General Idi Amin Dada

"A self portrait."

1974 1h 30m FR

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 39

Documentary

Synopsis

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Filmmaker Barbet Schroeder shows the Ugandan dictator meeting his Cabinet, reviewing his troops, explaining his ideology.

“A self portrait.”

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Cast

Idi Amin
Himself (as Idi Amin Dada)
Fidel Castro
Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Golda Meir
Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Barbet Schroeder
Writers: Barbet Schroeder
Languages: English, French, Swahili
Countries: France, Switzerland

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Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

52 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Swahili.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Switzerland.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Barbet Schroeder, shot by Néstor Almendros. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Idi Amin and Fidel Castro and Golda Meir carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Barbet Schroeder directs. Néstor Almendros behind the camera. Denise de Casabianca cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France, Switzerland. Dialogue in English, French, Swahili.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
252 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Swahili.
4International production across 2 countries: France, Switzerland.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Directed by Barbet Schroeder, shot by Néstor Almendros. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Editor Denise de Casabianca shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Idi Amin and Fidel Castro and Golda Meir carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A self portrait.".
10IMDB entry: tt0071544 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 39 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Néstor Almendros
Editing: Denise de Casabianca
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Status: Released
Original language: FR
IMDB: General Idi Amin Dada (1974)

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Barbet Schroeder

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Community reviews

What people are saying

adorablepanic2020-04-18
★ 7/10
Director Barbet Schroeder's 1974 documentary GENERAL IDI AMIN DADA [A SELF PORTRAIT] may be the ultimate realization of the phrase 'give 'em enough rope.' Schroeder just turns the camera on and lets Amin dictate the itinerary. In addition to endless parades involving his obviously strapped-for-resources military (one sequence finds paratroopers training with a metal playground slide while onlookers laugh uproariously), we also catch the dictator trying to (literally) talk to the animals; exhorting his government ministers to be more masculine; lecturing the hospitals' doctors on the importance of not being drunk; informing the male leader of Tanzania that he would happily marry him if his hair wasn't gray and he had the right parts; and referencing his sexual marksmanship as it applies to the gender of his children. All of this would be easy enough to laugh off if he didn't also engage in off-the-cuff anti-semitism; order public executions of dissidents; post letters to the United Nations saying that Hitler didn't go far enough; and ultimately lead an estimated 300,000 Ugandans to their death. Amin presents himself as the jolly manifestation of evil; an affable megalomaniac who jostled his way onto the world stage and left his nation in blood-soaked tatters.

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