Click to read the article
Amistad (1997)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted: 56
Fresh: 44
Rotten:12
Average Rating: 7/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 35 mins
Genre: Dramas
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... 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. [More]
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Nigel Hawthorne, David Paymer, Pete Postlethwaite, Stellan Skarsgaard, Anna Paquin, Razaaq Adoti, Abu Bakaar Fofanah, Tomas Milian, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Derrick N. Ashong, Geno Silva, John Ortiz, Ralph Brown, Darren E. Burrows, Allan Rich, Paul Guilfoyle, Peter Firth, Xander Berkeley, Jeremy Northam, Arliss Howard, Willie Amakye, Luc Assogba, Mariah Campbell, Stephen Conteh, Monguehy Fanzy, Jimmy Fotso, Adekunle Ilori, Sheriff Kargbo, Saye Lah, Sylvestre Massaquoi, Samson Odede, Chike Okpala, Willie Onafesso, Samuel Pieh, Lansana Sawi, Abu Sidique, El Hadj Malik Sow, Lamine Thiam, Austin Pendleton, Daniel Von Bargen, Rusty Schwimmer, Pedro Armendariz, Frank T. Wells, Michael Massee, Roy Cooper, Jake Weber, Victor Rivers, Joseph Kosseh, Steve Passewe, Sherly Accosta Williams
Director: Steven Spielberg
Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: David H. Franzoni
Producer: Steven Spielberg, Debbie Allen, Colin Wilson
Composer: John Williams
Get This Movie
Reviews for Amistad
Amistad is worth seeing just for people to know about this important story, this moment in history. But from the world's most powerful, successful and famous director, we expect more.
Aiming to instruct and entertain, and often struggling to reconcile these goals, Amistad lacks the subtlety of tone and simplicity of form that made Schindler's List one of Spielberg's very best; here, however, every idea and image are too explicit.
Fortunately, the dry, courtroom banter is interjected with powerful accounts of the violent, inhumane atrocities inflicted on the slaves by Spanish merchants.
Amistad is the telling of an interesting event in American history, but doesn't draw its audience in to the heart of the story.
This is the most straightforward, understated, and powerful big-screen representation of the gospel in recent movie history. And for that, Amistad should be recommended to everyone.
As with Schindler’s List, Spielberg allows his subjects to be remote and somewhat unknowable human beings, creating an air of documentary-like authenticity.
Amistad is the kind of movie that makes a tired topic seem fresh and entertaining again.
Just when you thought you had seen the best movie there is about a historic seagoing vessel, along comes Amistad.
Spielberg's films never lack a certain degree of narrative and visual force, but his tendency toward sentimentality, a strictly antipodal, Good-vs.-Bad conception of character, and an insensitivity to structure have consistently marred his work...
Steven Spielberg's engaging, heartfelt and well-made drama delves into a critical incident in the history of slavery in America.
In Amistad, an admirable but disappointing effort...[Speilberg] veers between stoic political correctness and mushy Hollywood platitudes.
Despite its occasional imperfections...Amistad must be regarded as a monumentally impressive achievement and further proof of Spielberg's ongoing maturation as an artist.
The essential commitment to freedom is so much a part of the story that, at least in this one brief moment, justice triumphed.
Latest News for Amistad
May 20, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: The Island
Yahoo! Movies brings us an all-new trailer for Michael Bay's sci-fi thriller "The Island." A tale of utopian societies, rampant cloning, and desperate escapes,... More...
Related Forums for Amistad
by: Chris 6/10/01
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| Smart People | |
| Kung Fu Panda | |
| Journey to the Center … | |
| The Incredible Hulk | |
| Indiana Jones and the … |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| WALL-E | |
| Tropic Thunder | |
| Sisterhood of the Trav… | |
| Encounters At the End … | |
| Gonzo: The Life and Wo… |


Top Critic