The Born Free Legacy, BBC Four | reviews, news & interviews
The Born Free Legacy, BBC Four
The Born Free Legacy, BBC Four
The story of Joy and George Adamson is a long way from the rose-tinted myth
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
The lion does sometimes lie down with the man - and the woman
If you have fond childhood memories of either the Born Free book or movie, you might want to stay away. From the opening moments of this documentary, the knowledge that lion-loving conservationist George Adamson was fatally shot in the back on a dirt road in Kenya will immediately stop John Barry’s epic and optimistic theme song from swelling to life in your head. But that’s only the beginning of a systematic dismantling of the Born Free myth from a documentary which, ironically, was made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Joy Adamson’s unexpected bestseller.
If you have fond childhood memories of either the Born Free book or movie, you might want to stay away. From the opening moments of this documentary, the knowledge that lion-loving conservationist George Adamson was fatally shot in the back on a dirt road in Kenya will immediately stop John Barry’s epic and optimistic theme song from swelling to life in your head. But that’s only the beginning of a systematic dismantling of the Born Free myth from a documentary which, ironically, was made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Joy Adamson’s unexpected bestseller.
‘Pre-Born Free, Africa was the Dark Continent and blowing away Big Game was as gentlemanly a pastime as golf or cricket’
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