Rise and Fall of Idi Amin

This article is about the film. For details of the real-life rise and fall of Idi Amin, see Idi Amin

Rise and Fall of Idi Amin, also known as Amin: The Rise and Fall, is a 1981 biographical film directed by Sharad Patel and starring Joseph Olita as Idi Amin. Olita also played Amin in the 1991 film Mississippi Masala.^[3]

Rise and Fall of Idi Amin
Film poster
Directed by	Sharad Patel
Written by	Wade Huie
Produced by	Sharad Patel
Starring	Joseph Olita Thomas Baptiste Leonard Trolley Denis Hills
Cinematography	Harvey Harrison
Edited by	Keith Palmer
Music by	Christopher Gunning
Distributed by	International Film Marketing[1]
Release date	25 August 1981 (1981-08-25)
Running time	101 minutes
Countries	Kenya Nigeria United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$26 million
Box office	$4 million[2]

Plot

It details the controversial actions and atrocities of the former dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin Dada, during his violent rise to power in 1971 until his overthrow in 1979 as the result of the Uganda–Tanzania War. Rise and Fall of Idi Amin was a co-production of the United Kingdom, Kenya, and Nigeria, with most of filming done in Kenya,^[4][5] less than a year after Amin's downfall.^[6]

Historical accuracy

Despite being branded as an exploitation film, it is reasonably accurate with the facts and dates of the events depicted, including the Israeli raid, the war with Tanzania, 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 Idi Amin in a book that Hills had written.^[1]

Reaction

When released internationally, most of the voices were dubbed because of poor sound production.^[7]

The film won five awards, including best actor, at the Las Vegas International Film Festival.^[8]