5/5 "So how did the land rover get up the tree?"
  by M. Hart (USA)
In 1980, director Jamie Uys (1921-1996) wrote, produced, directed and even acted in a landmark film entitled "The Gods Must Be Crazy" which is about a little Bushman named Xixo (N!xau, 1944-2003) from the Kalahari Desert who has ever ventured far from home nor has any concept of technology. When a coke bottle falls from a plane that is flying overhead and nearly hits Xixo, he believes that it is a gift from the gods, takes it and uses it as a tool for many everyday tasks. Other members of Xixo's tribe also use the bottle, but they eventually begin to fight over it. Deciding that the bottle is an evil thing, Xixo decides that he must return it to the gods and begins a lengthy journey to find the edge of the world from which to throw the evil bottle away. Also being totally uneducated about other people's (and nation's) customs and laws, Xixo hunts an animal for food in a park. Park rangers come along, are unable to communicate with Xixo and arrest him for poaching. Unfortunately for Xixo, he has absolutely no concept that he has done anything wrong, but when he is brought before a local court, a man is there who speaks Xixo's language. The court awards custody of Xixo to the man, a mechanic named Mpudi (Michael Thys), who is friend and an assistant of sorts to a bumbling wildlife biologist, Andrew Steyn (Marius Weyers). Andrew is smitten with his village's new school-teacher, Kate Thompson (Sandra Prinsloo). The village also has a church whose reverend is played by Jamie Uys. While Xixo is trying to cope with technology, while Andrew is trying to woo Kate and while Mpudi is trying to keep their demonic land rover working, a terrorist named Sam Boga (Louw Verwey) is also on the loose.

Jamie Uys' plot, dialog and direction was completely supurb in "The Gods Must Be Crazy". Jamie Uys won the Most Popular Film Award from the Montréal World Film Festival in 1983, and it was nominated as Best Foreign Film by the César Awards in France in 1984. Sadly, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" received no attention from the Academy Awards. The characters in the film are both endearing and engaging, especially Xixo whose innocence in the face of modern civilization was superbly acted by N!xau. I was very sad when I heard of N!xau passing away earlier this year. He will always be remembered as the little Bushman. Overall, I rate "The Gods Must Be Crazy" with a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it to everyone. I applaud Jamie Uys, N!xau and the other actors in the film for creating such a masterpiece on a shoe-string budget and can't wait to get a copy of the film on DVD!

5/5 The Ultimate Culture Clash Comedies
  by Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States)
This set contains two great comedies set in the beautiful deserts of Botswana, Africa.

The first "The Gods Must be Crazy" was released in 1980. I was surprised just how much it shows that in hair and clothing styles, but I hardly noticed after the first few minutes. It actually starts much like a documentary, telling about life in a bushman tribe in the Kalahari. One day, they discover a Coke bottle. Thinking it a gift from the gods, they begin to use it for all kinds of tasks, only to find it has introduced strife to their community. Xixo sets out to find the end of the world and return it to the gods. Meanwhile, a despotic revolutionary is on the run after a failed coop attempt. And a biologist is trying to get over his fear of women to transport the new school teacher and to the village.

This movie starts out a little slow, setting up the bushman culture and customs, so that when the movie gets going, we'll get the laughter. Most of the comedy is at the expense of civilized humans, but some great points are made about out reliance on our technology. Some of the physical gags involving the barely running jeep and the nervous biologist are priceless, and the plotting of these three stories is brilliant.

"The Gods Must be Crazy II" (1989) once again finds Xixo traveling into the world of the strange civilized man when his kids accidentally stow away in an ivory poacher's truck. Meanwhile, a corporate lawyer and biologist have been stranded in the desert when their plane is blown off course during a freak storm. And two opposing soldiers are trying to capture each other.

This story starts and moves much faster. I hadn't seen it as recently as the first one, and I'd forgotten just how funny this one was. I think it might actually be a little funnier. This time, there's more interaction with the wild life of the area for some great gags. Xixo is the only returning character, but the heroes are still likable.

My only real complaint is philosophical. These movies elevate the bushman to an almost perfect status with an ideal life. Ironically enough, one of the documentaries does show that their lives have really been glamorized for the film and their existence is much harder. Still, it's always good to laugh at oneself, and these movies certainly make you wonder just how civilized we really are.

The DVD set isn't quite up to normal standards for the format, but still acceptable. Both films are presented in anamorphic widescreen, but the picture is marred by lots of dust and grain. It's certainly still watchable, but it's not the crystal clear pictures I've been spoiled with on DVD. The first movie is presented in mono, and I had a little trouble hearing it. Part of the problem was what seemed like a very poor dubbing, probably partially because of the age and low budget of the original. The sequel sounded much better in stereo, but neither movie will show off your sound system. Still, they get the job done, and I think that less is more with these films. Each disc has one documentary on it. The first is a feature on the real life of star N!xau who played Xixo. As I mentioned earlier, it paints quite a contrast to the life presented for these films. The second is a short tribute to creator/director Jamie Ulys which give a little behind the scenes look at these movies.

While these DVD's won't be setting any new standards, they are certainly adequate. And the films contained on them are two classic low budget comedies from the 80's. If you're willing to laugh at yourself, pick these up. Any fan of the movies will appreciate them, especially for the price.

5/5 Great movie, nice DVD
  by TacoGuy (United States)
After waiting several years, I finally was able to buy "The Gods Must Be Crazy 1 & 2" on DVD. A few brief comments:

1) Both "Gods" films are great entertainment.

2) DVD picture quality is better than what I've seen on TV or from the VHS version, which really looked worn out. However, don't expect "Star Wars" digital camera clarity.

3) For the first time I saw both "Gods" movies in widescreen, which is a nice treat. TV always shows them in Full-Screen, including the VHS version.

4) There are documentaries of director Jamie Uys and actor N!Xau. The one about N!Xau is the most interesting. It details the hard, difficult live he lived in the Kalahari, in stark contrast to the happy, carefree life depicted in the films. Clips of N!Xau's funeral are also shown. One gripe: when N!Xau is talking, and he talks quite a bit, there is almost no translation of what he's saying!!! Frustrating. Nevertheless, it's still a fascinating, honest portrayal of a special man.

4/5 A comment on the sub-standard dubbing
  by (Brisbane, Aust.)
I've watched with envy as my American counterparts have devoured this DVD set, as it has taken its jolly time in appearing in an Asia-Pacific version. But it is finally here, and I finally own these most brilliant and inspired comedies with which I grew up.

I'd just like to comment on one element of this release: the dubbing. Not only is it poorly done, it is also ENTIRELY UNNECESSARY. Why did the publishers feel the need to dub English over English? In my humble opinion, they have ruined much of the more subtle humour that was originally carried by the speech inflections of the actors. Moreover, the dubbing is inconsistent; in particular, Mputi appears to have been over-voiced only partially. How else does one explain three voices when there are only two people in the scene?

I'm sorry, but I am most disappointed with this state of affairs.

5/5 Keystone Cops meets National Geographic - good description
  by Mark J. Fowler (Okinawa, Japan)
I won't add significantly to what has already been written about these movies. The budgets were not a gazillion dollars - and it shows, but there was some thought and heart that went into the productions - and THAT shows too.

I've watched these movies several times in several different groups, and parts of them ALWAYS get big belly-laughs.

The DVD transfers are quite adequate - High Definition Wide-Screen. I doubt these films could LOOK any better with the source material they had.

Several reviewers remarked about their annoyance on the accompanying documentary that translation is not offered for the comments of Kalahari Bushman star N!xau. I was initially upset too, then I thought - "hey, how about pushing the subtitle button on the remote" - abracadabra!!! N!xau's enlightening words suddenly came with English subtitles!

These films are little gems, and I'm always entertained watching them. Check it out - two films for the price of one!