Amistad [Blu-ray]

This is a great movie and one of my favorites, that I first enjoyed on SD which came with some great extras. It is brilliantly directed, acted and the screenplay by David Franzoni is one of the best. I don't know how accurate the speech by John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) before the Supreme Court is, but it is beyond brilliant and for events that happened in1839, it is absolutely current with what is going on in our country today. But the disk. I upgraded to Blu-Ray. The video was definitely better than the SD, sharper with more detailed colors until it froze around one third of the way through, and wouldn't start again. I tried carefully cleaning it. It had a few minuscule scratches, but to no avail. I returned it for a replacement. The replacement came and the disk looked absolutely brand new with neither a scratch nor a blemish. This one wouldn't even load, and I tried it on two different BluRay HDV players, one Panasonic, the other a Sony. Same problem on both. This time, I am regretfully just returning it for a refund. It seems to me this has to be a bad manufacturing lot. Has anyone else had this difficulty?

The cast of this movie is top notch and the story is powerful. Full of historic figures from America's past - moving film for sure. Djimon Hounsou is SO underrated as an actor and he is incredible in this one!

Calidad 300%

I think this is a great movie but this is a review of the product. The visuals are clear ab defined. The audio is clear as well and subtitles are available. The case is standard but holds the disc well and protects it. I think this is one of Anthony Hopkins’ best performances, especially the sum up toward the end. An excellent buy you must make.

Steven Spielberg's "Amistad" 1997) is a film about a celebrated event in American history involving the fate of Africans on a Spanish slave ship "La Amistad" that came into the possession of the United States in 1839. I had some knowledge of the incident but wanted to see the movie after reading a new biography of John Quincy Adams, John Quincy Adams: American Visionary . Late in life while serving as a Congressman from Massachusetts, Adams served as co-counsel for the Africans in proceedings before the United States Supreme Court. He spoke eloquently for their freedom.The events surrounding La Amistad are complex and were necessarily simplified for dramatic purposes in the movie. The film begins in the hold of the ship as a group of captured Africans succeed in breaking their chains. They kill most of the Spanish crew but leave the two ship owners alive to sail the ship back to Africa. The owners sail the ship to the American coast instead. The United States captures the ship and begins legal proceedings to determine what is to be done with what appear to be the mutinous slaves, the ship, and the two owners. The government of Spain claims a right to the slaves based in part on treaties. Great Britain wants the slaves freed. The United States through its waffling president at the time, Martin Van Buren, wants to support Spain.The case is tried twice in Federal courts in New Haven Connecticut with the slaves represented by a rising young lawyer, Roger Baldwin. In both trials, Baldwin is able to show that the Africans were not escaped slaves but rather had been illegally captured and carried off from Sierra Leone. When the United States appeals the case to the Supreme Court, John Quincy Adams agrees to assist in the defense of the Africans. The Supreme Court rules in their favor, 8-1.A popular movie such as "Amistad" is not held out as a documentary but is instead a mix of entertainment and history. With the basic background knowledge I brought to the film, I thought it generally succeeded as both, particularly as entertainment. The movie runs over 2.5 hours and held my attention throughout even though much of it is set in courtrooms. The movie includes some excellent special effects in scenery, including the initial rebellion on board the "Amistad", the scenes of cruelty and suffering on board an earlier slaver the "Tecora" which had abducted the prisoners from Africa, and the destruction of the Sierra Leone "slave fortress" by a British schooner at the end of the film. The acting is well done throughout with Anthony Hopkins capturing the character of the aged John Quincy Adams. Dijimon Honsou portrays Cinque, the leader of the captured Africans. Matthew McConaugey is effective as the young, tough minded attorney Baldwin while Peter Posthalwaite portrays the United States attorney, Holabird. Morgan Freeman plays an escaped slave, Theodore Joadson, who works with an abolitionist group in the defense of the case. The then former Supreme Court Justice, Harry Blackmun has a brief role portraying Justice Joseph Story, who delivered the opinion in the "Amistad" case.On a historical level, Hopkins' crusty, curmudgeonly John Quincy Adams did a good job capturing both what I understand of his character and his basic role in the "Amistad" proceedings. For the rest, the movie should be taken as accurate only in its broadest sense as involving the fate of the captured Africans, the legal proceedings, and the background in slavery. The character of Joadson, for example, is fictitious, and the threat in the film of Senator John Calhoun that the South would secede in the event of a court ruling in favor of the Africans is drawn from air. The proceeding was more about the outlawed international slave trade than about domestic slavery in the United States. The Court that ruled in favor of freedom for the Africans consisted largely of Southerners. Although a great oversimplification, the film properly emphasized the role the case ultimately assumed in the conflict over slavery, the importance of the case in the protection of separation of powers, and John Quincy Adams' role in the defense. Adams' appearance and presentation before the Court were courageous and invaluable. The legal arguments on which the Africans secured their freedom were developed and presented by Baldwin, in both the lower courts and the Supreme Court, as the film properly shows. With its inaccuracies, "Amistad" offers a valuable popular approach to this historical incident for the overwhelming number of people who otherwise would have little or no knowledge. Perhaps the film serves as encouragement to some to pursue a historical interest further through reading.I learned a great deal from reading the varied Amazon reviews of "Amistad". Many reviewers thoroughly liked the film. Other reviewers were critical of various aspects of the entertainment or aesthetic value of the movie while still others were critical of its presentation of history. I liked the movie and think it valuable for entertainment and basic history. With guidance and discussion, the film could serve as a simple effective teaching tool for secondary school students.Robin Friedman

I borrowed a copy of this film from the public library after a replica of Amistad stopped in Wilmington, DE. Those of us who toured the ship saw the shackles that held the people and learned how they worked. We saw the area in which the people were held. A gentleman from Sierra Leone who claimed to be a descendant of "Cinque" explained some of the history of the slave trade and of the Amistad people. In all, the tour was chilling because I suppose I had never been brought so close to the experiences of those men and women who were brought to this country as slaves. I wanted to see the film and learn more.Of course the film is fictionalized, and maybe one has to see the ship "in real life" to better appreciate the film. Still, since I saw it, and since I saw the ship replica, I've tried to find out more about this history, both on the internet and in the library. I've also thought about the fact that some issues raised in the film are still relevant today. The issue of the independent judiciary is one.Steven Spielberg does have an optimistic take on the story here, as he does in most of his films. Sometimes, life doesn't bring happy endings. Still, I liked the film because it was a great story, told carefully, acted well, and photographed beautifully, and it started me thinking and learning. Few films these days do that.

Tragically powerful. Should be required viewing for ALL!

A heart-jerking story. Well done.

Very good movie

Gran calidad de imagen y sonido. La música es excelente. Edición aunque sencilla cuenta con diversos contenidos extras y audio en español latino. La película sigue siendo muy emotiva con un gran mensaje, la maestría de Spielberg es evidente.

Le film est bon (peu connu pour un Spielberg) et comme je voulais le revoir je l'ai acheté (aucune plateforme ne le propose). La qualité d'image du Blu-ray est bonne (testé sur vidéoprojecteur benq w1090 avec lecteur Sony) ce n'est pas un Blu-ray français mais il y a la possibilité de choisir le français pour les menus ainsi que VOSTFR et VF. Pas de problème de format comme j'ai pu lire dans d'autres commentaires.

思ってた以上に美品でびっくり！ケースもディスクも無傷で新品同様でした

Much appreciated.