“Amistad” is a true story which takes place in 1839 aboard the slave ship La Amistad near Cuba in which Mende tribesmen from Sierra Leone in Africa revolt against their captors, take control of the ship, and are subsequently captured by an American vessel and put on trial in U. S. courts. Claims were placed on the ship and slaves by the Cuban owners and Queen Isabella of Spain, supported by U. S. President Martin Van Buren’s administration. The case was resolved in 1841 at the U. S. Supreme Court, and is the subject of this film.
Director Steven Spielberg, producer Debbie Allen, and screenwriter David Franzoni collaborated on making this epic and unforgettable film. The actors delivered outstanding performances, including Djimon Hounsou as the principal Mende tribesman, Matthew McConaughey as their attorney, Morgan Freeman as a freed slave, Nigel Hawthorne as President Martin Van Buren, David Paymer as Secretary of State John Forsyth, and Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the U. S. who stood in as attorney for the Mende people.
Other cast members include Stellan Skarsgard, Pedro Armendariz Jr., Peter Firth, Chiwetel Edjiofor, and Anna Paquin as Isabella II of Spain. The watchable “Amistad” was only modestly successful at the box office for HBO Films and DreamWorks Pictures. It was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Hopkins), Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), Best Costume Design, and Best Original Dramatic Score (John Williams).
Amistad (1997)
cinema
My Review
“Amistad” is a true story which takes place in 1839 aboard the slave ship La Amistad near Cuba in which Mende tribesmen from Sierra Leone in Africa revolt against their captors, take control of the ship, and are subsequently captured by an American vessel and put on trial in U. S. courts. Claims were placed on the ship and slaves by the Cuban owners and Queen Isabella of Spain, supported by U. S. President Martin Van Buren’s administration. The case was resolved in 1841 at the U. S. Supreme Court, and is the subject of this film.
Director Steven Spielberg, producer Debbie Allen, and screenwriter David Franzoni collaborated on making this epic and unforgettable film. The actors delivered outstanding performances, including Djimon Hounsou as the principal Mende tribesman, Matthew McConaughey as their attorney, Morgan Freeman as a freed slave, Nigel Hawthorne as President Martin Van Buren, David Paymer as Secretary of State John Forsyth, and Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the U. S. who stood in as attorney for the Mende people.
Other cast members include Stellan Skarsgard, Pedro Armendariz Jr., Peter Firth, Chiwetel Edjiofor, and Anna Paquin as Isabella II of Spain. The watchable “Amistad” was only modestly successful at the box office for HBO Films and DreamWorks Pictures. It was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor (Hopkins), Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), Best Costume Design, and Best Original Dramatic Score (John Williams).