#774: BERESFORD, Bruce: Mister Johnson (1990)

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BERESFORD, Bruce (United States)
Mister Johnson [1990]
Spine #774
Blu-ray

A decade after he broke through with Breaker Morant, Australian director Bruce Beresford made another acclaimed film about the effects of colonialism on the individual. In a performance that earned him the Berlin Film Festival's Silver Bear for best actor, Maynard Eziashi plays the title character, a Nigerian villager eager to work as a civil servant for the British authorities, including a sympathetic district officer (Pierce Brosnan), in the hope that it will benefit him in the future. Instead, his ambition leads to his tragic downfall. Mister Johnson, based on the 1939 novel by Joyce Cary, is a graceful, heartfelt drama about the limits of idealism, affectingly acted and handsomely shot.

101 minutes
Color
Stereo
1:85:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2015
Director/Writers


Based upon the novel by Joyce Cary.
Screenplay by William Boyd.
Bruce Beresford was 50 when he directed Mister Johnson.

Other Beresford films in the Collection:

#773: Breaker Morant (1980)

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Ten-page wraparound featuring an essay by film scholar Neil Sinyard.

Commentary

None.

Interviews

With Beresford, producer Michael Fitzgerald, and actors Eziashi and Brosnan.

Trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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