A long time ago I talked about Savage Splendor, a film that details what a few explorers in the 1940s found upon traveling to Africa, a continent often forgotten when it comes to international affairs. This rather short documentary shows us that Africa is home to many unique animal species and landscapes that don't exist anywhere else. The environments are also enormous. The movie doesn't really have a storyline, but there are many memorable experiences throughout. Armand Denis (the film maker) and his wife Michaela start off by traveling to east africa, then a British colony. They see various potentially dangerous wild animals, such as elephants and rhinos. Natives from a certain tribe demonstrate how to trap a hyena, and one man is even attacked by a leopard as he goes to retrieve river water (this part looks kind of staged). Later, they observe seals, vultures and penguins along the coast and extract blood from one of the seals, causing it to humorously waddle back into the ocean as fast as it can. They then go to look at ostriches and even ride some of them and cook some of their eggs. The egg of an ostrich provides a meal big enough for six humans. Along the way to meet tribesmen they encounter pelicans in a lake and hippos fighting. One of the film's most tense moments occurs when they enlist the help of a tribe in order to capture a baby gorilla. The film makers and natives then go to a location with a tall tree and have someone climb it in order to get honey from a beehive. The natives seem to be immune to bee stings as well, despite the insects swarming everywhere. The film then says that because Africa has so many intriguing species and sights to see, you'll never be able to forget it. It's even more mind blowing to think that this film only covers the section of the continent located beneath the Sahara Desert, as North African countries such as Egypt are way different and have thousands more ancient stories to tell. Because this film has quite a lot of footage pertaining to exotic wildlife and scenery, I think I'm correct in saying it's one of the foremost documentaries on africa, even if they only explored a fraction of the whole landmass. I've heard there are other films of this nature made by Armand, and I can't wait to see them.
8 Reviews
early scenery of africa and animal species
ksf-211 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Director Armand Denis has an interesting story himself, and if there isn't a doc on him already, should probably have one made about his own life. After a radio invention, he began traveling and filming safaris in Africa. It starts out pretty dry, but has some interesting technicolor footage of Nairobi and the african plains. We watch, as Denis traps and annoys the various species of african animal life. Hyenas, porcupines, leopards. Beautiful, early video of Victoria Falls and thousands of flamingos. Jackass penguins. Interesting stuff, and during a time when it was okay to annoy and trap wildlife. Fun to see the landscape and various animals from back in the day. The narration is pretty droll, but the photography and scenery is pretty amazing. and the music matches the various moods being shown on film. about halfway through, they interact with native tribes, which may or may not have been rehearsed for the camera. and a quick stop at the Carr Hartley zoo. As docs go, its pretty good. a flashback to an earlier time.
old fashion nature film
SnoopyStyle18 May 2022
Filmmaker Armand Denis and his wife Michaela travel to British East Africa for a safari. Only they're not bringing guns. They're bringing cameras to capture the animal for eternity. They do catch a few alive for their zoo friends. That's what passes as progressive back in the day. This is an old fashion nature film. One can really feel the colonialism. The cinematography is solid with some awesome animals. There is a bit of the culture of the villagers as they help them in catching their live specimens and kill a gorilla for a feast. It's the early 50's, so the wifey can be seen but rarely heard from. I'm joking, sort of. This is old fashion in more than one way and that's fine.
African Wildlife~ Documentary
safaribooks18 November 2005
Excellent photography in brilliant color featuring Armand and wife Michella on Safari in various parts of Africa, starting with their arrival in Nairobi. Their friendship with two tamed cheetahs and a crested crane added humor and excitement to their camp life. Photographing elephants with large tusks was an added bonus for this feature, as elephants with huge tusks no longer exists in Africa, it is a thing of the past, as poachers killed them all for ivory, except a handful now exist in the whole continent.
The film is historically important, as it shows vast herds of impalas, kudus, elephants and other game once flourished in Africa. Their numbers have been drastically reduced today. The only animals still abundant in East and South Africa are the wildbeast, zebra and Cape buffalo.
Overall an excellent documentary from the great film maker.
The film is historically important, as it shows vast herds of impalas, kudus, elephants and other game once flourished in Africa. Their numbers have been drastically reduced today. The only animals still abundant in East and South Africa are the wildbeast, zebra and Cape buffalo.
Overall an excellent documentary from the great film maker.
The Score by Paul Sawtell is also worth hearing
dizozza23 June 2008
Nature movies of Africa gain value over time, because the continent is ever changing. This film contains moments that have ALSO become more unsettling over time, such as the gorilla hunt. Apparently gorillas kidnap villagers' children (Aren't gorillas herbivores?) so the villagers surround the forest to kill the gorillas. The documentarians follow and save a baby gorilla, but that is all they can do. The hunt makes no sense, except as a companion piece to another RKO film, King Kong. The musical score and full spectrum color make the movie a worthwhile audio visual experience. Some of the portrait photography is also wonderful.
Mondo Michaela
JohnSeal22 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Come for the colorful wildlife and natives...stay for the eye candy of Michaela Denis, the 'co-host' of this questionable documentary look at the 'Dark Continent'. Filmed by Belgian born amateur anthropologist Armand Denis, Below the Sahara reminds us that Africa is still filled with 'terror and violence' and that the local tribespeople are overly emotional but also love to have fun. We also get lots of looks at their white masters, here seen taming cheetahs and herding South African penguins. On the plus side, Below the Sahara was filmed in (now washed out) Technicolor and does feature some remarkable footage, not least the dizzying finale of gorilla bloodshed. Alas, it also suffers from some scenes that appear to have been staged, such as an attack on a 'boy' (a full grown porter) by a leopard and some dubious ostrich riding. The sound was also clearly post-synched, and the narration is patently NOT that of a Belgian man. Still and all, a fascinating time capsule of interest to those who liked Mondo Cane and its ilk.
Leave Them There Alive
boblipton19 May 2022
The copy of this documentary made by Armand Denis and his second wife, Michaela, was originally shot in Kodachrome, and later transferred to Technicolor. Perhaps that is why the images are not particularly sharp, and the color palette a bit muddy. Nonetheless, there are some great sequences, like the man who trains cheetahs for maharajahs to hunt with, using a wooden spoon; pelicans feeding on a lake, surprisingly graceful and balletic on the water; and and an exemplary example of the Kueleshov Effect by editor David Cooper, showing Denis trying to make an ostrich egg omelet, with reaction shots from the big birds.
Denis produced the first of Frank Buck's movies, and while he also did a few fiction films, he concentrated on wildlife documentaries for the movies and television. He died in 1971 at the age of 74.
Denis produced the first of Frank Buck's movies, and while he also did a few fiction films, he concentrated on wildlife documentaries for the movies and television. He died in 1971 at the age of 74.
Surprisingly modern and free of many of the usual cliches.
planktonrules18 May 2022
This film was created by nature photographer Armand Denis with help from his wife Michaela and a few other crew members. It chronicles a trip they took to gather specimens and film various African animals. And, while they make it seem like it was filmed over a small area, the movie actually was made in many African countries.
The Denis' films and television shows made for the BBC in the 1950s are unusual compared to earlier nature documentaries. This is a good thing, as the emphasis is on realism...something you rarely see in 1930s and 40s nature films...which often feature a lot of incorrect stock footage and horrible narration. Fortunately, "Below the Sahara" is free of these problems and offers a view of what the continent used to look like.
Among the footage you'll see are penguins, sea lions, cheetahs, gorillas and much, much more. Overall, very well filmed and most enjoyable.
The Denis' films and television shows made for the BBC in the 1950s are unusual compared to earlier nature documentaries. This is a good thing, as the emphasis is on realism...something you rarely see in 1930s and 40s nature films...which often feature a lot of incorrect stock footage and horrible narration. Fortunately, "Below the Sahara" is free of these problems and offers a view of what the continent used to look like.
Among the footage you'll see are penguins, sea lions, cheetahs, gorillas and much, much more. Overall, very well filmed and most enjoyable.
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