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| Amistad | 
 enlarge | Director: Steven Spielberg
Actors: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew Mcconaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Nigel Hawthorne
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy New: $4.03
You Save: $5.95 (60%)
New (59) Used (32) Collectible (3) from $3.86
Avg. Customer Rating:  144 reviews
Sales Rank: 4406
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 152
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
DVD Layers: 2
DVD Sides: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.7 x 0.7
MPN: MCAD84162D
ISBN: 0783231202
UPC: 667068416220
EAN: 9780783231204
ASIN: 0783231202
Theatrical Release Date: December 10, 1997
Release Date: May 4, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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| Customer Reviews:
 Now More Relevant Than Ever Before February 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
AMISTAD is as relevant today as it was when it first came out in 1997. In at least one respect it is now even more relevant.
As most viewers realize early in this film, it was not designed to provide audiences with pleasant entertainment. Rather, it is a kind of didactic drama, serving--like Euripides' ancient Greek play THE TROJAN WOMEN (415 B.C.E.) and the recent George Clooney film SYRIANA (2005)--both as a reminder of a nation's flawed past actions and as a plea to be better in the future. Insofar as racism and racial violence are still thriving in our country--often encouraged by some politicians and pundits in low places--AMISTAD's main message is still needed, and the film is still an effective means of awakening people to the injustice of granting some citizens a place of special privilege while other citizens are kept subordinate.
By a fluke of historical fate, however, this film can draw our attention to things that were not in the forefront of its makers' minds at that time. Viewing AMISTAD in the winter of 2008, I was struck by the repulsive actions of President Martin Van Buren, who hungered so strongly for a second term that he repeatedly tried to deny justice to the wronged men and women of the slave ship--even intervening to have their favorable verdict overturned by the Supreme Court (which at that time seemed to be stacked in his favor by a margin of 7 to 2). Do our presidents ever commit such immoral acts nowadays? Does anyone of any party doubt it? And do the members of our Supreme Court ever make their decisions on the basis of "party loyalty" despite what our laws and our Constitution may say to the contrary? Are we ever in danger of having a majority of such false justices making vital, life-altering decisions? Has such a thing happened within living memory? Does anyone of any party doubt this? Does anyone believe that President Van Buren was the very last president to try to manipulate matters as far as laws and the separation of our government's branches are concerned? If any of us disagree on the answers to these questions, it is only about the names of the guilty parties and/or the relative degrees of their guilt.
And yet, within this film we are shown that, on the issue of human rights and "the belief that all men are created equal," 8 of the 9 justices of the Supreme Court in Van Buren's day had the intelligence and integrity to vote to uphold what our Founding Fathers had promised our citizens and had stated about human beings everywhere. And while I found many other parts of this film deeply moving--the parts which had been scripted, directed, and acted to press my emotional buttons on the issues of slavery and the rights of all human beings--in my recent viewing of this film I was also very deeply moved by the sight of our nation's much criticized Supreme Court doing the right thing. In line with the other messages of the film, this suggests that our citizens have a right to expect AND a duty to demand no less from our present Supreme Court as well as from all future Supreme Courts.
The British politician Edmund Burke is supposed to have said, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men [and good women] to do nothing." Although no one has ever been able to verify where or when he may have said this--or whether some other person said it who has been wrongly forgotten--it is still a valid maxim, one well worth remembering whenever we are tempted to let someone else do our thinking or fighting for us.
And now, coming down off my soapbox, here is one tiny piece of art trivia: the biblical illustrations shown in AMISTAD were done by a French artist named Gustav Dore. And although the main action of the film takes place between 1839 and 1841, Dore was not born until 1832, and his biblical illustrations were not published until 1865 in French Bibles--and were published three or four years later in English Bibles. Does this destroy any of the fabric of the film? No, of course not. Does it make me think any the less of this film? Certainly not. Its central message remains intact--and its new and unintended message about our presidents and our courts needing constant vigilance to keep them working properly is not affected in the least.
Great movie February 18, 2008
Great movie
Painful scenes of the terrible treatment of our African brothers and sisters, and a sad reminder of the brutalities of slavery.
 "Based" on a true story February 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Amistad is a powerful movie about a real incident that had a bearing on history. Let's start with some of the many positives: Spielberg is one of our era's most talented filmmakers and his skills are certainly on display here. The film is well acted by the entire cast, especially Hopkins as former president Adams and Freeman as an abolitionist businessman. These 2 actors are always good and Amistad is no exception.
Where the film falters is when Spielberg takes "dramatic license". Putting it simply, when he lies. The real story should have been enough for a great movie so the truth shouldn't have to be stretched to overdramatize events. The slavetraders were lousy human beings without a doubt but they didn't dump half the slaves in the ocean. Adams never met any of the Africans he defended so well and their presence in a courtroom is not believable. The speeches made in the film do not reflect 1839-40 attitudes, they reflect current ones. This could have and probably should have been great. As it is, it is a well told story with too many half truths. 3.5 Stars.
Historical ! January 7, 2008
I've used this in both the classroom and on trips
to New England to introduce the historical Mystic
Seaport for chartered bus tours.
A story that needed to be told December 8, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have to admit, I'm partial to this film because I have spent years studying Roger Sherman and his progeny. Roger Sherman was one of the Founding Fathers, and is mostly forgotten today. Despite the obscurity, the Sherman family is one of the most powerful political families in American History. What does this have to do with Amistad? Matthew McConaughey played Roger Sherman Baldwin, the grandson of Roger Sherman. Since the Shermans play prominent roles in two of my novels (Tempest at Dawn & the soon to be released Shut-Mouth Society), I have a vested interest in this film.
Was I disappointed? Not in the historical portrayal of Roger Baldwin. The basic facts around his involvement are accurate. I was disappointed in McConaughey's portrayal, however.
The important issue is that this movie tells a piece of our history that has been swept away, probably from embarrassment. The production values are excellent and the acting superb. The script moves a bit slow at times, but story is strong enough to hold the viewers interest.
The Shut Mouth Society
The Shopkeeper
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