Follow the harsh and competitive life of Addo, a male lion born into a successful pride. In his early days, life in the pride is easy and food is plentiful. In his second year, the rains fail to come and his life changes forever. Food becomes scarce and tension spreads through the pride. Competition is fierce. When two strange males invade, life, as Addo knows it, is over and he is forced to flee. Alone and inexperienced, Addo’s wanderings take him on a journey of life or death. Africa is a cruel teacher, and he must learn to survive in a difficult and dangerous world. Through astoundingly beautiful images, Addo, African King reveals the real and unpolished story of the harsh power struggle in the world of beasts...

Addo, African King (Addo, Koning der Dieren) is a 2002 Dutch documentary directed by Hugo Van Lawick. This was to be Lawick's last movie. He died of emphysema in 2002. In fact, he left the camp on Addo before principal photography was completed so that he could spend his last moments on earth with his family.

The film tells the story of a lion cub who grows up to be the head of a pride. Sadly, the English dub of the movie takes away some of the charm of the original Dutch soundtrack - which had the narrator taking on the role of Addo and allowing the viewer to see the world through the eyes of the lion. What we get in the English dub is a few too many lines that go nowhere, or make little sense as the writers try and have the narrator describe what's going on onscreen.

I also couldn't help but wonder if Lawick would have been happy with the final movie. It borrows a few too many scenes from his earlier movie Serengeti Symphony, which is also released by Universal Pictures UK, but under the title Playing in Savage Paradise, with an added (and rather pointless narration).

There is an extra in the form of The Making of Addo (24 min, 49 sec) where we see Lawick's final moments in the Serengeti as he prepares to leave, the place he's called home for more than 30 years, forever. It also looks at the filming of the movie as well as the recording of the soundtrack.

For lovers of wildlife documentaries, this is an essential purchase. For £5 you'd be crazy not to buy this.

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Darren Rea