The 26 best movies about Africa ever
by gorelik-639-135844 | created - 10 Oct 2013 | updated - 10 Nov 2020 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Moolaadé (2003)
Unrated | 124 min | Drama
When a woman shelters a group of girls from suffering female genital mutilation, she starts a conflict that tears her village apart.
Director: Ousmane Sembene | Stars: Fatoumata Coulibaly, Maimouna Hélène Diarra, Salimata Traoré, Dominique Zeïda
Votes: 4,137 | Gross: $0.21M
2. Xala (1975)
Not Rated | 123 min | Comedy, Drama
A corrupt politician is cursed with impotence on the night of his third wedding after embezzling 100 tons of rice.
Director: Ousmane Sembene | Stars: Thierno Leye, Myriam Niang, Seune Samb, Fatim Diagne
Votes: 1,929
3. Alexandria... Why? (1979)
Not Rated | 133 min | Drama
Yehia is a young man living in the cosmopolitan Alexandria during World War II. Inspired by American movies and Shakespeare, he aspires to be an actor, but struggles to pursue his Hollywood... See full summary »
Director: Youssef Chahine | Stars: Naglaa Fathi, Ahmed Zaki, Farid Shawqi, Mahmoud Al Meleji
Votes: 2,027
4. The African Queen (1951)
PG | 105 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In WWI East Africa, a gin-swilling Canadian riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced English missionary to undertake a trip up a treacherous river and use his boat to attack a German gunship.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley, Peter Bull
Votes: 84,052 | Gross: $0.54M
5. A Reasonable Man (1999)
103 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
With issues of his own, an ex-army officer-turned-lawyer defends an impoverished young cowherd of killing a baby.
Director: Gavin Hood | Stars: Gavin Hood, Nigel Hawthorne, Janine Eser, Vusi Kunene
Votes: 426
6. Tsotsi (2005)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama
Six days in the violent life of a young Johannesburg gang leader.
Director: Gavin Hood | Stars: Presley Chweneyagae, Mothusi Magano, Israel Matseke-Zulu, Terry Pheto
Votes: 31,556 | Gross: $2.91M
7. Amandla! (2002)
PG-13 | 108 min | Documentary, History, Music
Interviews, archival footage, and filmed performances highlight the role of music in the South African struggle against apartheid.
Director: Lee Hirsch | Stars: Abdullah Ibrahim, Duma Ka Ndlovu, Vusi Mahlasela, Walter Cronkite
Votes: 621 | Gross: $0.40M
8. Beautiful People (1974)
G | 92 min | Comedy, Documentary
Hilarious documentary on the wildlife of the Namib Desert.
Director: Jamie Uys | Star: Paddy O'Byrne
Votes: 4,125
9. Come Back, Africa (1959)
95 min | Documentary, Drama
Come Back, Africa chronicles the life of Zachariah, a black South African living under the rule of the harsh apartheid government in 1959.
Director: Lionel Rogosin | Stars: Zacharia Mgabi, Vinah Bendile, Miriam Makeba, Lewis Nkosi
Votes: 353
10. Disgrace (2008)
R | 119 min | Drama
After having an affair with a student, a Cape Town professor moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.
Director: Steve Jacobs | Stars: John Malkovich, Natalie Becker, Jessica Haines, Eriq Ebouaney
Votes: 5,808 | Gross: $0.07M
11. District 9 (2009)
R | 112 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.
Director: Neill Blomkamp | Stars: Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope, Vanessa Haywood
Votes: 714,882 | Gross: $115.65M
12. Invictus (2009)
PG-13 | 134 min | Biography, Drama, History
Nelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge, Patrick Mofokeng
Votes: 167,555 | Gross: $37.49M
13. Mapantsula (1988)
Not Rated | 100 min | Crime, Drama
Mapantsula tells the story of Panic, a petty gangster who inevitably becomes caught up in the growing anti-apartheid struggle and has to choose between individual gain and a united stand against the system.
Director: Oliver Schmitz | Stars: Thomas Mogotlane, Marcel van Heerden, Thembi Mtshali, Dolly Rathebe
Votes: 207
14. Zulu (1964)
Not Rated | 138 min | Drama, History, War
Outnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.
Director: Cy Endfield | Stars: Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth
Votes: 42,574
15. Shaka Zulu (1986)
TV-MA | 300 min | Action, Biography, Drama
A historical account on the life of the Zulu King Shaka.
Stars: Edward Fox, Robert Powell, Trevor Howard, Fiona Fullerton
Votes: 3,372
16. Under African Skies (2012)
Not Rated | 108 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Paul Simon returns to South Africa to explore the journey of his Graceland album, including the political backlash he received for allegedly breaking the UN cultural boycott of South Africa designed to end the Apartheid regime.
Director: Joe Berlinger | Stars: Paul Simon, Maya Angelou, Okeyrema Asante, Harry Belafonte
Votes: 534
17. U-Carmen eKhayelitsha (2005)
122 min | Musical, Drama, Romance
A version of Georges Bizet's Carmen, set in a modern-day South African township.
Director: Mark Dornford-May | Stars: Pauline Malefane, Andile Tshoni, Lungelwa Blou, Zweilungile Sidloyi
Votes: 742
18. Breaker Morant (1980)
PG | 107 min | Drama, History, War
Three Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, John Waters, Bryan Brown
Votes: 14,359 | Gross: $7.14M
19. The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
R | 110 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
A bridge engineer and an experienced old hunter begin a hunt for two lions after they start attacking local construction workers.
Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani
Votes: 65,800 | Gross: $38.62M
20. Yaaba (1989)
90 min | Drama, Romance
A small village in Burkina Faso. The story focuses on Bila, a ten year old boy who befriends an old woman, Sana. Everybody calls her 'Witch' but Bila himself calls her 'Yaaba' (grandmother)... See full summary »
Director: Idrissa Ouedraogo | Stars: Fatimata Sanga, Noufou Ouédraogo, Roukietou Barry, Adama Ouédraogo
Votes: 752
21. King Solomon's Mines (1950)
Passed | 103 min | Action, Adventure, Romance
Adventurer Allan Quartermain leads an expedition into uncharted African territory in an attempt to locate an explorer who went missing during his search for the fabled diamond mines of King Solomon.
Directors: Compton Bennett, Andrew Marton | Stars: Deborah Kerr, Stewart Granger, Richard Carlson, Hugo Haas
Votes: 6,969
22. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
PG-13 | 121 min | Biography, Drama, History
Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.
Director: Terry George | Stars: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Joaquin Phoenix, Xolani Mali
Votes: 371,087 | Gross: $23.53M
23. Yeelen (1987)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy
A young man with magical powers journeys to his uncle to request help in fighting his sorcerer father.
Director: Souleymane Cissé | Stars: Issiaka Kane, Aoua Sangare, Niamanto Sanogo, Balla Moussa Keita
Votes: 2,736
24. Out of Africa (1985)
PG | 161 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
In 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen
Votes: 85,983 | Gross: $87.10M
25. Sahara (I) (1943)
Approved | 97 min | Action, Drama, War
After the fall of Tobruk in 1942, during the Allied retreat in the Libyan desert, an American tank picks-up a motley group of survivors but they face advancing Germans and a lack of water.
Director: Zoltan Korda | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Bruce Bennett, J. Carrol Naish, Lloyd Bridges
Votes: 9,698
26. Raid on Entebbe (1976)
Not Rated | 145 min | Action, Drama, History
True story of a daring Israeli commando assault on the Entebbe Airport in Uganda to free hostages of a terrorist hijacking.
Director: Irvin Kershner | Stars: Peter Finch, Charles Bronson, Yaphet Kotto, Martin Balsam
Votes: 3,783
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