Escape from Pretoria

Escape from Pretoria is a thriller film co-written and directed by Francis Annan, based on the real-life prison escape by three young political prisoners from prison in South Africa in 1979, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Daniel Webber. It is based on the 2003 book Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison by Tim Jenkin, one of the escapees.

Escape from Pretoria
UK theatrical release poster
Directed byFrancis Annan
Produced by
  • Mark Blaney
  • Jackie Sheppard
  • David Barron
  • Michelle Krumm
  • Gary Hamilton
Screenplay by
  • Francis Annan
  • L.H. Adams
Based onInside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison
by Tim Jenkin
Starring
Music byDavid Hirschfelder
CinematographyGeoffrey Hall
Edited byNick Fenton
Production
companies
Distributed bySignature Entertainment
Release date
  • 6 March 2020 (2020-03-06) (United Kingdom)
Running time
106 minutes
Country
  • Australia
  • United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

It was filmed in Adelaide, South Australia, in early 2019, both on location in the city and suburbs[1] and in the Glenside studios of the South Australian Film Corporation.[2]

Plot

Based on a book by one of the escapees, Jenkin, Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison,[3][4] the film tells the true-life story of political prisoners Tim Jenkin (played by Radcliffe) and Stephen Lee (played by Webber), two white South Africans who, along with other prisoners, hatched a plot to break out of Pretoria Central Prison in 1979 after being imprisoned on charges of "producing and distributing 18 different pamphlets on behalf of banned organisations" (including the ANC) during the apartheid era in South Africa.[5][6][7]

Some of the other political prisoners, including Denis Goldberg, helped to create and refine the details of the planned escape.[8]

Cast

Production

The film was written and directed by Francis Annan.[9] The film is an Australia-UK co-production, co-financed by Arclight Films, New York-based Magna Entertainment and with the assistance of the South Australian Film Corporation.[7] Sam Neill was originally cast as Goldberg, in May 2017.[10]

Filming commenced on location in Adelaide, South Australia in March 2019, with some scenes being shot at Mitcham railway station and others in the centre of the city, in Pirie Street.[1][11] Jenkin spent some time in Adelaide, advising Radcliffe on accent and other aspects of the film, as well as playing as an extra, playing a prisoner next to Radcliffe in the visiting room.[12]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 69% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 6.48/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Escape from Pretoria doesn't quite do justice to the fact-based story it's dramatizing, but that lack of depth is offset by suitably gripping jailbreak action."[13] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14]

Release

Escape from Pretoria was released on 6 March 2020 in the United Kingdom by Signature Entertainment and in the United States by eOne and Momentum Pictures.[15] It was released for rental on digital platforms iTunes, Sky Store, Amazon and Virgin on the same date, but has only had limited cinema release in the UK, USA and some other countries.[16]

The film is available to buy digitally and on DVD and Blu-ray from 20 April 2020.[16]

References
  1. Sutton, Malcolm (13 March 2019). "Adelaide transformed into apartheid-era Cape Town for Escape From Pretoria filming". Australian Broadcasting Corporation News. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  2. "Escape From Pretoria commences production in South Australia (13 March 2018)". South Australian Film Corporation. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. "Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe on set of Pretoria prison break movie in Oz". TimesLive. Sunday Times. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  4. Jenkin, Tim (2003). Inside Out: Escape from Pretoria Prison (New ed.). Johannesburg: Jacana. ISBN 9781919931500. OCLC 653065100.
  5. Jenkin, Tim (1987). "Escape from Pretoria by Tim Jenkin" (PDF). South African History Online. Retrieved 10 May 2018. ...first published by Kliptown Books, London, in April 1987. The book is now distributed by David Philip Publishers...
  6. "Daniel Radcliffe-starrer 'Escape From Pretoria' kicks off in South Australia". if.com.au. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  7. Kay, Jeremy (11 February 2019). "Daniel Radcliffe prison break thriller 'Escape From Pretoria' hot seller for Arclight (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  8. Goldberg, Denis (2016). A Life for Freedom: The Mission to End Racial Injustice in South Africa. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 170–188. ISBN 9780813166858.
  9. Escape from Pretoria on IMDb
  10. Grater, Tom. "Sam Neill joins Daniel Radcliffe in 'Escape From Pretoria'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 5 April 2019.
  11. Polychronis, Gabriel (14 March 2019). "Adelaide's Pirie St transformed into 1978 Cape Town for Daniel Radcliffe's movie Escape from Pretoria". Adelaide Now. The Advertiser. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  12. "Tim's back on the run". Adelaide Confidential. The Advertiser. 29 March 2019. p. 6.
  13. "Escape from Pretoria (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  14. "Escape from Pretoria Reviews". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  15. Grater, Tom (13 February 2020). "'Escape From Pretoria' Director Francis Annan Inks With ICM". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  16. Desborough, Jenny (6 March 2020). "Escape from Pretoria release date, cast, trailer, plot: When is Escape from Pretoria out?". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2020.

Further reading
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