Amistad (1997)
83%RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 4 Oscars
11 wins & 43 nominations total
Heartfelt without resorting to preachiness, Amistad tells an important story with engaging sensitivity and absorbing skill
Amistad” is a film that tells the story of a slave-ship rebellion in 1839 and its aftermath in the U.S. judicial system. Critics have had mixed reviews about the film, with some praising its powerful moments and performances, while others criticize its wordy courtroom drama and lack of subtlety. However, as a non-critic, I can say that “Amistad” is definitely worth watching for its important story and Djimon Hounsou’s magnetic performance. Plus, who doesn’t love a good courtroom drama with some stormy scenes on a slave boat? Overall, it may not be Spielberg’s best work, but it’s still a film that will leave an impact on its viewers.
Production Company(ies)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Distributor
DreamWorks SKG, United International Pictures
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some scenes of strong brutal violence and some related nudity
Year of Release
1997
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 32m
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Language(s):English, Mende, Spanish, Portuguese
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 10, 1997 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 7, 2005
Genre(s)
History/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey, Nigel Hawthorne, Djimon Hounsou, David Paymer, directed by Steven Spielberg, written by David Franzoni, History, Drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Mike Clark, Owen Gleiberman, Nell Minow, Geoff Andrew, Steven D Greydanus, Eric L McKitrick, Yael Shuv, Jeffrey M Anderson, Tom Meek, produced by Debbie Allen, Steven Spielberg, Colin Wilson, R-rated, slave ship, uprising, Connecticut, John Quincy Adams, property lawyer, exonerated, Spanish merchants, courtroom drama, historical inaccuracies, Shindlers List, epic, sympathy, forgotten films, hair on end, documentary-like authenticity, powerful, violent, inhumane atrocities, slave trading, brilliant, smart, horrors, truths, sympathy, forgotten films, inaccuracies, Hollywood, cast, phenomenal, high point, signifigant role, core, sympathy, actor
Worldwide gross: $44,229,441
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $82,447,254
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,112
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 8,990,976
US/Canada gross: $44,229,441
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $82,447,254
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 843
US/Canada opening weekend: $4,573,523
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $8,525,417
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 999
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $36,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $67,106,911
Production budget ranking: 624
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $36,137,072
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$20,796,728
ROI to date (est.): -20%
ROI ranking: 1,500
Anthony Hopkins – John Quincy Adams
Matthew McConaughey – Baldwin
Nigel Hawthorne – Martin Van Buren
Djimon Hounsou – Cinque
David Paymer – Secretary Forsyth
Director(s)
Steven Spielberg
Writer(s)
David Franzoni
Producer(s)
Debbie Allen, Steven Spielberg, Colin Wilson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 4 Oscars
11 wins & 43 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (65) | Top Critics (19) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (15)
The narrative perils are daunting in this little-known true tale of a bloody slave-ship rebellion in 1839 and its jumbled aftermath in the U.S. judicial system.
January 9, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mike Clark
USA Today
TOP CRITIC
‘Amistad’ may not be the first, or fifth, or tenth film people talk about when Spielberg’s name comes up. But it has more moments that will put your hair on end than other filmmakers’ best works, and that says something.
December 15, 2017
Jason Bailey
Vice
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: C
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Powerful story for mid-teens and up.
December 21, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
In short, a wordy courtroom drama which seldom progresses beyond ciphers, stereotypes and salutary slogans.
June 24, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
As with Schindler’s List, Spielberg allows his subjects to be remote and somewhat unknowable human beings, creating an air of documentary-like authenticity.
July 19, 2003 | Rating: B+
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films
TOP CRITIC
Amistad is certainly a film of considerable power.
August 17, 2018
Eric L. McKitrick
The New York Review of Books
Amistad is worth seeing for the stormy scenes on board the slave boat, and for Djimon Hounsou’s magnetic performance. Otherwise, it can’t decide on its direction, and this unique historical event is stifled into a less than thrilling courtroom drama.
June 1, 2018 | Rating: 3/5
Yael Shuv
Total Film
Amistad is worth seeing just for people to know about this important story, this moment in history. But from the world’s most powerful, successful and famous director, we expect more.
May 26, 2006 | Rating: 3/4
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Aiming to instruct and entertain, and often struggling to reconcile these goals, Amistad lacks the subtlety of tone and simplicity of form that made Schindler’s List one of Spielberg’s very best; here, however, every idea and image are too explicit.
February 13, 2006 | Rating: 3/4
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Fortunately, the dry, courtroom banter is interjected with powerful accounts of the violent, inhumane atrocities inflicted on the slaves by Spanish merchants.
December 6, 2005 | Rating: 3/5
Tom Meek
Film Threat
Amistad is the telling of an interesting event in American history, but doesn’t draw its audience in to the heart of the story.
April 9, 2005 | Rating: B+
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews…
Plot
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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Anthony Hopkins delivers a brilliant performance as John Quincy Adams in Amistad.
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