When most people think of visiting Africa, they think of wildlife and the big screen has brought those experiences to life for decades. The safari experience is almost impossible to describe and even more so to share on film. Still, many have tried over the years.
Here's a look at some of the best African safari movies that capture the beauty, adventure, and drama of the African wilderness.
Classics That Inspired a Generation
Out of Africa (1985)
The movie, Out of Africa, inspired many a traveler to take a trip to Africa and specifically Kenya. The movie features breathtaking scenery of Kenya including the areas around Nairobi and the Maasai Mara. The movie, based on the book by Karen Blixen, is a memoir of her life in the early 1900’s in Kenya, then known as British East Africa to colonists.
Meryl Streep and Robert Redford play the lead characters for this romance, though I believe the true romance of the film is Karen falling in love with the land and people of Kenya. Karen writes and reveals in the movie her own personal experience as a woman in this time period running a coffee plantation in spite of her absent husband and interactions with locals many of which were part of the infamous Happy Valley Set of the Kenya Colony in the 1920’s. The story touches on events of the time including colonialism, World War I, shooting safaris and her interactions with the local Kikuyu tribe. On a trip to Kenya, you can visit her home and conversations with the locals will reveal that the love went both ways.
Born Free (1966)
For a certain generation, Born Free was the film that sparked a desire to see Africa and a movement towards animal rights. This classic, released in 1966 and based on the nonfiction book, tells the story of Elsa, an orphaned lion cub in Kenya and of George and Joy Adamson, the couple who forged an emotional bond with her.
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At a national park in Kenya, English game warden George Adamson (Bill Travers) and his wife, Joy (Virginia McKenna), care for three orphaned lion cubs. The lion cubs parents were killed after attacking villagers. After the two larger lions are shipped off to a zoo in the Netherlands, the smallest of the three, Elsa, stays with the couple.
The Lion King (1994)
When you think of safaris and big game, it’s hard not to immediately imagine the Circle of Life scene from the beginning of Disney’s epic African adventure, The Lion King. It might be animation and talking lions rather than real life nature scenes, but adults and kids alike can’t fail to be inspired to take a safari holiday after watching Simba on screen.
The Disney imagineers definitely did their homework. On safari, you will find many of the names of the animals are Swahili and the characteristics of the animals is spot on.
True Stories of Wildlife and Conservation
Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
Gorillas in the Mist is another true story based on the life of Dian Fossey. The story tells the tale of the naturalist, played by Sigourney Weaver, and her relationship with the group of primates she studies in the Congo. Studying them at close quarters, Fossey develops a means of communicating with the gorillas, and in so doing becomes obsessed with the beasts’ well-being.
The Last Lions (2011)
The Last Lions is a documentary film about the heartbreaking decline of the lion population in Africa. Fifty years ago there were close to 500 million lions in Africa. Today there are around 20,000. Lions, unlike elephants which are far more numerous, have virtually no protection under government mandate or through international accords.
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The safari eco-tourist industry brings in over 200 billion dollars per year with lions being a top “must-see” and yet little is done to protect the lions. In addition, big cats are at the very top of the food chain and their elimination would wreak havoc on all species below them in ecosystem collapse. The documentary was made in collaboration between National Geographic and their Explorers-in-Residence, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, who are filmmakers from Botswana.
The Ivory Game (2016)
The movie, The Ivory Game, is a documentary revealing the Ivory Trade industry endangering the elephants. The filmmakers show all side of this Ivory industry from the insatiable Chinese market and the local poachers to the wildlife conversationalists and government programs to save the elephants. I watched this movie on the night before I went on a week long safari in Tanzania where the documentary is partially filmed.
Virunga (2014)
This Academy Award Oscar nominated film is the true story of the rangers risking their lives to save Africa's most precious national park and its endangered gorillas from war and damaging oil exploration activity within the UNESCO World Heritage site. Virunga spotlights the brave people who have dedicated their lives to build a better future for themselves and the animals they protect in Virunga National Park, one of the most bio-diverse places on Earth. If you’ve ever seen a mountain gorilla, or have a desire to see one, this film is a must.
Adventure and Drama in the African Landscape
The Ghost and the Darkness (1996)
Set in 1898 and starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas, The Ghost and the Darkness is based on the true story of two lions in East Africa that killed dozens of people working on a railroad. Sir Robert Beaumont (Tom Wilkinson) is behind schedule on a railroad in Africa. Enlisting noted engineer John Henry Patterson (Val Kilmer) to right the ship, Beaumont expects results.
Everything seems great until the crew discovers the mutilated corpse of the project’s foreman (Henry Cele), seemingly killed by a lion. After several more attacks, Patterson calls in famed hunter Charles Remington (Michael Douglas), who has finally met his match in the bloodthirsty lions. Don’t let this movie put you off safaris.
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The Legend of Tarzan (2016)
Everyone’s favorite jungle hero has been the subject of many films over the Hollywood years. In The Legend of Tarzan, it’s been nearly a decade since Tarzan (Alexander Skarsgård), also known as John Clayton III, left Africa to live in Victorian England with his wife Jane. Danger lurks on the horizon as Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz), a treacherous envoy for King Leopold, devises a scheme that lures the couple to the Congo. Rom plans to capture Tarzan and deliver him to an old enemy in exchange for diamonds.
The African Queen (1951)
Another one from old Hollywood, The African Queen focuses on life in Africa during World War II. After religious spinster’s (Katharine Hepburn) missionary brother is killed in WWI Africa, dissolute steamer captain (Humphrey Bogart) offers her safe passage. She’s not satisfied so she persuades him to destroy a German gunboat. The two spend most of their time fighting with each other rather than the Germans. Clint Eastwood’s film is based loosely on the experiences of writer Peter Viertel and director John Huston on the set of The African Queen.
Other notable mentions
- King Solomon's Mines - Based on the classic 1885 novel of the same name by Sir H. Rider Haggard.
- Mogambo - The movie stars Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, and Grace Kelly as morally corrupt individuals thrown together on safari.
- Hatari! - Features the Duke as the leader of a group who catches animals for zoos and circuses.
- White Hunter, Black Heart - During the shoot of Queen, director John Huston drove everyone mad due to his desire to hunt elephant rather than shoot the movie.
- The Naked Prey - After a safari offends a local tribe, that tribe kills all but PH Cornel Wilde in horrific ways before letting the latter go so they can hunt him.
Documentaries to Immerse Yourself in African Wildlife
Here are some documentaries that offer an immersive experience of African wildlife and landscapes:
- Planet Earth Africa
- Into the Okavango
- Okavango: River of Dreams
- Big Cat Tales
- African Cats
- Dynasties
- Night on Earth
- Jane
Films for the Whole Family
Here are some films that are suitable for the whole family to enjoy:
- The Lion Children
- Animals are Beautiful People
- Monkey Kingdom
Books to Read Before Your Safari
Some of the books below are informative field guides and reference books to learn more about the species you might see on safari, and several come in pocket size or digital e-book formats that you could even take on safari with you.
- A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson
- A Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
- A Primate’s Memoir by Robert Sapolsky
- Africa by Richard Dowden
- Animals of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area by Adam Scott Kennedy
- Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal
- Birds of East Africa by Terry Stevenson and John Fanshawe
- Cathedral of the Wild by Boyd Varty
Table: Featured African Safari Movies
| Movie Title | Year | Genre | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Out of Africa | 1985 | Drama, Romance | A Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter in colonial Kenya. |
| Born Free | 1966 | Family, Adventure | The story of Elsa, an orphaned lion cub raised by a couple in Kenya, and their efforts to release her back into the wild. |
| The Lion King | 1994 | Animation, Family | A young lion prince flees his kingdom after the death of his father, only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery. |
| Gorillas in the Mist | 1988 | Biography, Drama | The story of Dian Fossey and her work studying gorillas in the Congo, and her fight to protect them from poachers. |
| The Ivory Game | 2016 | Documentary | An undercover team exposes the illegal ivory trade and the endangerment of elephants in Africa. |
