Amistad (1997) or, Must ... Free ... Slaves!

10/01/2013

Amistad (1997) or, Must ... Free ... Slaves!

♥♥♥

The chains of bondage are central on this history-indicating poster for Steven Spielberg's Amistad

Amistad is the true story of a ship full of African slaves, who arrive in America after a rebellion on their ship the Amistad, whereupon several actors claim to own them. They end up being freed and pose a wedge in the relationship between the Northern and Southern states of their new country.

Amistad is marred by over-length and an overly sentimental handling of its subject. An Oscar-nominated Anthony Hopkins (Thor (2011)) as ex-president give a long speech over John Williams' (The Witches of Eastwick (1987)) score in the Supreme Court that is very protracted and grand, but essentially makes no sense.
The film can still be enjoyed for its great cast which also includes Morgan Freeman (Ben-Hur (2016)), Stellan Skarsgård (The Killing Gene (2007)), Xander Berkeley (The Gadfly (2011, short)), Pete Postlethwaite (Rat (2000)) and Anna Paquin (Bellevue (2017, TV-series)).
Amistad is also often funny, but is no The Shawshank Redemption (1994) or 12 Years a Slave (2013).
Despite Ohioan master filmmaker Steven Spielberg (Firefly (1964)) reportedly being cautious about returning to a black rights issue drama after his 11 times Oscar-nominated The Color Purple (1985) had been criticized by black audiences, Amistad was a hurried production right at the birth of DreamWorks and just prior to his shooting war masterpiece Saving Private Ryan (1998). The film, Spielberg's 18th feature, is written by David Franzoni (Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)).

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2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]
Lincoln (2012) - Spielberg's inspiring presidential portrait stands tall
War Horse (2011) - Spielberg visits WWI with problematic horse drama
The Adventures of Tintin/The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011) - Affinities for Tintin, earlier Spielberg and film will decide your experience of this 3D mo-cap adventure
Super 8 (2011) - Abrams' nostalgic family crowdpleaser (producer)

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Munich (2005) - Spielberg wrings a brilliant spy thriller from fraught real-life massacre and its aftermath

2001 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Band of Brothers - TV mini-series (2001) - WWII-sacrifice and -comradeship portrayed with skill and integrity (producer)
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - A robot fairy tale with both heart and mind
Empire of the Sun (1987) - Spielberg's grand production of boy-in-China-during-WWII is a misfire
Twilight Zone The Movie (1983) - Fear takes many forms in tragedy-struck anthology
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - Spielberg's greatest accomplishment
1941 (1979) - Spielberg's bizarre 'comedy spectacular' sinks like a rock
Top 10: Best car chases in movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Duel (1971) - Spielberg's truck terror is ideal afternoon fare

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 36 mil. $
Box office: 44.2 mil. $ (North America only)
= Uncertain

[Amistad premiered 4 December (Washington D.C.) and runs 154 minutes. Shooting took place in Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, California, including Los Angeles, Connecticut and Boston, Massachusetts from February - April 1997. The film opened #5, behind fellow new release Scream 2, holdover hit Flubber and new releases For Richer or Poorer and Home Alone 2, to a 4.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 44.2 mil. $. It left the top 5 after its first weekend but managed to climb a weekend several weeks later to #4. The film's business internationally is regrettably unreported, and it is doubtful that it was popular enough abroad to render it a theatrical success. The film was heavily criticized for its many blatant historical inaccuracies and misrepresenting narrative. It was nevertheless nominated for 4 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Supporting Actor (Hopkins) to Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting, Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski) to Russell Carpenter for Titanic, Costume Design also to Titanic, and Score also to Titanic (composer James Horner). It was also nominated for 4 Golden Globes, a David di Donatello award, won a European Film award and was nominated for a Grammy, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. Spielberg returned with Saving Private Ryan (1998). Hopkins returned in The Mask of Zorro (1998); Freeman in Hard Rain (1998); Matthew McConaughey (Gold (2016)) in The Newton Boys (1998) and Djimon Hounsou (Charlie's Angels (2019)) in The Small Hours (1997). Amistad is certified fresh at 77 % with a 6.91/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Amistad?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

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10/01/2013

Amistad (1997) or, Must ... Free ... Slaves!

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