In the 1950s, many of the Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature were nature-themed works. Winners included three adventure films by Walt Disney and "The Silent World" directed by Louis Malle and co-produced with oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. At the 32nd Academy Awards in 1959, the award went to "Serengeti shall not die" a documentary about the Serengeti National Park, after a one-on-one battle with "The Race for Space" a film about the US-Soviet space race.
The film, directed by German veterinarian Bernhard Grzimek and his son Michael, highlights the richness of the Serengeti National Park's ecosystem and the threats it poses to the world.
Those familiar with World Heritage sites might assume the Japanese title "Gorongoro" refers to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. While this film certainly focuses on the Ngorongoro Crater, there's actually a complicated story behind it. The Ngorongoro Crater was previously located within Serengeti National Park. As the Maasai population grew around the 1940s, they began to live a hunting and grazing lifestyle in the Ngorongoro Crater. In 1951, the Tanganyika government designated the Serengeti a national park, banning hunting and grazing, but the Maasai rebelled. As a result, the Ngorongoro Crater was separated from the national park.
"Gorongoro" has the same tense atmosphere as Howard Hawks' "Hataari!". A small plane flies low to count herds of animals. While capturing a zebra, Michael is thrown from the vehicle and falls unconscious. The film also depicts conflicts with the Maasai, including scenes of the military capturing Maasai hunters and a spear impaled on a small plane. Of course, as a nature documentary, it captures every detail of the animal ecosystem, both large and small, from gazelle births to dung beetle behavior. Yet, the film delivers powerful, unwavering images. While the film has its problems in portraying the Maasai as villains in their quest to protect nature, criticism has also been directed at foreigners. It addresses the issue of wealthy Westerners visiting the area for trophy hunting and wanton killing of elephants and lions. The film calls for the protection of animals as a common cultural asset for all people.
An important aspect of this film is that Bernhard Grzimek envisions Tanganyika becoming independent in the future. He argues that, after Tanganyika's independence, friction with the Maasai and Western hunting issues will not again destroy the country's beautiful natural environment, so he has documented their activities in this documentary and shared them not only with Tanganyika but with the world. That passionate message remains even now, more than half a century later.
