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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
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| CATEGORY: | DVD |
| DIRECTOR: | Kevin Macdonald |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 2006 |
| MANUFACTURER: | 20th Century Fox |
| MPAA RATING: | R (Restricted) |
| FEATURES: | AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC |
| TYPE: | Adult Situations, Atmospheric, Cannibals, Color, Crimes Against Humanity, Crisis of Conscience, Dangerous Attraction, Disturbing, Docudrama, Drama, English, Feature, Feature Film Drama, Feature Film-drama, Forceful, Germany, Graphic Violence, Movie, Paranoid, Political Drama |
| MEDIA: | DVD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 024543407201 |
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Customer Reviews of The Last King of Scotland (Widescreen Edition)
Good as an actors' showcase This movie works as a thriller and is worth seeing for the acting, which is great. Both Forest Whitaker and the guy who played the Scottish dude were excellent. If this movie was based on a true story, I'd give it a perfect rating. However, since it is fiction, it relies on too many Hollywood cliches, some of which border on racism. <
>Why can't there be a movie about Africa that doesn't involve a main character who is white? Here you have a white guy who comes to Africa, sleeps with black women, gets terrorized by a large, savage black man, then becomes Jesus (in that he is more or less crucified only to be resurrected as a potential savior). The story of Adi Amin is interesting enough that it doesn't need to star a European white guy.
Sorting Fact From Fiction
I suspected that Forest Whitaker would win the Oscar even before I saw "The Last King of Scotland", and the award is well-deserved. It's reason enough to see the movie.
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>Some criticism has been made of the conceit of the young adventure-seeking doctor (James McAvoy) who becomes Amin's personal physician and advisor, since the character is wholly fictional. But if viewers can just accept it as a ruse to demonstrate how people get sucked in by others courtesy of their own overblown egos, it's not a bad gimmick. It's just that it's utterly ordinary, when you think about it. We can witness others being seduced by the possibilities of glory and glamour all the time in our everyday lives.
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>Likewise, one does not need to be a brutal dictator to become incensed by betrayal and/or being cuckolded. Granted, most folks don't resort to torture and dismemberment and the like, but these contrived subplots don't offer us an in-depth look at the psyche of Idi Amin. I would have preferred more information and insight into the crimes against his own citizenry, which are merely hinted at here. In the final analysis, I guess what I'm looking for is a straightforward documentary, but at least "The Last King of Scotland" has piqued my interest in seeking one.
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>PS - For a better sampling of James McAvoy's talents, I recommend "Rory O'Shea Was Here".
strong recommendation for the DVD
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>about King McIdi: "In 1974, Amin offered to head the fight for Scottish independence and proclaimed himself The Last King of Scotland."
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>I was so impressed with this film -- Forest Whittaker deserved his Oscar and I liked how the plot made a plausible presentation of the totality of Idi Amin as a human being -- he was both a charismatic leader and horrifyingly brutal man. This is a case of how a fictional treatment in the form of a movie can give you more insight into the natures of people and idealism.
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>The DVD has a lot of interesting material. The one I was most educated by is the feature on Idi Amin, showing extensive historical footage of him, interviews with Ugandans with either fond or terrible memories of him, and even comments by a colleague of his in the British Army and his actual British physician! There's a picture of him as a young man and another of his wife Kay. (In the movie, she was portrayed by Kerry Washington. According to the DVD extra, it is a fact that the real Kay was found dismembered in the 70s in Uganda. The rumors were that she had had an affair, had sought an abortion, and after dismemberment, had had her limbs sewn back on the wrong way. You have to watch the DVD to find out which are true!)
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>Aside from the usual director's commentary, there are also deleted scenes, the first of which shows Idi Amin in a boxing match on a British army base in 1948. Trivia: he was Uganda's heavyweight boxing champion for nine years. The DVD also features a "Casting Session" from the Fox Movie Channel about how the director Kevin McDonald came to be convinced that mild-mannered Forest Whittaker could play Amin.
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>Thumbs up for all that on one DV disc!