Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #980 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-07-09
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 138 minutes

Synopsis
Set in Sierra Leone, BLOOD DIAMOND explores the role of diamond trading in the African civil war of the late 1990s. Narrowly escaping death when his village is invaded by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) militia, fisherman Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is enslaved at a diamond mine and has his family taken away from him. When he discovers an unusually large stone he buries it, knowing it might be his only means of retrieving his family. While Vandy is imprisoned, white African diamond smuggler Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) overhears an angry RUF leader shouting at the farmer about the missing diamond. Seizing the opportunity, he gets Vandy out of jail, then offers to help find his family in return for half the stone’s worth. United by a common goal, the two men clash over drastically different values, but manage to stick together in pursuit of the prize. Meanwhile, Archer crosses paths with intrepid American journalist Maddie Bowen (Jennifer Connolly), whose obsession with uncovering the truth about conflict diamonds lands her in the middle of the bloody action. As the three embark on a dangerous journey filled with close calls, unlikely bonds form that threaten to change Archer’s unfeeling ways. Meanwhile, a subplot involving Vandy’s beloved son shows us the horror being done to and by child soldiers at the hands of the so-called freedom-fighting rebel forces. Addressing a serious subject with passion and skill, director Edward Zwick (THE LAST SAMURAI) delivers impressive action sequences that feel horrifically real without seeming excessive. While some critics have lambasted the film for its Hollywood elements, no one can argue against BLOOD DIAMOND's noble intentions or its stellar performances. To most viewers, the film is likely to provide a disturbing and educational insight into a world many know little about.

Customer Reviews

Great movie
This great Hollywood blockbuster is one of a series of thought provoking movies along with the constant gardener and shooting dogs .Filmed in South Africa , London and Mozambique ,the result is excellent and the photography in this movie is a good as it gets .

It tells the story of two people who must find a very large diamond for very different reasons , one to save his son and the other to become rich . The action scenes are very realistic is terms of showing the brutal civil war in Sierra Leone as Saving private Ryan showed the landings in Normandy .

Leonardo DiCaprio deserves praise for his portrait of the South African mercenary he developed very convincing South African accent , he and Djimon Honsou work very well together and there is great scene when their characters clashed over racial issues .

Michael Sheen delivers another impeccable villain role as the unscrupulous diamond merchant who will buy anything from a war zone .

The only character that is not so good is Jennifer Connelly , also her relationship with Leonardo Dicaprio seems a bit far fetched and the romance is not very convincing.


4 and a half stars , only if it had a different female role ....

Ultra-violent kill-fest
My wife and I aborted this film after less than half an hour, once it became
obvious that the story was being treated solely as a vehicle for
almost endless bloody violence. The gruesome opening depiction of the
slaughter of the innocents was more than graphic enough to establish the
general political background. Like most general viewers, we accepted that
truthful portrayal of political assassination is obligatory on responsible
film producers and directors, however harrowing. But to needlessly repeat
the same scenes of mass slaughter over and over again, as in "Blood Diamond",
is to merely pander to the minority who get perverted
pleasure from watching bloody death, debasement and destruction.
It is worth noting that published reviews of this film have deliberately
down-played the gratuitous and repetitive violence. This is a serious
dis-service to the viewing public, and it is high time films of this
savage nature were described accurately, and as unflinchingly as the
violence graphically portrayed. If this fair assessment were observed,
a few hundred less copies might be sold, but the general viewer would at least
be warned off wasting money on adding the DVD to their own collection.

A great film
This was a very thoughtful production that managed to meld action and drama with an important message about the politics of diamonds. A very good HD transfer and excellent sound. If you are worried about the price get it from Amazon in the States.