Invictus

"His people needed a leader. He gave them a champion."

2009 2h 14m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 4,454

DramaHistory

Synopsis

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Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby union team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.

“His people needed a leader. He gave them a champion.”

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Cast

Morgan Freeman
Nelson Mandela
Matt Damon
Francois Pienaar
Tony Kgoroge
Jason Tshabalala
Patrick Mofokeng
Linga Moonsamy
Matt Stern
Hendrick Booyens
Julian Lewis Jones
Etienne Feyder
Adjoa Andoh
Brenda Mazibuko
Marguerite Wheatley
Nerine

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers: Anthony Peckham
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 17 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

233+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Clint Eastwood, shot by Tom Stern. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Kyle Eastwood. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Joel Cox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon and Tony Kgoroge carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "His people needed a leader. He gave them a champion.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Clint Eastwood directs. Tom Stern behind the camera. Kyle Eastwood scores. Joel Cox cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $60M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 17 years ago.
3233+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Clint Eastwood, shot by Tom Stern. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Kyle Eastwood. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Joel Cox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon and Tony Kgoroge carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "His people needed a leader. He gave them a champion.".
9IMDB entry: tt1057500 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 16 themes, including "sports", "stadium", "south africa", "apartheid".

The technical file

Cinematography: Tom Stern
Original score: Kyle Eastwood
Editing: Joel Cox
Production design: James J. Murakami
Costume design: Deborah Hopper
Makeup / hair: Raine Edwards
VFX supervisor: Michael Owens
Sound: Gregg Rudloff
Stunt coordinator: Cordell McQueen
Runtime: 134 min · 2h 14m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,000,000
Box office: $122,400,000
Return: 204% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Invictus (2009)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Clint Eastwood

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Shreyance Parakh2017-05-04
★ 10/10
It's much more than JUST rugby Though the movie doesn't give much insights into the life of the living legend(still breathing among us when I saw this movie) known as NELSON MANDELA, it sure tells us a lot about what the man is made of.That we are the master of our fate, we are the captain of our soul. Forgiveness is a mighty powerful weapon that can make or break nations.How a sport can unite a divided nation into ONE, it is a well known fact but to actually be able to do that in a country like SOUTH Africa,at a time when it was ready to rise from the ashes or to fall into its own crevices lying beneath the surface and ready to torn apart the whole nation again into TWO,is what gives me INSPIRATION to rise whenever i'll fall... The entire cast is brilliant without going overboard in situations that could've been intense.A truly inspiring movie that can be imprinted in your heart for the rest of your lives if you're ready to FORGIVE people and make this world a better place to live in!
r96sk2022-02-11
★ 7/10
A little bit hit-and-miss, though <em>'Invictus'</em> still manages to produce the requirements for a solid sports drama. Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon are two actors I enjoy a lot, but by the end of this 2009 film I was a tad underwhelmed by them. Freeman as Nelson Mandela sounds great on paper, but in reality you kinda lose what makes Freeman so great - his voice, given he has to act with a South African accent. He still does a good job nevertheless, I just don't think I'll remember this particular portrayal of Mandela - unlike Idris Elba's attempt in 2013's <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/mandela-long-walk-to-freedom/" rel="nofollow">Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'</em>. The merging of the two plot points - politics and rugby union - is done well, though the former is easily more interesting than the latter... and I say that as someone who loves sport and dislikes politics! It's one that is worth a watch, it just didn't give me anything to remember.