General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

From Barbet Schroeder, a prolific documentarian more well-known for his features: Barfly, the dope classic, More (famous for the Pink Floyd soundtrack), The S&M masterpiece, Maitresse, Reversal of Fortune, Single White Female, The wildly underrated remake of Kids of Death (written by The Wire's, Richard Price) episodes of Mad Men...and so many more. Like Werner Herzog, Schroeder hops effortlessly between documentary and feature film(s).An extremely important (and underrated) director - even his most commercial films are influence by a realness informed by an astonishing number (starting almost fifty years ago) of documentary filmmaking.There’s something enticing about trying to understand the psychology of those who abuse power, or at least observing their behavior and quirks. This is particularly true of historical figures who leave a character imprint nearly as big as the crimes they perpetrate. The latest addition to the Criterion Collection is the 1974 documentary General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait by Barbet Schroeder, one “co-directed” by its subject, a film as fascinating as it is disturbing. This is unsurprising given its subject, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, bestowed upon himself the title “His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Dr. Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, King of Scotland, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular.”In 1974, Barbet Schroeder (along with legendary D.P. Nester Allemendos, famous for his work with Truffaut, Mallik and others) went to Uganda to make a film about Idi Amin, the country’s ruthless, charismatic dictator. Three years into a murderous regime that would be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ugandans, Amin prepared a triumphal greeting for the filmmakers, staging rallies, military maneuvers, and cheery displays of national pride, and envisioning the film as an official portrait to adorn his cult of personality. Schroeder, however, had other ideas, emerging with a disquieting, caustically funny brief against Amin, in which the dictator’s own endless stream of testimony — by turns charming, menacing, and nonsensical — serves as the most damning evidence. A revelatory tug-of-war between subject and filmmaker, General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait is a landmark in the art of documentary and an appalling study of egotism in power.Many are familiar with the portrayal of Idi Amin by Forest Whitaker in the 2006 film The Last King of Scotland, a venture that effectively conveyed the brutal dictator’s eccentricity and instability. After a military coup, he held power in Uganda for nearly a decade in the ‘70s, abusing his position and his people; it is believed around 100,000 to 500,000 Ugandans were killed during his tenure. From his ascension to power, he was was obviously a colorful personality, a man who thought himself a major player on the world stage, a man of taste and wisdom; the reality is he was a malicious, unhinged dictator. Seeing an opportunity, Barbet Schroeder initiated a rather surreptitious piece of film-making, beginning a documentary about him several years into his regime. He stoked Amin’s interest by playing to the man’s ego and allowing him to be involved in the direction of the film, rendering it as something of a “self-portrait.”The approach is similar to that which informed Joshua Oppenheimer’s extraordinary work The Act of Killing (2015), negotiating the cooperation of genocidal subjects, playing to their ego, their wants, their image. Amin expected a piece glorifying himself and his reign, a vanity piece, propaganda essentially. Controlling the shoot, he tries to charm and disarm with his beaming smile, hearty laugh, displays of strength, and accordion playing. He champions his ideas, instructing doctors and soldiers in new approaches and philosophies, casual bravado and fluctuations in tone and temper only hinting at the unspeakable acts he was orchestrating. It’s unsettling fare, their brutality bubbling away under the surface. Despite this, Schroeder fails to really get Amin to open up fully in the way Oppenheimer did with his subjects. His control, of himself and the film, never breaks fully, hinting at Amin’s brutality rather than confronting him with it. The documentary remains a fascinating (if superficial, in the sense that the true horror is off-screen) look at the polished veneer of a madman. A timely release, it’s a warning of how a bloated sense of self-importance and a lack of checks and balances can allow cruelty against the helpless to spread.The release presents a new 2K digital transfer, restored from the original 16mm. Image quality showcases solid and deep blacks, warm natural colors and grain preserved, while the image is free of any artifacts or flaws. Special features are a little lacking compared to other Criterion releases, but those present add an important depth to the truth behind this figure:Interviews from 2001 and 2017 with Schroeder: Both interviews touch on Amin’s legacy, as well that of the film itself. Details on the films production are also included, tidbits that would be nicely incorporated via a director’s audio commentary to be honest, a feature that is sadly missing(!?!?!) Odd that Criterion didn't commission an audio commentary and, again, disappointing.An interview with journalist and author Andrew Rice about Idi Amin’s regime: An overview of Amin’s tenure during the ‘70s, one that adds some drier, but more detailed context to the subject.PLUS: An essay by critic J. Hoberman (co-author of the influential book, Midnight Movies), a liner booklet that details how the film was restored for this release, as well as an insightful contribution from Hoberman.

decent documentary....... idi amin is an entertaining individualworth watching- well put together......... despite his non-PC murder of his countrymen id take Idi Amin over liberal/democrat liars any day......(

Excellent documentary...difficult to watch knowing this criminal lived out his days in the luxury provided by the House of Saudi in Saudi Arabia. He murdered an estimated 80,000-300,000 people and died in luxury.

Chilling! The portrait of a man so evil that he is not even aware anymore! And even more chilling to see that other wealthier countries supported his regime with weapons and otherwise to help him stay in power and oppress his people so horribly. I used to love and admire Golda Meir a lot. Let's leave it at that.

Amazing documentary, one of my personal favorite criterions

The Last King of Scotland revived my interest in Amin and stimulated memories of a man considered to be a monster. This film has a way of recreating the reality of Amin and his times. He was certainly a horrible person, but this film humanizes him a bit and gives a different perspective and context. It is worth watching, but the music is awful.

Outstanding! Well worth the price! A film to not be missed!

Schroeder deserves credit for gaining access to one of the most brutal dictators of the second half of the 20th century, but unless the viewer is already aware of Amin's excesses, this film won't be particularly enlightening. A documentary should show us something we weren't already aware of, so I suppose for anyone who never heard of Idi Amin, this might be a good introduction. We do get a few voice-overs mentioning how many people were killed under Amin's regime, his expulsion of the Indian community (I attended high school with a girl whose family had been expelled from Uganda a few years earlier), but most of the film is little more than Amin nattering along, yet another demonstration of the banality of evil. At one point, he describes a book detailing the “Israeli” plan to take over the world; this turns out to be the Tsarist Russia forgery, “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,” written 45 years before the state of Israel existed.The best documentaries are those that combine original footage of the subject with analysis by experts; there's none of that here. Other than the occasional narration, we hear nothing from historians, politicians, or ordinary Ugandans who could have added a much greater dimension to Amin's relentlessly cheerful bloviating. One missed opportunity was his musical compositions, which are barely mentioned. The DVD menu's background is a jaunty accordion piece, and in the credits we see that the film's music was composed by none other than Idi Amin Dada. At one point in the film, Amin plays the same piece on a small squeeze-box. It's not unheard of for heads of state to be musicians; several U.S. presidents were accomplished performers, most recently Bill Clinton who may have sealed his first victory by playing the saxophone on the Arsenio Hall show. But there haven't been many (any?) heads of state who were composers, so a few words from a specialist in Ugandan musical traditions explaining what Amin was doing here would have been a welcome addition.It's clear that Amin carefully curated whatever Schroeder was allowed to film, but that shouldn't have kept him from adding material later to give a better picture of his subject.

Story was about what I expected. Difficult to believe there are such cruel, crazy people 'out there'

Der Regisseur hat Meisterarbeit geleistet. Von Idi Amin verbotene Szenen wurden nach seinem Tod wieder reingeschnitten. Ein Autoporträt über einen Diktator, der seinen grausamen Charakter im Film komplett freilegt.

Der Regisseur Schroeder versprach Amin die Möglichkeit, sich selbst darzustellen.Klar, dass eine Persönlichkeit wie der ugandische Herrscher darauf eingeht.Was aus dieser "Selbstdarstellung" wurde, ist hier zu sehen:In langen, ruhigen Einstellungen, die Amin u.a. redend, gestikulierend, lachend,sprachlos,ängstlich, freudig,listig,naiv und beherrschend zeigen, werden Komplexität und Einfachheit der Person(Geht das? Es geht!) deutlich.Sprachlosigkeit auch beim Zuschauer: Eben noch wundert er sich über die kindlich anmutende Moralpredigt, die Amin seiner Ministerrunde vor laufender Kamera hält, schon fügt Schroeder den Hinweis auf einen soeben gerügten Minister ein, dessen Leiche 14 Tage später gefunden wird.Das ist die große Herausforderung für den Zuschauer : sich selbst ein Bild zu machen und die eigene Zwiespältigkeit angesichts dessen, was er wahrnimmt,zu erleben.Kindlicher Charme und absolute Grausamkeit: eine explosive Mischung.