RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Color of Freedom
The Color of Freedom

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Color of Freedom (2007)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
44 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:18

Fresh:8

Rotten:10

Average Rating:4.7/10

Rated: 15

Runtime: 1 hr 58 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:11-05-2007

Synopsis: South Africa - 1968 Twenty-five million blacks are ruled by a minority of four million whites under the brutal Apartheid regime of the Nationalist Party Government. Black people have no vote, no... South Africa - 1968

Twenty-five million blacks are ruled by a minority of four million whites under the brutal Apartheid regime of the Nationalist Party Government. Black people have no vote, no land rights, no rights to freedom of movement, to own a business, to housing or education. Determined to retain power, whites ban all black opposition organizations, forcing their leaders into exile or imprisoning them for life on Robben Island.

James Gregory, a typical white Afrikaner, regards blacks as sub-human. Having grown up on a farm in the Transkei, he learned to speak Xhosa at an early age. This makes him an ideal choice to become the warder in charge of Mandela and his comrades on Robben Island. After all, Gregory speaks their language and can spy on them. However, the plan backfires. Through Mandela's influence, Gregory's allegiance gradually shifts from the racist government to the struggle for a free South Africa.

Goodbye Bafana tracks the unlikely but profound relationship between these two men. Through their unique friendship, we witness not only Gregory's growing awareness of man's inhumanity to man, but South Africa's evolution from Apartheid to a vibrant democracy.

The story, which documents how Mandela became the most inspirational political figure of the modern world, poses the questions: Who is the prisoner? And who sets whom free? --© Paramount Classics
[More]

Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Diane Kruger, Dennis Haysbert, Shiloh Henderson

Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Diane Kruger, Dennis Haysbert, Shiloh Henderson, Tyron Keogh, Megan Smith, Jessica Manuel, Faith Ndukwana, Terry Pheto

Director: Bille August

Director: Bille August
Screenwriter: Greg Latter, Bille August
Producer: Jean-Luc Van Damme, Ilann Girard, Andro Steinborn
Composer: Dario Marianelli
Studio: Paramount Classics

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Color of Freedom

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

n engaging, inspirational and ultimately uplifting drama with superb performances from its two leads.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
06/09/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Sincere as it patently is, and perfectly competently made, Goodbye Bafana progresses through the last years of the apartheid regime at a snail's pace.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
05/11/07
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

The script is lumpen and prosaic, the performances so-so, and the passage of the years deeply unconvincing.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
05/11/07
Independent

Dull.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
05/11/07
Johnny Vaughan
Johnny Vaughan
Sun Online

Occasionally moving but mostly dry.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
05/11/07
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Goodbye Bafana should keep you locked in for most of its generous running time.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
05/11/07
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Total Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is just painfully worthy TV-movie stuff.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
05/11/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A rose-tinted homage. But affecting too.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
05/11/07
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A strong performance from Fiennes and excellent period detail can't energise a sluggish biographical drama.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/11/07
Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Interesting story and OK performances but this takes a little time to warm up.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/11/07
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Full marks to director Bille August for achieving the near-impossible: crafting a film about Nelson Mandela that threatens to send you to sleep and reduces the great man himself to mere background noise.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
05/10/07
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a portrait of political activism that makes John and Yoko's bed-in look lively.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/07
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Forceful and timely stuff.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
04/14/07
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Director August once had a knack for telling stories of adolescent bonds, and he makes good use of one childhood flashback and a scene in which Bafana and Mandela blend into one person. For a moment, he achieves a balance the rest of the film lacks.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
12/14/07
John Hartl
John Hartl
Seattle Times

The film is most interesting when showing the ignorance of the Afrikaners. The film falters when trying to address the complexities of the political issues.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
12/13/07
Bill White
Bill White
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Another well-meaning, dopily prosaic movie of the sort that often gets a mercy nomination thrown its way ... Does a severe disservice to a truly great history.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
12/12/07
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

Opportunities to emotionally bond with happenings onscreen are far and few between.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/14/07
Russell Edwards
Russell Edwards
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Europudding in chocolate sauce.

Full Review Source: european-films.net | comment Comment
04/11/07
Boyd van Hoeij
Boyd van Hoeij
european-films.net
 
 
1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View
all

Latest News for The Color of Freedom

December 13, 2007: Critical Consensus: I Am Legend All Over the Map, Chipmunks Hits Sour Note
This week at the movies, we've got the last man on earth (I Am Legend, starring Will Smith), Alvin, Simon, and Theodore (Alvin and the Chipmunks, starring Jason Lee), and mommy... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
67% 67% Public Enemies
75% 75% Julie & Julia
95% 95% The Cove
85% 85% World's Greatest Dad

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Exclusive: The World of Where the Wild Things Are
21
  • Peter Jackson Talks Hobbit, LotR Blu-ray Source: Collider.com
19
  • Woman Jailed for Filming New Moon Screening Source: Chicago Sun-Times
17
  • McG Has Plans for Fifth and Sixth Terminator Movies Source: Gizmodo
195
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
22
  • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
24
  • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
26
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
22
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
42
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
2
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
82
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
56
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
50
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
46
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
40
  • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
37
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: The Blind Side Takes the Lead
29
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
28
  • Friday Harvest: Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and more!
24
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
12
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Color of Freedom at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.