I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul
Four lines from William Ernest Henley's poem, which helped inspire Clint Eastwood's latest Hollywood rugby project of the same name.
Invictus, the Latin for 'unconquered', was the word chosen by Henley as he lay recovering from an amputated leg in hospital in 1875, and now Eastwood uses the same word and the same poem to honour Nelson Mandela's unbroken spirit, and depict his ascendency from incarceration on Robben Island prison to the South African Presidency.
WATCH: INVICTUS MOVIE TRAILER
Eastwood's film, based on the book 'Playing The Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation' by John Carlin, documents Mandela's coming to power and the role played by Rugby World Cup 1995 in helping him to unite a nation like never before.
Knowing that the country was still racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid, Mandela sought to use the universal language of sport, and rugby, and the film centres on his relationship with the Springboks and captain Francois Pienaar as a focal point in his efforts to unite the nation.
The part of Mandela is played by Morgan Freeman (Shawshank Redemption, Se7en), who was the first actor to be cast for the film.
Freeman was given intensive vocal coaching by Chester Williams, the only black member of South Africa's 1995 team.
Filming began in March 2009 in Cape Town and was accomplished entirely on location in and around both Johannesburg and Cape Town.
The part of Pienaar is played in the movie by Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting, the Bourne Identity), while ex-Bath player Zak Feaunati is cast as All Black Jonah Lomu.
"In terms of stature and stars, this certainly is one of the biggest films ever to be made in South Africa," said Laurence Mitchell, the head of the Cape Film Commission.
Invictus opens in US cinemas on 12 November 2009.
Invictus
By William Ernest Henley, 1875
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
