''Rise and Fall of Idi Amin'', also known as ''Amin: The Rise and Fall'', is a 1981

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

directed by Sharad Patel and starring Joseph Olita as

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

. Olita also played Amin in the 1991 film ''

Mississippi Masala ''Mississippi Masala'' is a 1991 romantic drama film directed by Mira Nair, based upon a screenplay by Sooni Taraporevala, starring Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, and Roshan Seth. Set primarily in rural Mississippi, the film explores ...

''.

Plot

It details the controversial actions and atrocities of the former

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, Idi Amin Dada, during his violent rise to power in 1971 until his overthrow in 1979 as the result of the

Uganda–Tanzania War The Uganda–Tanzania War, known in Tanzania as the Kagera War (Kiswahili: ''Vita vya Kagera'') and in Uganda as the 1979 Liberation War, was fought between Uganda and Tanzania from October 1978 until June 1979 and led to the overthrow of Ugand ...

. ''Rise and Fall of Idi Amin'' was a co-production of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, and

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, with most of filming done in

, less than a year after Amin's downfall.

Historical accuracy

Despite being branded as an

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

, it is reasonably accurate with the facts and dates of the events depicted, including the Israeli raid, the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

with

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

, and the capture, imprisonment and sentencing of British journalist Denis Hills (who portrays himself in the film) on espionage and sedition charges following comments about

in a book that Hills had written.

Reaction

When released internationally, most of the voices were dubbed because of poor sound production. The film won five awards, including best actor, at the Las Vegas International Film Festival.Obituary: Joseph Olita on playing Idi Amin
at YouTube

References

External links

Rise and Fall of Idi Amin
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

1981 films British biographical films Cold War films 1980s exploitation films Films shot in Kenya Films set in the 1970s Films set in Uganda Cultural depictions of Idi Amin Nigerian biographical films Operation Entebbe War films based on actual events 1980s biographical films 1980s historical films Films scored by Christopher Gunning Films about coups d'état Kenyan drama films 1980s English-language films English-language Nigerian films English-language Kenyan films Nigerian drama films 1980s British films English-language historical films English-language biographical films {{bio-film-stub