IMDb > Blood Diamond (2006)
Blood Diamond
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Blood Diamond (2006) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 145 | slideshow) Videos (see all 21 NEW)
Blood Diamond (2006) -- A fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.
Blood Diamond (2006) -- Clip: You Will Dig Up What You Came Back For
Blood Diamond (2006) -- Interview: Djimon Hounsou "Working With Leonardo DiCaprio"
Blood Diamond (2006) -- A fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.
Blood Diamond (2006) -- A fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 34% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Edward Zwick
Writers (WGA):
Charles Leavitt (screenplay)
Charles Leavitt (story) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Blood Diamond on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
8 December 2006 (USA) more
Tagline:
Truth more
Plot:
A fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 14 nominations more
User Comments:
A great character film with two excellent performances. more (549 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Blood Diamond (Germany)
Okavango (USA) (original script title)
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MPAA:
Rated R for strong violence and language.
Runtime:
143 min
Country:
USA | Germany
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS
Filming Locations:
Cape Town, South Africa more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The white transport helicopter Danny Archer, Solomon Vandy, and Maddy Bowen fly to the refugee camp in is a Russian Mi-8 (NATO designation "Hip-P"). more
Goofs:
Errors in geography: When the sun is seen rising over Freetown, it rises over the ocean. Freetown is in Western Africa, where the sun rises over the continent to the east. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Solomon Vandy: Dia. Dia. Don't want to be late.
Dia Vandy: English boys don't go to school every day.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2007) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Nangirira more

FAQ

What is a "blood diamond"?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
What language does Colonel Coetzee use when speaking over the army phone?
more
279 out of 337 people found the following comment useful.
A great character film with two excellent performances., 10 December 2006
9/10
Author: A_Roode from Halifax, Nova Scotia

Since there is very little in the negative column, let me disperse with it first: 'Blood Diamond' might fairly be accused of 'bleeding heart syndrome' (more on that in a bit), has a few minor pacing issues and seems unsure with how to end. The ending that they chose extends the film too far, seems forced and is tacked on. The more natural ending is on the mountainside -- you'll know what I mean when you see it. Those things said, the positives are much greater and this film showcased two towering performances. Djimon Hounsou is nothing short of incredible and I'd be astonished if he isn't considered at Oscar time. Secondly, although I've had little patience for him before, Leonardo DiCaprio has really impressed me this year. With his performances in 'The Departed' and now 'Blood Diamond,' I think I need to reappraise my own biases against him. I'm becoming a fan.

Some of the early reviews that I read painted 'Blood Diamond' as hysterical left-winger cause-head paradise. They suggest that the conflict diamond situation has been exaggerated and completely distorted. I don't know if that is the case. The film makes a compelling case but I don't base my political and economic decisions on films that I watch. My interest here was to see how characters would respond to adversity and a terrible, horrifyingly dark situation. The political agenda of the film isn't as cloyingly bombastic as I was afraid it might be. This is a film that, while concerned with the political situation in Africa, focuses more on how the obsessive search for a large, rare pink diamond consumes those who get too close to it.

DiCaprio is excellent as a Rhodesian (HIS description) mercenary and arms dealer working in Sierra Leone. Hounsou is a fisherman who gets drawn into the civil war raging around him and discovers a pink diamond that could save -- or destroy -- both he and his family. Jennifer Connelly plays a journalist trying to discover if a huge multi-national diamond company is knowingly in the market for conflict diamonds. Jennifer Connelly seems to get the worst of the dialogue. When told that Americans are in part to blame for conflict diamonds she responds with a line about 'not all girls want a fantasy wedding.' It makes her look naive at best and silly at worst. She generally manages to save the character from either of those fates though and also manages to avoid self-righteousness when dealing with some of the films more morally flexible characters. Hounsou is great and the desperation in his character as he tries to find his family crackles on the screen. He is cagey and understands what he needs to do to survive. His character is not above playing servile if that will keep him alive. And when provoked to violence, the result was absolutely chilling. In much smaller roles are Arnold Vosloo as a mercenary Colonel, Stephen Collins as a diplomat and Michael Sheen as an executive at a diamond company. Excellent performances all around.

Is 'Blood Diamond' judgemental? I think that is the wrong question. The film is a character study both of all the men pursuing the pink diamond and what effect it has on them, but it is also a character study of Africa. Tragic and heartsick, 'Blood Diamond' is drenched with cynicism and defeatism. Why is there misery and exploitation? "TIA," explains DiCaprio to Connelly, "This Is Africa." In contrast to a film like 'Traffic,' 'Blood Diamond' doesn't wallow in hopelessness. Some of the characters might be cynical but the film itself does search for hope. The heart of the picture is the human cost. Characters see the wealth of the diamond and are destroyed by it. The film shares a great deal thematically with a film like 'Treasure of the Sierra Madre.' High praise for a high quality film.

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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Leo's accent/the language rachiegoodman
Anyone cried when he died? leobourne
Do you think boys care about conflict diamonds? orontes
Leo was robbed impossibledreamer
Why the hell isnt this in the top 250? Soul_Assasin
Anyone see the irony in this movie? SegadorSevero
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