Discovery Channel’s ‘The Making of Mandela’ celebrates life and legacy of late South African leader

Poster art for the new Discovery Channel discovery 'The Making of Mandela'. (Photo courtesy of Discovery Channel)

Even before the recent demise of Nelson Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid revolutionary who ultimately became a universally revered icon of peace and reconciliation has been depicted in the big screen in several features films and television movies that celebrate his life and legacy.

Hollywood actors Danny Glover, Sidney Poitier, Dennis Haysbert, David Harewood, Morgan Freeman, Terrence Howard and, most recently, Idris Elba have portrayed the former South African president on different occasions.

Less than a week before he died, “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom”, a feature film based on Mandela’s autobiography starring Elba opened in theaters in the US. Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers called it “a respectful, near-canonizing look” at the life of Mandela while describing Elba’s portrayal as “an astounding performance”.

On TV, Discovery Channel honors the life and times of the legendary leader with “The Making of Mandela”, a new, original documentary that chronicles “the story of the man who dedicated his life to his people and dismantling South Africa’s apartheid system”.

Narrated by Harewood, the British actor who played Mandela in the 2009 BBC telemovie, “Mrs. Mandela”, the documentary is described as “a moving, intimate portrait of Mandela told through the words of an astonishing cast of close friends, comrades and associates such as former South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk”.

These interviews are supplemented by Mandela’s own recordings for his book, “A Long Walk to Freedom”, which was the basis of the film with a similar title.

“The Making of Mandela” pieces together the puzzle of Mandela’s incredible rise from “an impassioned freedom fighter who overcame intense persecution to become leader of his own nation to a global symbol of hope and peace to the world”.

The special premiered on the Discovery Channel this Sunday, December 8 at 10PM with encore broadcasts on Tuesday, December 10 at 8PM, Saturday, December 14 at 6PM and Sunday, December 15 at 10PM.

Watch this excerpt from “The Making of Mandela” that chronicles the release of Mandela in 1990 after being imprisoned for 27 years:

Discovery Channel’s ‘The Making of Mandela’ celebrates life and legacy of late South African leader

Source: InterAksyon.com (December 08, 2013 at 10:20PM)

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