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The Gods Must Be Crazy

  • 1980
  • PG
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
61K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,412
1,031
The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.
Play trailer2:00
1 Video
59 Photos
Desert AdventureAdventureComedy

A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.

  • Director
    • Jamie Uys
  • Writer
    • Jamie Uys
  • Stars
    • N!xau
    • Marius Weyers
    • Sandra Prinsloo
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.3/10
    61K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    4,412
    1,031
    • Director
      • Jamie Uys
    • Writer
      • Jamie Uys
    • Stars
      • N!xau
      • Marius Weyers
      • Sandra Prinsloo
    • 203User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:00
    Trailer

    Photos59

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    Top cast17

    Edit
    N!xau
    N!xau
    • Xi
    Marius Weyers
    Marius Weyers
    • Andrew Steyn
    Sandra Prinsloo
    Sandra Prinsloo
    • Kate Thompson
    Louw Verwey
    • Sam Boga
    Michael Thys
    Michael Thys
    • Mpudi
    Nic de Jager
    • Jack Hind
    Fanyana H. Sidumo
    • Card 1
    Joe Seakatsie
    • Card 2
    • (as Joe Seakatsi)
    Brian O'Shaughnessy
    Brian O'Shaughnessy
    • Mr. Thompson
    Ken Gampu
    Ken Gampu
    • President
    Paddy O'Byrne
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
    Graham Armitage
    Graham Armitage
    • The Reverend
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Vera Blacker
    • Mrs. Thompson
    • (uncredited)
    Pip Freedman
    • Mpudi
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Katinka Heyns
    • Young woman with noise in her head
    • (uncredited)
    Jamie Uys
    Jamie Uys
    • The Reverend
    • (uncredited)
    Janet Wells
    Janet Wells
    • Kate Thompson
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Jamie Uys
    • Writer
      • Jamie Uys
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews203

    7.361.4K
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    10

    Featured reviews

    9johnjohnson68510

    Lots of laughs, honest joy.

    I don't know that I've ever seen a movie that had such innocent joy - I'm not sure if any other movie I've seen had any innocent joy, for that matter.

    Perhaps what true joy I've seen in movies is civilized and therefore self-conscious.

    Anyway, you can look at the crazy civilized world through the eyes of these innocents and have joy about it instead of cynicism. Can ordinary pain relievers do that?

    The premise is how one empty Coke bottle in the garden of Eden could corrupt it. They do a totally believable job of it, too.

    Lots of laughs, kids loved it. I saw it in the theaters in the mid-80's and am glad I saw it again. You'll like it. It will lighten your heart.
    8dzagar

    Such a likable movie...

    Don't be put off by the talk of poor production values, bad dubbing, goofy Benny Hill-esque slapstick, and questionable acting. Once you get a look at the enormous smile on Xi's face, you'll forget all of that. This is one of the most gentle, pleasant, and likable movies I've seen in a long time (all of that in a good way).

    I'd always heard about it, but somehow managed to miss it over the years. Finally saw it this weekend, and it's a real gem.

    For you DVD viewers, there's a documentary with interview footage of Xi. The only problem--no subtitles! Some bozo obviously blew it on the transfer, making it possibly the most frustrating doc ever produced...Be warned!
    8medrjel

    A Masterpiece

    What starts out as a simple tale of the bush turns into a wild adventure with a coke bottle, revolutionaries, a dis-enchanted office worker turned teacher, and a scientist who studies animal dung with no skills around women. Add a smart-tongued mechanic and a 4x4 called the antichrist, and you have one of the funniest movies ever to come out of South Africa. You laugh as much at the ludicrous nature of some of the situations as much as what they want you to laugh at. You may never look at Africa the same again.
    CrawlingEye

    A happy movie

    This movie must have cost $1.98 to make. There are no special effects to speak of. Everybody in this movie is an unknown. So why do I LOVE this movie? All I can say is the whole time I was watching this, I had a smile on my face. The concept was then and even now, unique. You connect right away with the hero, and root him on to the end. I will not tell you what the film is about, because You must watch it with no preconceptions or political bias. Just go rent the tape or download it, and you will watch a really special movie.
    9Swambi

    Masterpiece

    A unique film with a brilliant combination of slapstick, subtle humour, wonderful music, brilliant wildlife and scenic shots, all beautifully woven into a piece in an almost "road-style" movie around the adventures of a bushman.

    Like any story, there are some aspects which are slightly unbelievable if you stop to think - but the skill of the film is that it is sufficiently convincing to suspend such unbelief whilst you watch.

    The message of the film is brilliantly presented, subtly challenging the belief that white civilization has all the answers, gently poking fun at many of our western assumptions (no idea why anyone thinks it's racist - it may be the opposite)!

    Some of the high points for me personally were the scenery, the wildlife, and the African huts, children and music. Having lived in Africa for 3 years it was absolutely true to life, and brought back fond memories. This is a classic that will bear watching time and time again, and so different from the run of the mill films generally churned out.

    A classic - 9/10.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film was the world's biggest non-US box office hit during its release.
    • Goofs
      At the end, when Andrew is covered in flour, a lipstick kiss appears on his cheek before Kate kisses him.
    • Quotes

      Narrator: Only 600 miles to the south, there's a vast city. And here you find civilized man. Civilized man refused to adapt himself to his environment; instead, he adapted his environment to suit him. So he built cities, roads, vehicles, machinery, and he put up power lines to run his labour-saving devices. But somehow he didn't know where to stop. The more he improved his surroundings to make life easier, the more complicated he made it. So now his children are sentenced to 10-15 years of school, just to learn how to survive in this complex and hazardous habitat they were born into. And civilized man, who refused to adapt to his surroundings, now finds he has to adapt and re-adapt every hour of the day to his self-created environment. For instance, if it's Monday and 7:30 comes up, you have to dis-adapt from your domestic surroundings and re-adapt yourself to an entirely different environment. 8:00 means everybody has to look busy... 10:30 says you can stop looking busy for 15 minutes. And then you have to look busy again... And so your day is chopped into pieces, and in each segment of time you adapt to a new set circumstances.

      Narrator: [Kate looks for a place to have her lunch] My I share a table?

      Kate Thompson: No wonder some people go off the rails a bit...

      Young woman with noise in her head: Does the noise in my head bother you?

      Young woman with noise in her head: No...

      Kate Thompson: [Later, Kate finds Pete] Pete, Have you still got that story about the teacher shortage in Botswana?

      Pete: Yeah, you gonna use it?

      Kate Thompson: No. Maybe they can use me.

      Narrator: But in the Kalahari, it's always Tuesday, or Thursday if you like, or Sunday. No clocks or calendars tell you to do this or that.

    • Connections
      Featured in N!Ai, the Story of a !Kung Woman (1981)
    • Soundtracks
      The Week's Work
      (uncredited) [UK release print]

      Music by John Fiddy and Sammy Burdson (i.e.Gerhard Narholz)

      Sonoton Musikverlag

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    FAQ20

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 26, 1984 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • South Africa
      • Botswana
    • Languages
      • English
      • Afrikaans
      • Ungwatsi
    • Also known as
      • Los dioses deben estar locos
    • Filming locations
      • Johannesburg, South Africa
    • Production company
      • C.A.T. Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $5,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $30,031,783
    • Gross worldwide
      • $30,031,783
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 49 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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