Amistad (1997)

In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writer:

David Franzoni

Stars:

Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 39 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Morgan Freeman	...	Theodore Joadson
Nigel Hawthorne	...	Martin Van Buren
Anthony Hopkins	...	John Quincy Adams
Djimon Hounsou	...	Cinque
Matthew McConaughey	...	Roger Sherman Baldwin
David Paymer	...	Secretary John Forsyth
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Holabird
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Tappan
Razaaq Adoti	...	Yamba
Abu Bakaar Fofanah	...	Fala
Anna Paquin	...	Queen Isabella
Tomas Milian	...	Calderon
Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Ensign Covey
Derrick N. Ashong	...	Buakei
Geno Silva	...	Ruiz

Storyline

Amistad is the name of a slave ship travelling from Cuba to the U.S. in 1839. It is carrying a cargo of Africans who have been sold into slavery in Cuba, taken on board, and chained in the cargo hold of the ship. As the ship is crossing from Cuba to the U.S., Cinque (Djimon Hounsou), who was a tribal leader in Africa, leads a mutiny and takes over the ship. They continue to sail, hoping to find their way back to Africa. Instead, they are misdirected and when they reach the United States, they are imprisoned as runaway slaves. They don't speak a word of English, and it seems like they are doomed to die for killing their captors when an abolitionist lawyer decides to take their case, arguing that they were free citizens of another country and not slaves at all. The case finally gets to the Supreme Court, where John Quincy Adams (Sir Anthony Hopkins) makes an impassioned and eloquent plea for their release.

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Plot Keywords:

ship | slave ship | escape from slavery | year 1839 | martin van buren | 

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Taglines:

Freedom is not given. It is our right at birth. But there are some moments when it must be taken.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some scenes of strong brutal violence and some related nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mende Spanish Portuguese

Release Date:

25 December 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amistad - Das Sklavenschiff

Filming Locations:

Marble House - 596 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$36,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,661,866, 14 December 1997, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$44,175,394, 5 April 1998

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,200,000, 15 March 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to producer and director Steven Spielberg, some U.S. actors were furious with him for casting a Welsh actor as the President, as they felt the role should have gone to an American performer. Spielberg did the same thing again by casting Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln (2012). By that time, casting Britons as American Presidents had almost become commonplace (for example, Sir Anthony Hopkins in Nixon (1995), Sir Michael Gambon in Path to War (2002), Alan Rickman in Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013), and Tom Wilkinson in Selma (2014)).

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Goofs

When Adams and Baldwin are studying books before the Supreme Court hearing, Adams is interrupted by Cinque's translator. While the translator speaks, Adams is holding a magnifying glass over the book, but when the camera angle changes he is suddenly holding a pen and writing with it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ruiz: [to Pedro Montes] That one wants us to sail them back. That one thinks he can sail all the way back without us.

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Crazy Credits

The events depicted did not historically occur at Fort El Morro

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Alternate Versions

The board of film censors of Jamaica have excised the opening scenes, depicting a violent slave uprising on a ship, from all copies of the film released in Jamaican theatres.

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Connections

Referenced in Jeopardy!: Episode #33.101 (2017)

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Soundtracks

Amazing Grace
Written by John Newton

User Reviews

I Got This Wrong

Continuing my plan to watch every Steven Spielberg movie in order, I come to Amistad.

I hold my hands up, and say I was totally wrong on this movie. It did nothing for me the first time I watched it. Yet, when I rewatched it I was blown away. It's not perfect, its historically inaccurate and Morgan Freeman is surprisingly under used. We get a lot of shots of him looking on, but not actually doing a lot.

All the cast are great, and Spielberg knows how to tug on the heartstrings.

Amistad was mostly ignored by cinemagoers upon its release the 50th highest grossing movie of 1997. With a $44 million dollar domestic gross.