Amistad

Rating:
Summary: McCoguhney's Best!
Review: Steven Spielberg's debut film for DreamWorks Pictures, Amistad, stars a distinguished cast led by Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou and Matthew McConaughey.

Earning acclaim for its filmmaking and power, Amistad was honored with four Academy Award nominations; Best Supporting Actor (Hopkins), Best Music, Best Costume Design and Best Cinematography.

Based on a true story, the movie chronicles the incredible journey of a group of enslaved Africans who overtake their captor's ship and attempt to return to their beloved homeland. When the ship, La Amistad, is seized, these captives are brought to the United States where they are charged with murder and await their fate in prison. An enthralling battle ensues that captures the attention of the entire nation, confronting the very foundation of the American justice system. But for the men and women on trial, it is simply a fight for the basic right of all mankind... freedom.

Rating:
Summary: Another Spielberg Great
Review: An amazing film only Spielberg could have done. Its historical accuracy is great, except for one thing, only the few will catch. Its 1839, and the ship named the Amistad, is hijacked by the slaves held captive in it, lead by the hero Cinque'. After weeks at sea they land in the United States, and the trial of the decade ensues.

Rating:
Summary: Some unpleasant historical truths explored
Review: This is an important video to see. Based on the historical incident in 1839 of a group of 45 slaves who took over their ship, the Amistad, and wound up in Connecticut. This is a the story of slavery as only Steven Spielberg could tell it. And it is also the story of the United States of America headed toward civil war, the story of petty politics, and a serious debate in front of the supreme court with Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams.

The film is full of those modern touches that make it so typical of movies of the late 1990's. Subtitles are used as the slaves speak in their own language and the Spanish crews speak in theirs. This adds an authenticity to the story. In contrast, another 1990s touch that detracts from its authenticity is that the slaves all look as if their well-muscled bodies were toned in modern gyms.

The scenes of the Africans on the slave ship are the most moving that I have ever seen filmed. The chains are heavy and real, the terror and despair excruciating, the entire ordeal brought to the screen in horrifying detail. Contrasted to this are the Americans in Connecticut, doing their best to create this new country. There are abolitionists spouting moral values, lawyers debating whether the Africans are slaves or free people because of details of law, and an international treaty with Spain that is rife with politics.

The video is three hours long, which could have been trimmed by at least an hour. The speeches get a little pompous sometimes and go on much longer than they need to. Morgan Freeman plays a role that has obviously been written in to show that there were some wealthy free blacks in that era, a role which should have been either expanded or eliminated.

Although not perfect, this video should be seen. Sometimes it's easy to forget how young the United States actually is and how rooted in the past our politics are. Armistad certain deepens our understanding of this heritage and enlightens us about some unpleasant truths. Truths that we, as a people, need to look at.

Rating:
Summary: UNEVEN
Review: I look with suspicion at anything that Spielberg lays his hand upon. THis was no exception. SPielberg is the total master of manipulation, disguising himself as a " Great director" . But he's not, he only plays with the audience's emotion using cheap tricks. In " AMISTAD ", slavery issue was almost left untouched, as if it is a normal thing. Blergh !

Rating:
Summary: An important story well told
Review: Amistad is an important story in American history, and the history of slavery in America. Producer Debbie Allen was the driving force behind getting Spielburg to tell this story. For those unfamiliar - and probably most are unless they have seen this movie or read reviews or seen previews of it - La Amistad was a Spanish slave ship which was used to bring Africans to Spain from Cuba. They had previously been illegally captured and shipped from Sierra Leon. Singbe Pieh (called Cinque by the Spaniards and throughout this film), broke free of his chains and freed the other slaves who then killed most of the Spanish crew and forced the two remaining to bring them back to Africa. However, things did not turn out as planned and they were captured off the coast of Road Island, and brought to New Haven, Connecticut to determine their fate. Most of the movie, thus, is about their legal fight for freedom.

Djimon Hounsou, seen most recently in a recurring role in the TV series E.R., played Cinque as his first acting role. He has great screen presence. He speaks almost no English throughout the movie, and thus draws us to pay much more attention to his facial gestures, and raw emotions, with which he rises to the challenge of convincing us of who Cinque is without even knowing what he is saying most of the time. Some of our insight, of course, is helped by flashbacks.

Anthony Hopkins is as brilliant as ever as the former-president John Quincy Adams who seems half-senile at times, while revealing at others a great intellect and awareness still churning in an old man whose day, according to many of his contemporaries, has passed.

Unfortunately, Morgan Freeman's character is not a very visible one, or memorable, anyway. He plays an ex-slave abolitionist of the day who is much more moderate than his white colleagues, who go so far as to espouse martyrdom over victory.

Matthew McConaughey plays the young, somewhat bumbling, lawyer who goes through a personal transformation - he originally sees the case as a simple property manner and solicits the case because of experience in this area. But as he becomes involved in the slaves story, he begins to view them not as property, but as people like himself. McConaughey is convincing, though not outstanding in any way.

I did have a few qualms about this movie. For one, it was a little long. Those with problems sitting still for long periods might have to watch this in a couple of sittings. It is a very interesting story, but a lot of it is in the courtroom dealing with legalisms and so forth. I think it probably could have been a little shorter without sacrificing a lot of the story. The two and a half hours could have probably been pared to two. The other problem I had with it was that it used the standard Spielburg tricks to elicit emotion - the soaring music, extreme close-ups, etc. I have a problem with this because I feel like I'm being manipulated. I wish Spielburg would have more trust in his story, actors, and audience and not feel he has to "tell" people when they should feel sad, happy, etc.

Rating:
Summary: Could Of Been Much Better
Review: Superbly crafted, wonderfully acted, powerful, real, heartfelt, and impeccable. These are all adjectives that correctly describe this film. Here's a movie that had so much going for it. I really wanted to like this film. I sat down and was amazed with pleasure by some scenes and with other scenes sat in disgust and boredom. "Amistad" starts out with a battle scene that reminds me of another Spielberg movie, "Saving Private Ryan". The opening scene is done in a way that carries all the intensity that could make it seem real. The camera sways back and forth, in a way fighthing to get the actor in frame. It's as if the camera is an extra actor in the movie. It's scenes like this, that make me have some aprreciation for this film. The screenplay by David Franzoni is done with a lot of care and does try to offer a accurate description, but it remains uneven. Some scenes aren't as well polished as other scenes. This is all due to the directing by Steven Spielberg. On the surface he may seem to be the right man for this film, after making "Schindler's List", which this movie may remind some of, in it's style rather than content. The performances by Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey, Djimon Housou, Nigel Hawthorne, and Anna Paquin are wonderful to watch. But that's not the problem with this movie. The problem lies in the screenplay. The viewer switches their moods toward the film too often. One moment a scene grabs all your attention and the next one leaves you asking for more. You actually get bored with the movie. And then a great scene will appear now and then again. But after a while, you just can't take it anymore. And your left to say that you don't enjoy this movie. The problem remains it's just way too uneven! ** 1\2 out of *****

Rating:
Summary: Amistad---Engaging And Important Viewing
Review: "In a courtroom, whoever tells the best story wins," says former President John Quincy Adams in this historical drama about a slave-ship rebellion and its aftermath. The same is true of movies. In this harrowing epic, Spielberg concentrates on the story that viewers most want to see: about who the desperate men and women on that slave ship are and how they, or at least one of them, got there.

The tale Amistad tells is a true one. In 1839 a group of Africans staged a bloody takeover of the Amistad, on which they were traveling as human cargo. They were subsequently captured off the New England coast and put on trial for the murder of the ship's crew.

After a long journey through the courts, abetted by behind-the-scenes string-pulling against the Africans, by President Martin Van Buren, their case ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court, where the elderly Adams argued on their behalf.

This neglected episode of American history has also inspired an opera, again titled Amistad, which opened in Chicago, as well as the 1989 novel Echo of Lions, by Barbara Chase-Riboud, who had filed a copyright infringement suit against Spielberg and DreamWorks Pictures, the movie's production studio.

Touching on issues of race, politics and human rights that resonate today, this is potent stuff.

Rating:
Summary: The technique of lighting
Review: I had to study 'Amistad' for a year 12 assignment and I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It was definitely an eye opener to me as to how African slaves were treated. The performances from the actors was incredible. Cinque was an extremely important character and was often portrayed as being 'Christ-like'. He was often seen in light and in the court room scenes he was wearing light coloured clothes. Cinque was also seen as the 'head' of the other black slaves. They all looked up to him and admired him. Due to the technique of lighting, the viewer is shown that Cinque and the other slaves are the 'good', and the Americans are the 'bad'. Characters in the film who were siding with the Africans were all seen in light, while others, for example the Spanians, were seen in dark lighting.

Overall, I feel that Spielberg did a fantastic job with this film and the technique of lighting was very effective in portraying certain views to the audience.

Rating:
Summary: How Does the Story End?
Review: I have to say that I literally just saw Amistad. One of the best stroy tellers, Spielberg tells yet another story of freedom after exploring the topic in Shindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. This time he explore freedom in the pre-civil war period. I noticed that several reviewers felt he over simplified slavery and this portion of history. If anything, all this did was help focus attention on freedom and the plight of the slaves featured in the movie. Spielberg forgoes a lot of the special effects (ie: Saving Private Ryan) and instead focuses on a tight script that is delivered superbly by the actors. Djimon Hounsou delivers an incredibly emotional performance with stunning close ups of his face that convey emoition without saying a word. Anythony Hopkin's portrays a very deep, reflective, complex character of John Qunicy Adams. He delivers phenomenal speeches including lines such as, "If a civil war is to come, then let it come. And may it be the last battle of the American Revolution." That battle continues today, but the movie tells the story of how freedom can be won and that freedom is what America is all about. The question is, how does the story end because the story of freedom and the fight against slavery continues even today.

Great movie - one of the best I've seen in some time.

Rating:
Summary: oversimplification
Review: There is no honest representation of the African personality and cultural background in the film. I did not have a clear concept of what was the African cognitive/riligious/metaphysical concept of the tragedy of slavery. They are defined mostly in an American Christian perspective. In one view on La Amistad, you can barely distinguish the Africans performing Islamic prayers in the background. None of the characters evoke any Islamic statements of faith throughout the tragedy of enslavement and loss in the sea. In another scene, the imprisoned Africans are dancing "noble savage" style around a bonefire INSIDE the prison. How could that be possible is beyond my imagination! The director is trying to fall back on the old western movie depictions of the native indians running around the camp fire performing the battle dance. The real theme of the story is not the suffering of the Aficans enslaved and inside filthy ships in the Atlantic; it is about the American society's treatment of the issue of slavery and the true nature of the American system of government. Needless to say that the director wants to tell the audience a political message: that the core of the American political system is ethical and "GOOD" hearted. The only characters shown in the movie to actually benfit financially from the slave trade were the Spanish, the Africans who cought Cinque,and the Cubans. Not a single scene brings to the viewer's attention images of the suffering of the slaves in an American plantation. This is an oversimplification of a complex issue, and a superficial evaluation of important questions within a commerical context.