Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Clevercell Very disappointing...

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The_Movie_Cat The Wilby Conspiracy is the second of Sidney Poitier's three films about apartheid in South Africa. In 1952 he had appeared under Canada Lee in the slow but rewarding Cry, The Beloved Country. Fast forward to 1997 and he's playing Nelson Mandela to Michael Caine's F.W. de Klerk in a pretty decent TV movie.It's Caine he stars with here, getting top billing after his career was somewhat resurrected by Uptown Saturday Night. It's an overlooked film, with some great comic chemistry between them and some genuinely witty lines. Stories of how Poitier's Shack Twala was electo tortured in prison are rendered blackly comic by their telling, with Poitier showing more genuine comic flair than he ever did mugging opposite Bill Cosby.For such serious subjects the film flirts closely with the line between gallows humour and overt comedy, but the wit of the script always keeps it from going overboard. At one point Twala explains how, at school, he discovered Marx and Lenin instead of Mark and Luke and from there "had absolutely no difficulty getting into jail." Handsomely shot with Kenya doubling for South Africa, it's only the rear projection for car/helicopter scenes in Pinewood Studios that detract.As the film progresses, the events do start to become more fantastical, and it's difficult to know what's more unbelievable about Persis Khambatta's character... her motivation or the Indian incidental music that follows her around wherever she goes. (A rare sex scene for Poitier sees African drums take over, his own music dominating hers as they become entwined). Similarly, Prunella Gee starts out with a very sensible character but ends up being sexualised more and more as the film progresses. Fortunately it manages to pull the whole thing together with a very good series of twists at the end.Ultimately this well packaged picture is a strong vehicle for Caine- Poitier and deserves to be more than to be a forgotten entry on both men's resumes.

Rodrigo Amaro Minor almost obscure flick with good and effective thrilling moments, "The Wilby Conspiracy" works like an updated version of "The Defiant Ones" happening in South Africa during the apartheid regime. But this time the political prisoner played by Sidney Poitier isn't chained to a white man, he's bound to a engineer (Michael Caine) who'll help you to escape to another African country to meet the leader of his resistance group. However, both of them are being followed by the police after a misunderstanding when of Poitier's release from prison. The plot, like most of its kind, involves the unlikely friendship between them and their small fights and complications. While this isn't so groundbreaking and emphatic as Stanley Kramer's classic, there's plenty of detachable qualities about its presentation of South African's apartheid, the way the authorities worked (in a very revolting way), and the political issues although simplistic introduced are quite relevant, never getting in the way of the action which is the main focus in here (the escape, the diamonds plan, etc.) with some humored sequences. It staggers a bit but overall gets off with dignity and with plenty of great moments (the ending was excellent and quite poignant for what was happening at the time, no big Hollywoodian delusions). Poitier and Caine have good chemistry and are very notable but it's Nicol Williamson (as the chief of police) and Saeed Jaffrey (as the Hindu dentist responsible for getting members of the apartheid resistance out of the country) who steal the show, and there's even a very young Rutger Hauer on a pivotal role towards the conclusion. Ralph Nelson commands a good movie combining political themes with adventure. It's a little unfortunate that at the time of its release this wasn't so well-known, could've been used as a social denounce and things could've been changed earlier in South Africa. A more politically charged piece would do more justice to the cause but this one accomplishes a good deal. 8/10

bkoganbing I would really have liked to have given The Wilby Conspiracy a higher rating than I did. But unfortunately a really huge and ridiculous error was made in telling the tale.Due to political pressure brought to bear from various world human rights activists, black nationalist Sidney Poitier is freed by the apartheid South African government. On the way to celebrate, Poitier, his lawyer Prunella Gee and her boyfriend Michael Caine get into a mêlée with South African police and after assaulting a pair of them have to flee.But it turns out the government in freeing Poitier in the first place has a whole other agenda. Poitier also has something else in mind, to get a stash of diamonds hidden years ago in a robbery to aid the African National Congress. During the course of fleeing Poitier seeks the aid of an Indian dentist played by Saeed Jeffrey and his assistant Persis Khambatta. While Poitier is hidden away in a modern day priest-hole he takes Khambatta in there with him and while the South African Security are even outside within a few feet of him, Poitier and Khambatta are doing the horizontal mambo. Now granted Poitier had been in prison for 10 years and he was understandably ready to go, still I found it a bit much. The steamy sex scene definitely sold a lot movie tickets, but it was awkwardly planted into the story.Acting honors in this film go to Nicol Williamson as the South African Security Police Chief Horne. He is a chillingly evil man, resolute in defense of the apartheid society and a bigoted product of that same society. Williamson is living proof of what Martin Luther King said about racism being as toxic to the perpetrator as to the victim.The Wilby in the Wilby Conspiracy is a Nelson Mandela like figure who is in exile in neighboring Botswana. He only enters the film at the very end and in a surprising way. The Wilby Conspiracy other than that tacked on sex scene done for box office dollars is a great portrait of the last days of the apartheid society of South Africa. It should be seen for Nicol Williamson's portrayal alone.

Jonathon Dabell Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine strike a winning screen partnership in this chase thriller set in South Africa. However, the most memorable portrayal comes from Nicol Williamson (an oft-underrated actor who steals the show in virtually every film he's in), as a particularly unpleasant racist security agent. The film is set against a background of volatile race relations, but the political angle of the story isn't thrust forth too heavy-handedly. First and foremost, this is a chase story... and it's all the better for it.Bantu activist Shack Twala (Sidney Poitier) is acquited of terrorism charges in a Cape Town court. He is on his way for a celebratory drink with his lawyer Rina (Prunella Gee) and her English boyfriend Jim Keogh (Michael Caine), when they are assaulted by two racist policemen. They turn the tables on the policemen and give them a pretty thorough beating. Twala and Keogh go on the run, hoping to reach Johannesburg where Twala has a contact who can get them out of the country. However, they are pursued all the way by the bigoted Major Horn (Nicol Williamson). Horn's ultimate plan is to let Twala unknowingly lead him to the hideout of a rebel leader named Wilby.The Wilby Conspiracy is generally a good film. The acting is excellent throughout, and the film has an unexpected element of humour, with Caine and Poitier providing several dynamic exchanges. The script is sharp, with enough incidents and twists to stay a step ahead of the viewer, and an interesting central theme. There aren't many shortcomings in The Wilby Conspiracy, though that's not to say it is perfect. The ending seems rather fudged, and some of the plot developments don't quite ring true. (The bit where Saeed Jaffrey's pretty young dental assistant attempts a treacherous double-cross is a good example of an unlikely plot contrivance). However, on the whole this is a slick, well-made and absorbing movie.