---
title: "Cry Freedom"
year: 1987
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/cry-freedom"
fi1m_id: "cry-freedom"
imdb_id: "tt0092804"
tmdb_id: 12506
wikidata_id: "Q962363"
fi1m_score: 72
critics_score: 71
critics_reviews: 4
published: "2026-10-04T20:18:23.429902+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-04T20:18:23.969677+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Cry Freedom (1987)

Directed by Richard Attenborough · 2h 37m · MPA PG · Drama

## Identity

Cry Freedom

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/cry-freedom
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** cry-freedom
- **IMDb ID:** tt0092804
- **TMDB ID:** 12506
- **Wikidata ID:** Q962363
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092804/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/12506, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q962363

**Fi1m score: 72** · Critics 71 (early) from 4 reviews

*In a sentence:* Denzel Washington makes talking politics more gripping than the film’s strenuous efforts to keep us in suspense

> Richard Attenborough’s *Cry Freedom* is a forceful political drama weakened by its growing preoccupation with the Woods family. Denzel Washington gives it the conviction to survive that imbalance, though the later passages need a firmer edit.

## Synopsis

In South Africa under apartheid, Donald Woods (Kevin Kline) gets to know Steve Biko (Denzel Washington). Their friendship brings the country’s racial divisions into conversations that challenge Woods’s understanding of the society around him. Even the question of why white people call themselves white becomes a point of dispute. Woods wants to support his friend, but the consequences reach beyond the two men to Wendy Woods (Penelope Wilton) and the Woods family. Standing beside Biko means deciding how far that support can go in a country organised around racial separation.

## Review

Richard Attenborough wants *Cry Freedom* to make the injustice of apartheid comprehensible through a friendship. It is a sound dramatic starting point, and the film is good whenever it lets Steve Biko and Donald Woods occupy our attention together. The difficulty is that John Briley’s screenplay gradually gives the Woods family’s predicament more space than it can usefully fill. We recommend it for the performances and the force of its early encounters, with a warning that the later stretch is considerably less searching.

Denzel Washington gives Steve Biko an assurance that does not need constant emphasis. He makes political ideas sound thought through, with the expectation that someone else might give them proper consideration. We were gripped by the discussion of why white people call themselves white: the question interrupts an assumption so ordinary that it might otherwise pass unnoticed. The performance gives us time to consider the challenge without insisting that we applaud the person issuing it.

Kevin Kline has the harder task of making Donald Woods’s changing understanding interesting beside such certainty. He is persuasive when he has someone to listen to; the attention he gives Denzel Washington helps us believe these men might become friends. Penelope Wilton gives Wendy Woods sufficient weight that the family’s concerns cannot simply be dismissed as a distraction. The trouble comes from how much of the film those concerns eventually occupy, not from the actors taking them seriously.

Ronnie Taylor’s photography is most effective when faces hold our attention, allowing the actors to carry the difficult exchanges. Stuart Craig’s production design helps make this South Africa feel inhabited, even when the film’s wish to educate us becomes conspicuous. The setting has a persuasive solidity, and the people belong within it. Both contributions work well, although the handsome presentation can make the material feel more comfortably contained than it should.

George Fenton and Jonas Gwangwa’s music supplies warmth and urgency, though the emotional prompting can become insistent. The subject already has ample weight, and an extra push from the score is not always helpful. Lesley Walker’s editing gives the conversations room, which suits the actors, but the same generosity becomes a liability as the family material accumulates. At 157 minutes, *Cry Freedom* allows repetition to blunt concerns it has already made clear.

The structural objection matters because this is a political drama, and its choice of whom to follow affects what we come away understanding. John Briley increasingly asks us to worry about the Woods family when the exchanges involving Biko have raised questions about racial power that deserve further attention. The family’s worries are credible within the drama, and Richard Attenborough handles the pressure with considerable skill. Even so, suspense becomes the easier option, and the film spends too long taking it.

The familiar political-drama habit of giving an audience someone to learn alongside can be useful, and Kevin Kline makes a credible companion. Here it also limits how much attention Biko receives on his own terms. That is a substantial reservation, especially when Denzel Washington makes us eager to hear more from him. Choose it for the acting and the political encounters, and allow some patience for the extended attention to the Woods household.

*Fi1m score 72, published 4 October 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is Cry Freedom worth watching?**

*Cry Freedom* is worth watching for Denzel Washington’s performance and its searching political conversations; we score it 72 out of 100. We recommend it to viewers drawn to political drama, with the caveat that its 157 minutes grow less rewarding as the Woods family’s predicament takes attention away from Steve Biko.

**How long is Cry Freedom, and what is it rated?**

*Cry Freedom* runs 2h 37m and is rated PG by the MPA in the US. It is a drama film.

**Where can I watch Cry Freedom in the US?**

*Cry Freedom* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How does Cry Freedom compare to The Battle of Algiers?**

*Cry Freedom* approaches political conflict through friendship and family, while [*The Battle of Algiers*](https://film.one/film/the-battle-of-algiers) examines streets, crowds and the machinery of repression. We favour *The Battle of Algiers* for its lucid account of political struggle, though its documentary-style violence is hard to bear; *Cry Freedom* suits viewers who prefer sustained conversations and closer attention to individual performances.

**Is Cry Freedom based on a true story or a book?**

*Cry Freedom* is adapted from a book by Donald Woods and centres on his friendship with Steve Biko under apartheid. No prior reading is needed to follow Woods’s changing understanding of the society around him, though we find the film’s growing attention to his family leaves too little space for Biko.

**What should I watch after Cry Freedom?**

After *Cry Freedom*, try [*The Battle of Algiers*](https://film.one/film/the-battle-of-algiers) (1966, Fi1m 93): For political conflict examined through streets, crowds and the machinery of repression. Then [*Missing*](https://film.one/film/missing-1982) (1982, Fi1m 80): A family search makes state violence immediate, with little room for reassurance; and [*The Official Story*](https://film.one/film/the-official-story) (1985, Fi1m 81): Political denial enters a family home, where looking away becomes increasingly difficult.

### Reviews we read (4)

- **Empire**, Robyn Karney (80/100, inferred): Karney finds the film gripping and emotionally powerful, despite a sentimental, overextended final section. She singles out the performances and the film’s vivid evocation of apartheid-era South Africa for praise. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/cry-freedom-review/)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (75/100, inferred): The review finds the film impactful, driven by the moral force of its subject and protagonists. It praises the wrenching immediacy and performances, while faulting the final hour’s overemphasis on the Woods family’s escape. [Read](https://variety.com/1986/film/reviews/cry-freedom-1200427288/)
- **Film Comment**, Armond White (64/100, inferred): The page identifies an Armond White piece on the film, but its review text is inaccessible. The available page provides no verdict or specific praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/issues/november-december-1987/?pdfviewer=issue&pdf-page=82)
- **Time Out**, MS (64/100, inferred): The page identifies this as a review, but its verdict is unavailable. The available metadata gives the film’s premise without revealing what the critic praises or criticizes. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/cry-freedom)

## Details

- **Director:** Richard Attenborough
- **Director:** Richard Attenborough
- **Screenplay:** John Briley
- **Novel:** Donald Woods
- **Cinematography:** Ronnie Taylor
- **Editor:** Lesley Walker
- **Music:** Jonas Gwangwa, George Fenton
- **Production design:** Stuart Craig
- **Costume design:** John Mollo
- **Producer:** Richard Attenborough
- **Cast:** Kevin Kline as Donald Woods; Denzel Washington as Steve Biko; Penelope Wilton as Wendy Woods; Kate Hardie as Jane Woods; John Matshikiza as Mapetla; Zakes Mokae as Father Kani; John Thaw as Kruger; Kevin McNally as Ken
- **Runtime:** 2h 37m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG
- **Release (the US):** 6 November 1987
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Also in:** [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 1987); [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 1987)
- **Budget:** $29 million
- **Box office:** $26 million

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-10-04.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, CA, CL, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IN, IT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1988: Best Original Score (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *A Dry White Season* (1989): Another confrontation with apartheid, equally concerned with the limits of white awakening.
- *The Battle of Algiers* (1966), Fi1m 93: For political conflict examined through streets, crowds and the machinery of repression. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-battle-of-algiers.md)
- *Missing* (1982), Fi1m 80: A family search makes state violence immediate, with little room for reassurance. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/missing-1982.md)
- *The Official Story* (1985), Fi1m 81: Political denial enters a family home, where looking away becomes increasingly difficult. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-official-story.md)
- *Selma* (2014), Fi1m 84: Keeps Black leadership and the practical difficulties of political organising firmly central. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/selma.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/cry-freedom