The Power of One

---...and silly boogers who gripe about how a film doesn't wholly recapitulate a novel need a length of two-by-four applied briskly about the head and shoulders as a necessary distraction.I'm also one of the folks who read *The Power of One* years before this film was made. Like most novels, it's a pretty big hunk of fiction. One of the reasons why the work of hack SF writer Phillip K. Dick gets made into so many movies (apart from the fact that he's as much the darling of the MLA as he is the object of old-line science fiction fannish contempt) is that he wrote lots of short fiction - novelettes and novellas*** -- and the average movie script really can't encompass more of characterization, detail and plot than is contained in a novelette.If you're a screenwriter or a producer, you can't expect to pack into a two-hour movie every character and plot element of a novel exactly as written. Even the bladder-busting *Lord of the Rings* and *Harry Potter* movies don't do that.Frankly, when I saw *The Power of One* I was disappointed to discover that the guard sergeant who murdered Geel Piet *didn't* die the slow agony of metastatic cancer (as framed in the novel) instead of enjoying the quick and relatively painless off-stage fate of simply getting found hanged by the neck in Geel Piet's cell. Shucks.But I knew enough to live with my disappointment, and that means I can enjoy this movie *AND* the novel, each as an example of good art. If the best revenge is living better than the boob who offends you, let's take it as given that I'm enjoying perfect vengeance on the most oafish of my predecessors on this site.Take that, you clods.--------------*** SFWA defines a novelette as being between 7,500 and 17,499 words -- between short story and novella length -- while the novella is defined as running from 17,500 to 39,999 words. 40,000 words and more is by their definition a novel.

I grew up in Zambia, Southern Africa and so perhaps I love this movie partly because of my background, but I think that this movie is excellent beyond that.This movie shows some of the truest beauty of Southern Africa, the stunningly beautiful scenes of PK and Doc canoeing on the river with elephants bathing nearby. The score only adds to the movie with some of the most breathtakingly beautiful African music I have heard in a long time. Each time I hear it, it takes me back... I really think that it accurately captures the feeling of Africa.The movie may not follow the book, but that is not the point. So the movie is different from the book, no problem. The movie is aiming at showing racism for the ugly beast that it is and showing how just one person can really make a difference. Being different from the book is not a bad thing in this case, as the movie is powerful nonetheless.This is one of my favorite movies and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

This is am excellent movie set during apartheid in South Africa. The storyline is tremendous and the scenery is wonderful. It is a must see.

If you want to teach your kids about apartheid in South Africa this movie does it with class and verve..Someone needs to do a Criterion edition of this film, IT DESERVES ONE..Outstanding!

I saw this movie for the first time when I was a young teenager. It has served as an inspiration to me throughout my life, though I have not seen it in many years. I saw it on Amazon for sale on DVD and had to make it a part of my DVD collection. My husband and I just watched it together and still felt moved by its power. Since watching this movie I felt certain that I could make a difference, that I could change people's lives, and that I could indeed help shift the world's injustices towards fairness and equality. How's that for the power of ONE movie? Worth seeing? I'd say so. Worth changing your life over? I am living my life everyday seeing and witnessing the POWER OF ONE.

... bought this film for the scene where the very fine actor Morgan Freeman is forced to eat some excrement.I bought this film for the scene where the very fine actor Morgan Freeman is forced to eat some excrement. It appears that no mater how horrific the subject matter is; a line is drawn where fine white actors humiliation is limited; somehow the "story/script" is adjusted. Would Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery, Laurence Olivier ever do such a scene? Ya gotta wonder.

Well, I've purchased this DVD because I remembered the film, and I love the cinematography (having been to South Africa). The performances are also very good, most notably Morgan Freeman, who gives perhaps the best performance of his career. These are the reasons I have purchased this film for my sparse collection. However, I find the premise to be offensive. Like many western films shot in the third world (a lesser film called "The City of Joy" with Patrick Swayze comes first to mind), there is an arrogance that pervades. The white boy ends up saving the "poor Africans" who haven't had the courage to stand up against their oppressors. He serves as a savior figure, and so, the racist nature of the film is largely masked by the love and devotion given by the savior figure. In this respect, the film is horrendously flawed like many others that seem to say (even if they don't mean to) that a white person is needed to show the way. Of course, that's hogwash and perhaps one of the worst forms of racism because it's masked in what appears to be love and the desire to assist. Bear this in mind when making a decision whether or not to purchase.

La película es extraordinaria y el precio y envío muy aconsejables, dado que esta película cuesta mucho de conseguir hoy en día.

Esta película no sólo es una joya, sino que es cada vez más difícil de conseguir. Aunque no viene subtitulada en ningún idioma (lo cual, en lo personal, no es problema), la historia es suficientemente clara para disfrutarla. El producto llegó en tiempo y en perfectas condiciones. Muy recomendable si es que vuelve a estar en stock.

I love this movie and the used copy I found and bought on Amazon was in great condition. Very reasonable priced. I'm thrilled to own this film again.The story here, about Civil Rights and the history of a troubling time in South Africa, traced through the unique life of one boy, is truly a beautifully crafted tale. And as its title implies, the story shows us the power an individual has over social change.

I have had this movie on Video for ages and have wanted the DVD, unfortunatly my only option was to buy the US version, which I have now done. This movie is one of my must sees, a very moving film, which all my friends hadnt seen before and have loved. As to the previous reviews if the book is even better, I will go and buy. This is a must for your DVD collection.

Best dvd ever