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Movies / On DVD / Amistad
Amistad

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Amistad (1997)

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79 %
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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

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jul 6, 1999

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1 Encoding
  • Keep Case
  • Scene Access

Reviews for Amistad

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N/R

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Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
04/27/07
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
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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.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Ratings Image

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.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
02/13/06
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

Fortunately, the dry, courtroom banter is interjected with powerful accounts of the violent, inhumane atrocities inflicted on the slaves by Spanish merchants.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Tom Meek
Film Threat
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Amistad is the telling of an interesting event in American history, but doesn't draw its audience in to the heart of the story.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
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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.

Full Review Source: Looking Closer | comment Comment
12/06/04
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
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Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
12/18/03
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews
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As with Schindler’s List, Spielberg allows his subjects to be remote and somewhat unknowable human beings, creating an air of documentary-like authenticity.

Full Review Source: Decent Films Guide | comment Comment
07/19/03
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films Guide
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Amistad is the kind of movie that makes a tired topic seem fresh and entertaining again.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather
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Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Susan Tavernetti
Palo Alto Weekly
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Just when you thought you had seen the best movie there is about a historic seagoing vessel, along comes Amistad.

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online
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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...

Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment Comment
01/10/03
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks
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Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Film Threat
N/R

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Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Steven Spielberg's engaging, heartfelt and well-made drama delves into a critical incident in the history of slavery in America.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer
Ratings Image

In Amistad, an admirable but disappointing effort...[Speilberg] veers between stoic political correctness and mushy Hollywood platitudes.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
06/18/02
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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Despite its occasional imperfections...Amistad must be regarded as a monumentally impressive achievement and further proof of Spielberg's ongoing maturation as an artist.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Boxoffice Magazine
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Falta alma ao filme.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
05/31/02
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image

The essential commitment to freedom is so much a part of the story that, at least in this one brief moment, justice triumphed.

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
04/13/02
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
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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...

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Related Forums for Amistad

It's time this story was told. . .
by: movies05 1/10/06


A MASTER AT HIS CRAFT.......BUT
by: Chris 6/10/01
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