Forest Whitaker asserted himself as an acting heavyweight in The Last King Of Scotland. He won an Oscar for playing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and "the transformation is seamless" as he draws a young Scottish doctor (James McAvoy) into his entourage and proceeds to show his true colours. For erstwhile documentary maker Kevin Macdonald, it established him as a director to watch.

The Power Behind The Throne

Macdonald provides commentary for seven deleted scenes, including an alternative opening that sees Amin in earlier days as a soldier in the British army. An extended version of the press conference towards the end of the story neatly demonstrates the complexity of Whitaker's performance as he transforms from a terrified "rabbit in the headlights" into a garrulous media darling. Macdonald talks about scaling down some of the comedy, particularly in a scene where Nicholas (McAvoy) diagnoses Amin with "a touch of syphilis" and there's also an interesting note on the final turning point when Nicholas decides that Amin has to be stopped. Macdonald admits that it was McAvoy who suggested that certain scenes building up to this moment be excised.

A half-hour documentary uses vintage material to tell the real-life story of Amin's rise to power (with the aid of the British) and his eventual fall from grace. In between we see cast and crew recreating famous scenes from history and the reaction of local people to the filming. One man is disturbed by Whitaker's incarnation and relates an old rumour that Amin killed one of his own children. Another onlooker hails him as one of the country's greatest patriots. Former acquaintances of Amin, including an old army buddy, talk of him as a "born leader" and later we hear from Whitaker on the pressure he felt to rightly depict him. "I am very sensitive," he says, "to his portrayal as an African figure."

Whitaker talks more about getting under the skin of Idi Amin in a retrospective featurette. He recalls how local people shrunk away from him as he walked through the streets in Kampala in his military uniform and explains, "There are dark parts of me - you cannot manufacture that stuff." McAvoy admits to being "terrified" of Whitaker in some scenes, but also talks about the parallels between Amin and Nicholas. Whitaker points out that both men are corrupted by power.

By Royal Appointment

Macdonald makes a startling admission in Casting Session, saying of Whitaker, "I had a preconception that he wasn't going to be right for the part." His feeling was that Whitaker was too "gentle", but casting director Jina Jay convinced Macdonald to have him read a scene that occurs just after an assassination attempt on Amin. Needless to say, Macdonald changed his mind. Whitaker then goes on to talk about his preparations for the role, which included learning Swahili and spending time with those who were closest to Amin.

In his commentary for the film, Macdonald reveals that he initially worked at a publishing house where he first came across the book The Last King Of Scotland by Giles Foden. It was a happy twist of fate that producer Lisa Bryer offered him the chance to make the film years later after his award-winning documentary Touching The Void. The rigours of shooting in Africa are also dealt with here, like having to build the hospital set from the ground up on an old coffee plantation. It was fortuitous for the local community who apparently, after the film crew moved out, "turned it into a whorehouse for truck drivers". Waste not, want not.

It's a shame we don't get to hear from Foden or the screenwriters, Jeremy Brock and Peter Morgan (because The Last King is far superior to The Queen in our humble opinion), but this DVD is still worth rolling out the red carpet for.

EXTRA FEATURES

The Last King Of Scotland DVD is released on Monday 14th May 2007.