true story. It is a fictitious account of historical events. You can liken it to `Titanic', for it is a fictional story woven around a foundation of actual events.
The film opens with Scottish Doctor Nicholas Garrigan making his way to Uganda to help care for the sick villagers but is soon persuaded by the power behind Idi Amin (who has a soft spot for the Scottish) to leave his original plans and become Amin's personal physician. This decision proved to be devastating for Garrigan, but that realization would come at a time that was almost too late for him. As Garrigan becomes more knowledgeable of the truth behind Amin's reign, his initial admiration turns to disgust as he realizes the weight of the situation he now finds himself. Garrigan finds himself acquainted with those in Amin's circle, including one of his wives named Kay with whom he starts a very dangerous relationship.
The film is strengthened by the phenomenal performances by the two male leads, both Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy delivering career best performances. Whitaker delves into the real man that is Idi Amin, the brutality festering beneath his surface always showing through in his eyes. (His performance reminds me a bit of Yul Brenner's Oscar winning performance in `The King and I', a portrayal of a man savage by nature who tries to justify his actions with a façade of kindness. Yes, they are two different people in the end, but he similarities are obvious.) His performance garnered him award after award (a sweep to be exact) and finally got him recognized among his peers. His performance is extraordinary, but to be honest he is not as good as McAvoy who fleshes out Garrigan with expert precision, creating a character who is complete and real. As Whitaker slips Amin into savagery, McAvoy is slowing peeling away Garrigan's sanity to unveil a man scarred by his surroundings and paralyzed by his newfound predicament.
I was a little let down by Kerry Washington, not because her performance was lacking (it was quick good) but because the script didn't allow her to become someone truly real to us. The film was so focused on Garrigan's relationship with Amin that it didn't take a few moments to really flesh out his relationship with Kay, and if it had then her performance would have seemed richer. That is really the only fault I have with the script also, that it fails to fully invest itself in the entirety of Garrigan's surroundings, targeting his interactions with Amin and allowing the rest of the events around him to become mere side-points. The film is not particularly long so it could have benefited from a few more minutes added to flesh out the entire plot.
But, that is really just a small issue, not anything that should detract anyone from seeing this film.
The final moments in `The Last King of Scotland' literally took my breath away (and single-handedly landed Whitaker his Oscar, when if the Academy would look at the less showy performance in the same scene they may have made a different choice). It is in those moments that the entire film comes to a traumatic and emotionally rooted climax. Many will see this film for Whitaker's lauded performance (as did I) but what you will find is a diamond in the rough; a truly outstanding fictional biopic that tantalizes every one of our senses.
The Last King of Scotland
2008-07-24 - Very good service. The disc was excellent. The price was right and I would buy again from the seller. Thank you.
Great Title Role
2008-07-23 - Forrest Whitaker was born to play Idi Amin, evidently. He's got him down. He's even better in this than he was being Charlie Parker in "Bird." The script is a fanciful take on an imaginary doctor who becomes the dictator's advisor. There are a few love interests. Not too much violence. An entertaining watch.
The Last King of Scotland Commands Respect
2008-07-22 - It is a film about haggis and Highland Games that you were hoping for, then surely you will be disappointed. Because The Last King of Scotland has very little to do with the automatically assumed main topic of Scotland and instead takes us away from the Scottish land to a place a bit more remote: Uganda.
Directed by Kevin Macdonald and written by Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock, The Last King of Scotland is a narrative interpretation of the life and power of the former military dictator and president of Uganda Idi Amin. Like many others that he bestowed upon himself, the film gets its title from a self-given name that Amin calls himself.
Forest Whittaker plays the role of Idi Amin and his performance leaves no surprises as to how Whittaker won the 2007 Oscar for Best Performance by Leading Actor. Whittaker boldly embodies the power and demeanor of Amin who at times can seem like either your best friend or a ruthless dictator. The mannerisms of Whittaker and the voice that he uses when speaking as Amin seems to fit the role perfectly and one would be hard pressed to imagine a more perfect possible cast for this role.
Set in the years of Amin's rule between 1971 and 1979, the film also highlights the work of Dr. Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy). Garrigan decides that living in Scotland and working in the family medical practice simply was not something that he would be able to do upon graduation from medical school. Therefore, Garrigan decides to literally spin the globe and land his finger on a location where he hoped to serve as a doctor to perhaps a population that needed him more than those back home in Scotland. Of course when he landed on Uganda even Garrigan himself likely was not ready for what was next to come.
Garrigan plans to work in a Ugandan medical clinic run by Sarah Merrit (Gillian Anderson) and her husband. The clinic provides free care to so many in Uganda that simply cannot afford even the most basic of health care. After a run in with Amin, however, Garrigan decides eventually to leave the clinic to take a state run position as Amin's personal doctor.
The relationship between Amin and Garrigan certainly grows as time goes on and the level of trust that Amin bestows upon Garrigan is clearly evidenced. The position of doctor quickly grows into confidant with an almost chief of staff level of seniority being reached by Garrigan in Amin's cabinet. However, as power tends to do to some people, quickly the power that Amin has garnered both by popular will and through force rapidly begins to corrupt the government that Amin has built and set out to be a change from the corrupt government that preceded him that he overthrew.
Very quickly, as so many of the relationships of those around Amin had done before, the friendship between Garrigan and Amin begins to sour. Due largely in part to an incident involving one of Amin's purported wives, Kay (Kerry Washington) and Garrigan, Garrigan goes from being on top of the Amin leadership level to being an enemy of the Amin dictatorship and a marked man.
There is certainly a good deal of blood and gore in this film which though at times is excessive accurately portrays the brutality inflicted by the Amin rule in Uganda. Though perhaps having a more Western frame of mind in theory, Amin certainly rules with an iron fist and ensures that his rule and authority comes at the expense of peace and due process in Uganda. Rather than having the brutality of Amin's rule simply glossed over in the film in actuality the director has done a fine job accurately transferring to film the rule that wreaked so much havoc upon Uganda.
The Last King of Scotland is an amazingly well done film that takes a very historic and factual story and transforms it into a very watchable and interesting film. The movie has a way of holding the viewer's attention throughout and even though the nature of the film focuses on a very emotional and intense subject, the viewer can watch the film and not be lost in any complexities that are not well enough hashed out.
Certainly after watching this film it is plain to see why The Last King of Scotland has commanded so much respect and praise amongst movie viewers. Unlike the forced appreciation of the leadership of Amin, this film is indeed worthy of all of the praise that it has and continues to receive.
