The Last Lions | |
---|---|
Directed by | Dereck Joubert |
Narrated by | Jeremy Irons |
Music by | Alex Wurman |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Virgil Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Last Lions is a 2011 African nature documentary film by National Geographic Society, videotaped and directed by Dereck and Beverly Joubert. It was shot in Botswana's Okavango Delta. The film premiered at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2011 [1] and was released in select theaters the following month on February 18. [2] [3] The film follows in the tradition of other National Geographic big cat films, such as India: Land of the Tiger and Eye of the Leopard .
The film documentary focuses on a lioness named Ma di Tau ("Mother of Lions") as she battles to protect her cubs against the daunting onslaught of enemies to ensure their survival. The underlying message of the film is on the low population of large cats in the world and whether or not Ma di Tau and her cubs are among the last lions. [4] [ failed verification ] The film is narrated by Jeremy Irons, who voiced Scar in Disney's 1994 animated film The Lion King . [1] Irons also narrated Eye of the Leopard , a 2006 National Geographic film. [5]
Four years earlier, National Geographic released Super Pride, which was narrated by Lance Lewman. Disneynature released African Cats , a similar documentary film in April 2011.
Roar: Lions of the Kalahari, another National Geographic film about lions was released, but later it was re-released as Lions 3D: Roar of the Kalahari and the film was narrated by James Garrett.
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 87% of 38 professional critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.3 out of 10.
The leopard is one of the five extant species in the genus Panthera. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of 92–183 cm (36–72 in) with a 66–102 cm (26–40 in) long tail and a shoulder height of 60–70 cm (24–28 in). Males typically weigh 30.9–72 kg (68–159 lb), and females 20.5–43 kg (45–95 lb).
Born Free is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple, who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood and released her into the wilderness of Kenya. The film was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia Pictures. The screenplay, written by blacklisted Hollywood writer Lester Cole, was based upon Joy Adamson's 1960 non-fiction book Born Free. The film was directed by James Hill and produced by Sam Jaffe and Paul Radin. Born Free, and its musical score, by John Barry, as well as the title song, with lyrics by Don Black and sung by Matt Monro, won numerous awards.
The brown hyena, also called strandwolf, is a species of hyena found in Namibia, Botswana, western and southern Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique and South Africa. It is the only extant species in the genus Parahyaena. It is currently the rarest species of hyena. The largest remaining brown hyena population is located in the southern Kalahari Desert and coastal areas in Southwest Africa. The global population of brown hyena is estimated by IUCN at a number between 4,000 and 10,000 and its conservation status is marked as near threatened in the IUCN Red List.
The Cape lion was a population of lions in South Africa's Natal and Cape Provinces that was extirpated in the mid-19th century. The type specimen originated at the Cape of Good Hope and was described in 1842.
Jonathan Scott is an English zoologist, wildlife photographer and television presenter specializing in African wildlife.
Eye of the Leopard is a 2006 National Geographic documentary directed by Dereck and Beverly Joubert. Set in the Mombo region of the Okavango Delta, Botswana, the film explores the life of a female leopard, Legadema, as she matures from a cub to an adult. Jeremy Irons, voice actor of Scar from Disney's 1994 animation The Lion King, narrates the film. It premiered in the US on the National Geographic Channel on October 8, 2006, and has won many awards including the BBC wildscreen Panda award for Best Sound Wild Screen and an Emmy. Since the success of the film, a book and an app of the same title have been released.
Battle at Kruger is an eight-minute amateur wildlife video that depicts a confrontation between a herd of Cape buffalo, a small group of young lions from a pride, and two crocodiles. The video was shot in September 2004 at the Transport Dam watering hole in Kruger National Park, South Africa, during a safari guided by Frank Watts. It was filmed by videographer David Budzinski and photographer Jason Schlosberg.
Living with Tigers is a 2003 documentary about tigers in Africa. It aired on Discovery.
William Goodchild is a composer, orchestrator and conductor who produces music for film, television and the concert hall.
Gordon John Buchanan is a Scottish wildlife cameraman, filmmaker and presenter. His work includes the nature documentaries Tribes, Predators & Me, The Polar Bear Family & Me and Life in the Snow.
Jeremy John Irons is an English actor and activist. He is known for his roles on stage and screen having won numerous accolades including an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. He is one of the few actors who has achieved the "Triple Crown of Acting" in the US having won Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Awards for Film, Television and Theatre.
African Cats is a 2011 nature documentary film about a pride of lions and a family of cheetahs trying to survive in the African savannah directed by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey. The film was released theatrically by Disneynature on Earth Day, April 22, 2011. The film is narrated by Samuel L. Jackson. A portion of the proceeds for the film were donated to the African Wildlife Foundation and their effort to preserve Kenya's Amboseli Wildlife Corridor. The film's initiative with the African Wildlife Foundation is named "See African Cats, Save the Savanna", and as of May 2011, ticket sales translated into 50,000 acres of land saved in Kenya.
Kevin Rene Richardson, known as "The Lion Whisperer", is a South African YouTube personality, wildlife conservationist and self-taught sanctuary owner who works with African lions, black leopards, spotted hyenas and striped hyenas.
Inside Mecca is a 2003 National Geographic documentary film by Anisa Mehdi that offers an intimate documentation of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Aside from providing insight regarding the universal principles of Islam, this production emphasizes the historical significance of Mecca to both the Muslim and non-Muslim population. Often constituting a journey of epic proportions, it follows several pilgrims throughout their trip, and highlight their physical and mental preparation, the strain induced by the journey itself, and the spiritual ecstasy experienced upon arrival. The film is narrated by American voice actor Keith David.
Great Plains Conservation is conservation and tourism organization, which helps to manage several wildlife reserves in Kenya, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. The group currently operates 18 safari camps, which include luxury lodges and tented camps. Great Plains Conservation works together with local governments and community groups to promote low-density, environmentally conscious tourism, supplying economic incentives for the protection of wildlife.
Kevin McCarey is an Emmy and Peabody Award winning filmmaker and author. He has worked extensively for National Geographic Television and the Turner Networks as producer, writer and director of documentaries. His narrative film work includes festival winners Coyotes, San Juan Story and Extinction.
Susan Scott is a British-South African documentary filmmaker known for her film Stroop - Journey into the Rhino Horn War (2018). Born in Zimbabwe, her British family later emigrated to South Africa where she went to high school. Receiving an athletic scholarship to study in the United States, she lived there for ten years before returning to Africa. Scott films all over the world on conservation themed films. She has been named an Unsung Conservation Hero by Africa Geographic.
Dereck Joubert is a South African-born filmmaker, author, conservationist and National Geographic explorer-in-residence based in Botswana. He is also the brother of South African artist and conservationist Keith Joubert.
Beverly Joubert is a South African-born wildlife photographer, filmmaker, conservationist and National Geographic explorer-in-residence.