Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5714 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-01-29
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Swedish
• Dubbed in: German
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 148 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Steven Spielberg's most simplistic, sanitised history lesson, Amistad, explores the symbolic 1840s trials of 53 West Africans following their bloody rebellion aboard a slave ship. For most of Schindler's List (and, later, Saving Private Ryan) Spielberg restrains himself from the sweeping narrative and technical flourishes that make him one of our most entertaining and manipulative directors. Here, he doesn't even bother trying, succumbing to his driving need to entertain with beautiful images and contrived emotion. He cheapens his grandiose motives and simplifies slavery, treating it as cut- and-dry genre piece. Characters are easy Hollywood stereotypes--"villains" like the Spanish sailors or zealous abolitionists are drawn one-dimensionally and sneered upon. And Spielberg can't suppress his gifted eye, undercutting normally ugly sequences, such as the terrifying slave passage, which is shot as a gorgeous, well-lit composition. At its core, Amistad is a traditional courtroom drama, centred by a tired, clichéd narrative: a struggling, idealistic young lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) fighting the crooked political system and saving helpless victims. Worse yet, Spielberg actually takes the underlying premise of his childhood fantasy, E.T. and repackages it for slavery. Cinque (Djimon Hounsou), the leader of the West African rebellion, is presented much like the adorable alien: lost, lacking a common language, and trying to find his way home. McConaughey is a grown-up Elliot who tries communicating complicated ideas such as geography by drawing pictures in the sand or language by having Cinque mimic his facial expressions. Such stuff was effective for a sci-fi fantasy about the communication barriers between a boy and a lost alien; here, it seems like a naive view of real, complex history. --Dave McCoy, Amazon.com

Video Description
DVD Special Features :

Behind the Scenes featurette
Theatrical Trailer
Four-Page Booklet with Production Notes
English or German Soundtrack
Subtitles: English (Deaf and Hard of Hearing), German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
Dolby 5.1
Anamorphic Widescreen 16:9

Synopsis
Based on actual events in 1838, AMISTAD is the story of captured African slaves who took over their transport ship in a bloody revolt with the hopes of returning back to their homeland. After the slaves are caught and imprisoned, their leader, Cinque (Djimon Hounsou), unable to understand the language or court system of America, tries to communicate his desire to return home to his defense lawyer, Roger Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey), and former slave Theodore Joadson (Morgan Freeman). The men plead for help with their groundbreaking court case from former president John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins). Steven Spielberg directed this moving film, using as a reference the book by William A. Owens, BLACK MUTINY: THE REVOLT ON THE SCHOONER AMISTAD. The Africans in the movie speak Mende, with subtitles added. West African actor Djimon Hounsou had to learn to speak the language for his role--and was nominated for a Golden Globe. Spielberg shot the film at the State House in Providence, Rhode Island, the seaport in Mystic, Connecticut, and other New England locations.

Customer Reviews

Worth watching
Most reviewers either seemed to love or hate this film. I ended up somewhere in the middle, hence the three stars.

At its best, "Amistad" reminds us that the evil of slavery caused terrible suffering to real people and that its abolition was one of the greatest achievements of the nineteenth century. In a world where there are still pockets of slave commerce, it is a reminder of how serious this evil is. The re-creation of a Portugese slave ship and the horrors inflicted on its victims was very well done, and to me the most powerful sequence in the film was that where chained slaves are dragged over the side to drown due to the crew miscalculating the amount of supplies required for the crossing.

At its worst the film contained some sequences which appeared to be overly artificial. Anthony Hopkins is an excellent actor, but there is something unconvincing about his portrayal of John Quincey Adams - it just seemed too saccharine. As I am not familiar with the details of the actual court case I cannot say anything with authority, but the version in the film seemed rather formulaic - hopeless case gains unexpected triumph at hands of struggling young lawyer (seems a bit familiar), then there is a reversal of fortunes, but triumph in the end. The scene of the destruction of the slavers' base in Sierra Leone seemed rather tagged on the end, but did at least give a pleasant reminder that for once the British were on the side of the angels and morally ahead of those nasty colonials who did not stop trading human lives for money until forced to.

Bottom line? There are a lot of third rate movies out there and this is definitely not one of those. It is a film that is worth the time to watch, but I had hoped for better.

Great Spielberg film, strangely ignored at the box-office
Amistad was released in the UK cinema just a few months before Saving Private Ryan. The hype surrounding Ryan, Spielberg and Dreamworks at the time seemed to overshadow the fact that Dreamworks first Spielberg film, Amistad had been released. This could account for the relatively modest numbers of bums on seats. Which is a crying shame. Whilst Amistad may not have the shattering impact of Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan, this is great Spielberg film-making, full of moments of magical cinema. Based on the true story of a slaves revolt on the ship Amistad, subsequent capture and trial in America, the script provides the all-start cast ample opportunity to flex their jaw-muscles. Particularly outstanding is the performance of Djimon Hounsou one of the slaves struggling for freedom. Overall this is one of the best films of the late 90s - if you didn't get to see it at the cinema, catch up with it now on video.

Must See
Amistad is a true story about an 1839 mutiny aboard a slave ship that is traveling towards North America. It is a story in the period when new slaves were illegal, but trading in slaves that were already slaves, was allowed. With a powerful all-star cast including Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins and Matthew McConaughey, it is a story that will grip your heart and move your spirit. Much of the story takes place in a courtroom drama about the free-man who led the revolt, and deals with questions of freedom, humanity and dignity.

The movie, though slow moving, is intense, and the drama builds as many groups claim the slaves as their property. This story is truly gripping and a story of extreme importance in understanding our own history. This lesser-known Spielberg film is truly a must see.