Amistad (1997)

No love?

I'm disappointed no one has commented yet.

Costumes by the lovely Academy Award-winning designer Ruth E. Carter. She was nominated for this, and previously for "Malcom X" in 1993. She didn't win until her third nomination for "Black Panther", in 2019. She is the first Black woman to win the Oscar for Best Achievement in Costume Design. I always look forward to seeing her work.

R3 Oh wow! Thank you for that. I need to look her up.

Boring movie, overwrought sentimentality, trademark Spielberg.

R5 How is it boring? What part do you not like?

Anthony Hopkins denouement at the end is spectacular.

Gowns by Ruth E. Carter

Anna Paquin played 11 year old Queen Isabella II

Cry Your Tears, Afrika is a great song!

I will never watch this movie.

Nor 12 Years a Slave.

R11 Why?

Slavery is too painful. After Django Unchained, I guess slavery on film was no longer tolerable for me. Believe me, I was so proud of our society for bringing Roots to TV in my youth, but I got the point after a while and no longer need to see it on film.

Amistad = Schmaltx.

R14 Amistad came out in 1997. I don't think there were many films about slavery between 1980 (Roots), Amistad (1997), and the recent slavery films (Django, 12 Years, etc.).

It's a classy film

Dustin Hoffman was offered a role but turned it down

Steven Spielberg said Pete Postlethwaite was the greatest actor he ever worked with.

Steven Spielberg said Anthony Hopkins was the greatest actor he ever worked with

I am the same person.

Steven invested $36 million in this project and he doubled his money.

R20 Correction- Spielberg called Pete Postlethwaite the greatest actor in the world

Spielberg lost his magic around 1995

Spielberg became a star fucker and only will work with big names .

[quote] only will work with big names

He used those big names to ensure his $36 million investment would get a good return.

He got $72 million.

R25 and R26 Only Freeman, and Hopkins were big international names in 1997. McConaughey was big in the United States. Hawthorne was big in the United Kingdom. Postlewaite, Skarsgaard, and Northam were recognizable.

^ Big names.

Spielberg decided to make this when he screened Schindlers List for an African American school class and some of the kids laughed during some of the execution/gas chamber scenes. He thought a better way to get through to these kids about systematized inhumanity would be to look at the slave trade.

But I think only overeducated black middle class people and white liberals would go to see a somber, serious picture like Amistad.

[quote] But I think only overeducated black middle class people and white liberals

Spielberg wanted to 'preach to the converted' AS WELL as take $72 million from them.

How can someone be over educated r29? Just black middle class people? Whaaat?

I liked it but it was too long. Spielberg also said that he made the film for his adopted African American children.

R31 is so prosaic and needs to have everything spelled out for him.

R31 has his smugness butt plug in DEEP.

Meant for r32. Cunt.

[quote] his adopted African American children.

How many? How much?

R29 white liberals are not the demographic of somber serious films like Amistad. I would say educated individuals with a high income.

^ i.e. Preaching to the converted.

I really enjoyd this movie. And Anthony Hopkins John Quincy Adams was brilliant. So was Djimon Honsou. McConnaughy did a good job, but those two stole the movie. It was a very well cast, well written story about something I was unaware of. I usually feel like there is way too much focus on past history, particularly slavery, and I applaud films like Hidden Figures. I am alaways ready for something new so I can learn. Right now, I would love to see a small Indie film about James Hemmings,, Sally's brother or Cesar, George Washington's Chef . Both men were brilliant. Washington refused to free Cesar because he was such an amazing chef. So the guy ran away and sort of "got lost" in NYC.

The part about the slaves being captured, shipped to Cuba, and then sent to Spain is the best, and saddest, part of the movie.

Peter Firth was the British captain that found the slaves and destroyed the Lomboko Fortress.

The best part of the movie was seeing a nude Djimoin Housou and his nice cock and beautiful ass.

Anna Paquin as Queen Isabella II was good. She was an 11 year old queen.

The week Amistad opened I was standing with my husband at the Fox Theater ticket office in Westwood (LA) to see Titanic, which was playing across the street from the Bruin theater that was showing Amistad. The two theaters face each other across a busy intersection, all red curbs naturally. Suddenly an expensive car (can't remember the make) roars into the scene, comes to a screeching halt at the corner within 10 feet of the box office and out comes Miss Debbie Allen, one of the Amistad "producers" also to get a ticket to Titanic. She stands right behind us, all full of self-importance and entitlement, the car still illegally parked at the intersection. Corner, red curb. she's Debbie Allen. I said as loud as I could so she'd hear me, "I wouldn't go see that shit across the street if they gave me a free ticket." Yes, I'm a cunt but she's worse.

* Because she's Debbie Allen.

[quote]She stands right behind us, all full of self-importance and entitlement

How so, exactly?

Probably not the intended outcome of the movie, but after watching it I wanted to be Djimon Honsou's slave.

R45 If you lived in Hollywood I wouldn't have to explain that to you. It's a common feature of Hollywood personalities.

R46 His character was angry.

He didn't want to wear 'white man's clothes'!

Hounsou was hot

They go nude back in The Homeland.

I bet that penis at R48 is the only penis in the Spielberg Oeuvre.

Racist!

Didn't Whoopi have a penis in The Color Purple?

R52 I think it belonged to Ted Danson or Frank Langella

Bump