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Amistad [VHS] [1998]
 
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Amistad [VHS] [1998]

VHS ~ Djimon Hounsou
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Actors: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Nigel Hawthorne
  • Directors: Steven Spielberg
  • Writers: David Franzoni
  • Producers: Bonnie Curtis, Colin Wilson, Debbie Allen, Laurie MacDonald, Paul Deason
  • Format: Closed-captioned, Dolby, PAL, Surround Sound
  • Language English, Spanish
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: 4 Front Video
  • VHS Release Date: 13 Jan 2003
  • Run Time: 148 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004CX2I
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 11,196 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Steven Spielberg's most simplistic, sanitised history lesson, Amistad, explores the symbolic 1840s trials of 53 West Africans following their bloody rebellion aboard a slave ship. For most of Schindler's List (and, later, Saving Private Ryan) Spielberg restrains himself from the sweeping narrative and technical flourishes that make him one of our most entertaining and manipulative directors. Here, he doesn't even bother trying, succumbing to his driving need to entertain with beautiful images and contrived emotion. He cheapens his grandiose motives and simplifies slavery, treating it as cut- and-dry genre piece. Characters are easy Hollywood stereotypes--"villains" like the Spanish sailors or zealous abolitionists are drawn one-dimensionally and sneered upon. And Spielberg can't suppress his gifted eye, undercutting normally ugly sequences, such as the terrifying slave passage, which is shot as a gorgeous, well-lit composition. At its core, Amistad is a traditional courtroom drama, centred by a tired, clichéd narrative: a struggling, idealistic young lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) fighting the crooked political system and saving helpless victims. Worse yet, Spielberg actually takes the underlying premise of his childhood fantasy, E.T. and repackages it for slavery. Cinque (Djimon Hounsou), the leader of the West African rebellion, is presented much like the adorable alien: lost, lacking a common language, and trying to find his way home. McConaughey is a grown-up Elliot who tries communicating complicated ideas such as geography by drawing pictures in the sand or language by having Cinque mimic his facial expressions. Such stuff was effective for a sci-fi fantasy about the communication barriers between a boy and a lost alien; here, it seems like a naive view of real, complex history. --Dave McCoy, Amazon.com


Synopsis

The story of the journey made by a group of African slaves who take control of their slave ship in an attempt to travel back home. But the ship is retaken and they are sent to America where they stand trial for murder. The fight is now for a man's basic right to freedom...

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Worth watching, 27 Feb 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Amistad [VHS] [1998] (VHS Tape)
Most reviewers either seemed to love or hate this film. I ended up somewhere in the middle, hence the three stars.

At its best, "Amistad" reminds us that the evil of slavery caused terrible suffering to real people and that its abolition was one of the greatest achievements of the nineteenth century. In a world where there are still pockets of slave commerce, it is a reminder of how serious this evil is. The re-creation of a Portugese slave ship and the horrors inflicted on its victims was very well done, and to me the most powerful sequence in the film was that where chained slaves are dragged over the side to drown due to the crew miscalculating the amount of supplies required for the crossing.

At its worst the film contained some sequences which appeared to be overly artificial. Anthony Hopkins is an excellent actor, but there is something unconvincing about his portrayal of John Quincey Adams - it just seemed too saccharine. As I am not familiar with the details of the actual court case I cannot say anything with authority, but the version in the film seemed rather formulaic - hopeless case gains unexpected triumph at hands of struggling young lawyer (seems a bit familiar), then there is a reversal of fortunes, but triumph in the end. The scene of the destruction of the slavers' base in Sierra Leone seemed rather tagged on the end, but did at least give a pleasant reminder that for once the British were on the side of the angels and morally ahead of those nasty colonials who did not stop trading human lives for money until forced to.

Bottom line? There are a lot of third rate movies out there and this is definitely not one of those. It is a film that is worth the time to watch, but I had hoped for better.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Spielberg film, strangely ignored at the box-office, 16 Mar 2000
By A Customer
Amistad was released in the UK cinema just a few months before Saving Private Ryan. The hype surrounding Ryan, Spielberg and Dreamworks at the time seemed to overshadow the fact that Dreamworks first Spielberg film, Amistad had been released. This could account for the relatively modest numbers of bums on seats. Which is a crying shame. Whilst Amistad may not have the shattering impact of Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan, this is great Spielberg film-making, full of moments of magical cinema. Based on the true story of a slaves revolt on the ship Amistad, subsequent capture and trial in America, the script provides the all-start cast ample opportunity to flex their jaw-muscles. Particularly outstanding is the performance of Djimon Hounsou one of the slaves struggling for freedom. Overall this is one of the best films of the late 90s - if you didn't get to see it at the cinema, catch up with it now on video.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Must See , 21 Mar 2008
By Steven R. McEvoy "MCWPP" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Amistad [DVD] [1998] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
Amistad is a true story about an 1839 mutiny aboard a slave ship that is traveling towards North America. It is a story in the period when new slaves were illegal, but trading in slaves that were already slaves, was allowed. With a powerful all-star cast including Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins and Matthew McConaughey, it is a story that will grip your heart and move your spirit. Much of the story takes place in a courtroom drama about the free-man who led the revolt, and deals with questions of freedom, humanity and dignity.

The movie, though slow moving, is intense, and the drama builds as many groups claim the slaves as their property. This story is truly gripping and a story of extreme importance in understanding our own history. This lesser-known Spielberg film is truly a must see.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars "If He Were White and His Oppressors Had Been British..."
`Amistad' is an uncomfortable reminder of a fact that many Americans would like to ignore. That having supposedly overthrown the oppressive rule of King George III on the grounds... Read more
Published 11 months ago by James Uscroft

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping
One of the best films I've ever seen. I first caught up with it late one night in the 90's and have been itching to watch it gain ever since. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Sp3

5.0 out of 5 stars Unsurprisingly, this flopped at the US box office.
As the good guys were the Royal Navy, and a lawyer - the usual suspects when it comes to villains in US cinema. Read more
Published 18 months ago by John R. Wade

4.0 out of 5 stars History comes alive in the hands of Steven Spielberg
I'm a fan of the movies put out by Steven Spielberg. He has taken true historical events and turned them into such captivating beautiful movies that none can compare. Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2007 by Jenny J.J.I.

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Spielberg's Best
Amistad is on par with the very best of Spielberg's films and we can easily see why he is always so successful. Read more
Published on 3 May 2007 by Jay

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth watching
Well yes, it is a little cliched, romanticised and over-simplified. But there aren't many films made on this topic, so if it informs a few people about what went on, that's okay... Read more
Published on 27 April 2007 by Afro-Scot

1.0 out of 5 stars How can you fail when you have Morgan Freeman?
Casting Morgan Freeman in a film is like receiving the Popes blessing. What can possibly go wrong? Yet Spielberg cocked it up again. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2007 by Madge

5.0 out of 5 stars Hopkins at his best
Is there nothing that Anthony Hopkins cannot do? This brilliant guy puts in another superb performance and is most ably supported by Djimon Hounsou, the ubiquitous Morgan Freeman... Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2007 by G. H. Jones

4.0 out of 5 stars A sympathetic view of slavery
I really enjoyed this film. The historical representations of the different nations and races I think are very accurate too. Read more
Published on 6 Dec 2006 by mjstr1986

3.0 out of 5 stars spanish are the bad
Cinema is the most popular spectacle and USA the bigger producer of movies. There is a problem with this and it’s that from the rest of the world it’s seen clerly how... Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2003 by Carlos Vazquez Quintana

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