Gettysburg and Amistad Wikipedia film pages

Gettysburg (1993 film)
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Gettysburg
Gettysburgposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Ronald F. Maxwell
Produced by
Moctesuma Esparza
Robert Katz
Screenplay by
Ronald F. Maxwell
Based on
The Killer Angels
 by Michael Shaara
Narrated by
W. Morgan Sheppard
Starring
Tom Berenger
Jeff Daniels
Martin Sheen
Music by
Randy Edelman
Cinematography
Kees Van Oostrum
Editing by
Corky Ehlers
Studio
Turner Pictures
Distributed by
New Line Cinema
Release dates
October 8, 1993

Running time
254 minutes
271 minutes (director's cut)
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$25 million[1]
Box office
$10,769,960
Gettysburg is a 1993 epic war film written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell, adapted from the novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, about the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The film stars were Tom Berenger, Jeff Daniels, and Martin Sheen. Randy Edelman composed the score. It was Richard Jordan's last movie. A memorial in Jordan's honor was held at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles on 8 October, 1993, the day the movie was released.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot 1.1 Opening
1.2 First Day
1.3 Second day
1.4 Pickett's Charge
2 Production
3 Cast 3.1 Cameos
4 Soundtrack
5 Reception
6 References
7 External links

Plot[edit]


 This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (March 2013)
Opening[edit]
Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia are making an offensive through Pennsylvania to lure the Union Army of the Potomac into a decisive battle they hope will end the war. Confederate President Jefferson Davis has prepared a letter of peace to be delivered to the desk of Abraham Lincoln once the Army of the Potomac has been destroyed somewhere outside of Washington.
Actor-turned-spy Henry Thomas Harrison, assigned to spot for Union cavalry, locates a major body of Union infantry and notifies Lieutenant General James "Pete" Longstreet, the senior lieutenant general in the Confederate Army and second-in-command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Major General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry, the “eyes” of Lee’s army, has gone off on raids without keeping in touch with Lee’s army. Meanwhile, U.S. Brig. Gen. John Buford and his cavalry division arrive at Gettysburg. Buford surmises that if Lee's army enters the town, the Confederates might easily take a strong defensive position that could destroy the Army of the Potomac. Buford decides to deploy his division along Seminary Ridge in order to obstruct any Confederate advance on Gettysburg from the west. The day ends with Buford writing a letter to Maj. Gen. John Reynolds, commanding officer of the nearby Union I Corps infantry, inquiring if he should hold his position.
Meanwhile, miles from Gettysburg, U.S. Colonel Joshua Chamberlain of the 20th Maine regiment is informed that his unit will be absorbing 120 deserters from another Maine regiment, the 2nd Maine. Orders state that it is within his power to have the rebellious men shot, if necessary. Chamberlain wins over all but six of the soldiers with an inspirational speech.
First Day[edit]
On July 1, Buford's cavalry engages Henry Heth's division of A. P. Hill's corps; Heth had intended to lead his troops to Gettysburg to restock the Confederacy's dwindling shoe supply. Believing the forces at Gettysburg to be local militia, Heth engages Buford without first informing General Lee.
Buford repels Heth's initial attacks, but Heth's superior numbers begin to turn the tide. General Reynolds and the I Corps arrive to reinforce the position. Lee arrives on the field but is hesitant to commit the whole of Hill's Third Corps due to a lack of intelligence on the Army of the Potomac's position, given Stuart's lack of contact with the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee's only information on the enemy is what has been relayed to him by Generjnkm,.street from Harrison's report.
Union forces retake Seminary Ridge, but Reynolds, while leading the Iron Brigade into battle, is killed by a Confederate sharpshooter. Soon after, Heth informs Lee that Union forces are being flanked by Lt. General Dick Ewell's corps advancing on Gettysburg from the north. Recognizing a tactical advantage, Lee gives the order for all forces to attack.
Union forces, out-manned and flanked, begin to retreat, but a decisive Confederate victory is compromised when Ewell fails to follow through with orders to take the crucial strategic location of Cemetery Hill, allowing Union troops to rally in a strong defensive position. Confederate General Isaac Trimble, attached to Ewell's command, but disgusted by Ewell's inability to take the high ground, reports to General Lee. Trimble asks to be removed from Ewell's command, but Lee informs the enraged Trimble that such action would not be necessary.
That night, one of Longstreet's division commanders, Maj. Gen. George Pickett, arrives at Longstreet's headquarters with his three brigade commanders, Gens. James Kemper, Richard B. Garnett and Lewis Armistead. The four meet with Gen. Longstreet and banter around the fireside with British Colonel Arthur Fremantle, who has been traveling with Lee's army as an observer. Armistead discusses with Longstreet his friendship with Union General Winfield Scott Hancock and his desire to meet with him.
At the center of the Union position south of the town, Hancock congratulates Buford on a hard fight. Hancock reflects on Reynolds's death and Armistead's whereabouts, to which Buford responds that Armistead is serving in Pickett's division. Hancock states that he would hate to meet Armistead again while still on opposite sides. After a moment of recollection, he again congratulates Buford and instructs him that he should reorganize his cavalry.
Second day[edit]
Lee orders an attack on the Union left flank, to be led by two divisions of Longstreet’s First Corps. The primary focus of the attack is the treacherous terrain of Devil's Den and Little Round Top. John "Sam" Bell Hood, one of Longstreet's division commanders and a close friend, is tasked with flanking the Union forces. He pleads with Longstreet to allow him to bypass Devil's Den and Little Round Top in favor of the taller heights of the adjacent Big Round Top. Longstreet tells Hood that he has already made the same appeal to Lee, who will not accept an attack elsewhere on the field.
Chamberlain and the 20th Maine are deployed on Little Round Top as the furthermost left flank of the entire Federal line. Chamberlain addresses the six men from the 2nd Maine who chose not to fight, giving them one last chance to join the fight and not be court-martialed. Three of them accept. When Devil’s Den falls, there is little to protect Chamberlain’s regiment. The undersized 20th put up a valiant defense, repelling numerous Confederate charges, but soon become short on ammunition. Chamberlain orders a bayonet charge and the Confederate forces retreat in confusion, many being taken prisoner.
Late that afternoon, Longstreet visits a severely wounded Hood in a field hospital. Longstreet informs Hood that they took Devil’s Den, but that they were unable to take Little Round Top. Hood takes this as irrefutable proof the Rebel attack should have focused on Big Round Top.
That evening in Longstreet’s camp General Armistead, believing he’s soon to see combat, gives a package to Longstreet to be delivered to the wife of General Hancock in the event of Armistead's death. The package contains his personal Bible.
Lee meets with Stuart, who had finally returned that afternoon, but not in time to give Lee an advantage. Lee scolds Stuart, who attempts to resign. Lee refuses to acknowledge this and orders him to never leave the army blind again, reminding Stuart that he is "one of the finest cavalry officers" he has ever known.
Pickett's Charge[edit]
On the third and final day of combat, General Lee believes that the Federal line is weakest in the center and could be divided in two. Longstreet protests, but Lee, now confident that the Army of Northern Virginia is invincible, places Longstreet in charge of a frontal assault on the Union position on Cemetery Ridge with General Pickett’s division forming the center of the assault.
Longstreet, suspecting the attack will fail from the beginning, orders for an extended artillery bombardment. However, the Confederates do not realize their guns are overshooting the Union defenses, and the bombardment does hardly any damage to the Union center. When the bombardment ends, Pickett’s forces begin their advance. Immediately they fall under fire of the Union’s long-distance artillery. They make it to the Union line where numbers are further decreased by canister and musket fire.
Armistead, whose brigade is at the rear of Pickett’s forces, sees General Garnett’s horse riding off away from the line, its rider having been killed by an artillery round. This prompts Armistead to thrust his sword through his hat and rally his fellow Virginians to follow him. His brigade manages to reach a low stone wall near the Union line (a location now known as the high-water mark of the Confederacy), but the small force is overwhelmed, and Armistead is mortally wounded. The Confederate forces that broke the line are either killed or captured. General Kemper is wounded and captured, but rescued by Confederate troops.
Thomas Chamberlain, Joshua's brother, encounters the mortally wounded Armistead, who asks to see his old friend Hancock. Chamberlain informs him that Hancock has been wounded as well. Armistead asks Chamberlain to tell Hancock that he sends his regrets and that he is very sorry. Chamberlain promises a dying Armistead that he will do as he told.
Lee rides out to the remains of the retreating Confederate forces and declares that everything is all his fault. He orders a distraught General Pickett to reform his division to prepare for a possible counterattack, to which Pickett informs Lee that he has no division.
The day, along with the battle, ends with a victorious North and Lee informing Longstreet of plans to fall back into Virginia beginning the next day, feeling that the Union forces would be unlikely to pursue on Independence Day. Joshua Chamberlain and his brother Tom meet and embrace in tears, knowing that they both survived the battle. The final shot is of three zouaves of the 72nd Pennsylvania with the Union flag against the sunset. Prior to the end credits, epilogue cards detail the lives of the main characters following the war.
Production[edit]
The film began life as a miniseries. The producers originally pitched the project to ABC in 1991. ABC initially agreed to back the project, but when the TV movie Son of the Morning Star about George Armstrong Custer received low ratings, ABC withdrew. Subsequently, media mogul and Civil War buff Ted Turner took up the project and filming began, helped considerably when the National Park Service permitted unprecedented access to Gettysburg Battlefield, including Devil's Den and Little Round Top. However, much of the movie was shot at a nearby Adams County farm. Thousands of Civil War reenactors from across the country volunteered to come to Gettysburg to participate in the massive battle scenes.[1]
When filming was completed, the miniseries was set to air on TNT. But during post-production, Turner, who made a cameo as a Confederate officer during Pickett's Charge, was so impressed by what he saw that he decided to release "Gettysburg" theatrically. The film was distributed by New Line Cinema, which Turner had just acquired. The film was only shown in 248 theaters at its widest release, and was limited to one or two showings a day because of its inordinate length. "Gettysburg" grossed nearly $11 million, but was still considered a box-office flop. However, the film became an all-time top grosser in the home-entertainment market, and has become a staple of classroom history lessons. Its TV premiere on TNT in June 1994 garnered over 23 million viewers, a record for cable TV at the time.
One of the longest films ever released by a Hollywood studio, Gettysburg runs 254 minutes (4 hours, 14 minutes) on VHS and DVD. A director's cut edition, with several extended or deleted scenes, sold as part of a special "Collector's Edition" on VHS and LaserDisc, which also included a book of Gettysburg paintings by Civil War artist Mort Künstler, an original Civil War lead Minié ball, stock photographs of key officers from the battle, and other items. Ron Maxwell's 271-minute (4 hours, 31 minutes) Director's Cut has been shown on Turner's TNT Station regularly and is now available on DVD.
The movie was released on Blu-Ray as a Collector's Edition on May 24, 2011 for the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War.
A prequel entitled Gods and Generals was released in 2003 based on the novel of the same name, written by Michael Shaara's son Jeff Shaara. It primarily focuses on the life of Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson and the battles leading up to Gettysburg.
The PC strategy game, Gettysburg: Multimedia Battle Simulation was released by Turner Interactive in 1994. It contained 67 cinematic scenes from the film,[2] many of them outtakes.
Cast[edit]
Tom Berenger as Lieutenant General James Longstreet (CSA)
Jeff Daniels as Colonel Joshua Chamberlain (USA)
Martin Sheen as General Robert E. Lee (CSA)
Sam Elliott as Brigadier General John Buford (USA)
Stephen Lang as Major General George Pickett (CSA)
Kevin Conway as Sergeant Buster Kilrain (USA)
C. Thomas Howell as Lieutenant Thomas Chamberlain (USA)
Richard Jordan as Brigadier General Lewis A. "Lo" Armistead (CSA)
Richard Anderson as Major General George Meade (USA)
Royce D. Applegate as Brigadier General James L. Kemper (CSA)
John Diehl as Private Bucklin (USA)
Maxwell Caulfield as Colonel Strong Vincent (USA)
Joshua D. Maurer as Colonel James Clay Rice (USA)
Patrick Gorman as Major General John Bell Hood (CSA)
Cooper Huckabee as Henry Thomas Harrison
James Lancaster as Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Fremantle (British Army, the Coldstream Guards)
Brian Mallon as Major General Winfield Scott Hancock (USA)
Andrew Prine as Brigadier General Richard B. Garnett (CSA)
John Rothman as Major General John F. Reynolds (USA)
Tim Scott as Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell (CSA)
W. Morgan Sheppard as Major General Isaac R. Trimble (CSA) and narrator
Joseph Fuqua as Major General J.E.B. Stuart (CSA)
Bo Brinkman as Lieutenant Colonel Walter H. Taylor (CSA)
Kieran Mulroney as Major Moxley Sorrel (CSA)
Ivan Kane as Captain TJ Goree (CSA)
James Patrick Stuart as Colonel Edward Porter Alexander (CSA)
Warren Burton as Major General Henry Heth (CSA)
Buck Taylor as Colonel William Gamble (USA)
David Carpenter as Colonel Thomas C. Devin (USA)
Donal Logue as Captain Ellis Spear (USA)
Herb Mitchell as Sergeant Andrew J. Tozier (USA)
Dwier Brown as Captain Brewer (USA)
Billy Campbell as Lt. Pitzer
Cameos[edit]
Civil War buff Ted Turner has a cameo appearance in the battle of Pickett's Charge as Colonel Waller T. Patton, who is mortally wounded. He would later reprise this cameo in Gods and Generals.
Former James Bond actor George Lazenby has a brief role as General Johnston Pettigrew, who, along with General Isaac Trimble and General Pickett, helps lead the final charge of the battle.
Ken Burns, who co-wrote and directed the epic PBS documentary The Civil War, portrays an aide to Major General Hancock during a massive bombardment that precedes Pickett's Charge. Burns can be seen saying, "General, please get down. We cannot spare you," to Hancock, to which Hancock replies with a famous quotation, "There are times when a corps commander's life does not count."
Civil War historian Brian Pohanka made a brief and uncredited appearance as general Alexander S. Webb
Civil War historian Gabor Boritt is featured in the film as a Union soldier capturing a Confederate battle flag.
Actor and Director Brian James Egen appears as the "Cocky Lieutenant" just before the Confederate attack on Little Round Top. He makes the statement of "Colonel... seems to me the fighting's on that side of the hill."
Actor Matt Letscher, who later portrayed Union officer Adelbert Ames in Gods and Generals, appeared as one of the six hotheads of the 2nd Maine who later chose to fight again at Little Round Top.
Soundtrack[edit]
The score was composed by Randy Edelman. The soundtrack was released through Milan Records in September 1993 and features eighteen tracks of score.
1."Main Title" (4:36)
2."Men of Honor" (2:57)
3."Battle of Little Round Top" (3:57)
4."Fife and Gun" (3:03)
5."General Lee at Twilight" (1:25)
6."The First Battle" (2:41)
7."Dawn" (1:59)
8."From History to Legend" (2:56)
9."Over the Fence" (4:11)
10."We are the Flank" (2:15)
11."Charging Up the Hill" (2:23)
12."Dixie" (2:26) – traditional
13."General Lee's Solitude" (3:41)
14."Battle at Devil's Den" (1:46)
15."Killer Angel" (4:42)
16."March to Mortality (Pickett's Charge)" (3:18)
17."Kathleen Mavourneen" (3:17) – composed by Frederick Crouch
18."Reunion and Finale" (5:45)
Two related albums were subsequently released: More Songs and Music From Gettysburg and a Deluxe Commemorative Edition. The former includes popular songs from the time period and a recitation of the Gettysburg Address by Jeff Daniels; the latter contains previously unreleased tracks from the score.[3]
Reception[edit]
Gettysburg received an 88% positive rating on the film-critics aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 16 reviews.[4]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, stating, "This is a film that Civil War buffs will find indispensable, even if others might find it interminable." Ebert said that despite his initial indifference, he left the film with a new understanding of the Civil War, and that he felt Jeff Daniels deserved an Oscar nomination for his performance.[5] Ebert also gave the film a "thumbs-up" on Siskel & Ebert, while companion Gene Siskel gave it a "thumbs-down", saying that the film was "bloated Southern propaganda."
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Jubera, Drew (October 9, 1993). "GETTYSBURG: Ted Turner, a cast of thousands and the ghosts of the past". Baltimore Sun (Tribune Company). Retrieved October 12, 2011.
2.Jump up ^ Gettysburg Multimedia Battle Simulation at MobyGames.com
3.Jump up ^ Gettysburg soundtrack review at Filmtracks.com
4.Jump up ^ Gettysburg at Rotten Tomatoes
5.Jump up ^ "Gettysburg". Chicago Sun-Times.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Gettysburg (1993 film)
Gettysburg at the Internet Movie Database
Gettysburg at allmovie


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Categories: 1993 films
English-language films
1990s drama films
American Civil War films
American drama films
American epic films
Films based on military novels
Films directed by Ronald F. Maxwell
Films set in Pennsylvania
War films based on actual events
New Line Cinema films





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Amistad (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search


Amistad
Amistad-Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Steven Spielberg
Produced by
Debbie Allen
 Steven Spielberg
Colin Wilson
Written by
David Franzoni
Starring
Morgan Freeman
Anthony Hopkins
Djimon Hounsou
Matthew McConaughey
Nigel Hawthorne
Stellan Skarsgård
Harry Blackmun
Anna Paquin
Music by
John Williams
Cinematography
Janusz Kamiński
Editing by
Michael Kahn
Studio
HBO Films
Distributed by
DreamWorks Pictures
Release dates
December 10, 1997

Running time
154 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$36 million
Box office
$44,229,441
Amistad is a 1997 historical drama film directed by Steven Spielberg based on the notable mutiny in 1839 by newly captured Mende slaves who took control of the ship La Amistad off the coast of Cuba, and the international legal battle that followed their capture by a U.S. revenue cutter. It became a United States Supreme Court case of 1841.
Morgan Freeman, Nigel Hawthorne, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou, and Matthew McConaughey had starring roles. David Franzoni's screenplay was based on the book Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and Its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy (1987), by the historian Howard Jones.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production history
4 Music 4.1 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
5 Historical accuracy
6 Reception 6.1 Critical response
6.2 Box office
6.3 Awards
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

Plot[edit]
The film begins in the depths of the schooner La Amistad, a ship carrying Africans captured from Sierra Leone and sold in Cuba into slavery. The film's protagonist, Sengbe Pieh (Djimon Hounsou), most known by his slave name "Cinqué" (meaning "fifth"), picks the lock on his shackles. Freeing a number of his companions, Cinquè initiates a rebellion on the ship. In the ensuing fighting, several Mende and most of the ship's crew are killed, except the owners Ruiz and Montez, who the Africans believe can navigate for them to return to West Africa.
After six weeks have passed, the ship is running out of food and fresh water; there is dissension among the Africans. The next day, they sight land. Unsure of their location, a group take a boat to shore to fetch fresh water. La Amistad is found by a United States military vessel; the Spaniards tricked the Africans by sailing up the Atlantic coast. Captured by the Americans off Long Island, the ship and Amistad Mende are taken to New Haven, Connecticut. The Africans are imprisoned while awaiting the court trial to determine property ownership of the vessel and the Mende as slaves, or whether the people will be recognized as free. At this time, Great Britain, the United States and Spain had all prohibited the international slave trade. The Spanish owners claimed the slaves were born on a Cuban plantation and thus legal as domestic slaves.
The film shifts to Washington, D.C., introducing the elderly John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins), former President and sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts. Adams meets two of the country's leading abolitionists: the freed slave Theodore Joadson (Morgan Freeman) and activist Lewis Tappan (Stellan Skarsgård), both of whom are leading shipping magnates in New England and co-proprietors of the abolitionist newssheet The Emancipator. Having learned of the Amistad Africans and intent on gaining their freedom, the men seek Adams' help for the court case. Adams refuses to help, claiming he neither condemns nor condones slavery.
The current President of the United States, Martin Van Buren (Nigel Hawthorne), is under pressure by the Spanish Queen Isabella II (Anna Paquin), who is demanding compensation for the ship and the market value of the slaves.
At a preliminary hearing in a federal district court in New Haven, the Africans are charged with "insurrection on the high seas." The case has complicated conflicting claims of property ownership by Spain, the United States, the Spanish owners of the slaves and of La Amistad, and the American captain and first mate of the US revenue cutter that took the ship into custody, as laws of the sea entitled them to salvage rights to the property (theoretically including the slaves). The two abolitionists enlist the help of a young attorney specializing in property law: Roger Sherman Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey).
At the jail, Baldwin and the abolitionists, along with Josiah Willard Gibbs, Sr. (Austin Pendleton), a professor of linguistics, try to talk with the Amistad Africans, but neither side is able to understand anything of the other. In the prison, the Africans become divided among different factions. After one dies, they demonstrate against their imprisonment.
As the hearings drag on, Baldwin and Joadson approach Adams for advice. Adams advises them that, in court, the side with the best story usually wins. He asks them what their story is. Unable to answer, they realize it's imperative to communicate with the Africans. At the city docks, they find a black sailor in the Royal Navy, James Covey (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who speaks an African language. They have also been trying to teach English to Cinquè and others.
Using Covey as a translator, Baldwin and his companions are able to talk to Cinquè. He is allowed to give his account, through Covey, in the courtroom. Cinquè tells the story of how he became a slave, which the film conveys by flashbacks. He was a farmer and family man, kidnapped by African slave-hunters and taken to the fortress of Lomboko, an illegal slave facility in the British protectorate of Sierra Leone. He and hundreds of other captured Africans were loaded onto the transatlantic slave-ship (Tecora). Cinquè tells of the various horrors of the Middle Passage. Upon their arrival in Cuba, Cinquè was sold at a slave market and purchased, along with many other Tecora survivors, by the owners of La Amistad. Once aboard La Amistad, Cinquè freed himself and other Africans, and began their mutiny for freedom.
The District Attorney William S. Holabird (Pete Postlethwaite) and Secretary of State John Forsyth (David Paymer) press their case for respecting property rights of owners and dismiss Cinquè's story as fiction. While exploring the impounded vessel La Amistad for evidence, Baldwin happens upon a notebook, stuffed into a crevice by Ruiz and Montez, which gives accounts of their illegal slave-trading.
With the notebook as evidence, Baldwin calls expert witnesses, including Captain Fitzgerald (Peter Firth), a British naval officer assigned to patrol the West African coastline to enforce the British Empire's anti-slavery policies. As tension in the courtroom rises, and Cinquè rises and cries, "Give us free" over and over, using the English he has learned. In a district court ruling, Judge Coglin (Jeremy Northam) dismisses all claims of ownership of the Africans. He rules that the Africans were captured illegally and not born on Cuban plantations; orders the arrest of the Amistad's owners on charges of slave-trading; and authorizes the United States to convey the Amistad Africans back to Africa at the expense of the nation.
Cinquè, Joadson, Baldwin, and the Africans celebrate their victory. In Washington, political conflict threatens the ruling. Speaking to the Spanish Ambassador to Washington, Senator John C. Calhoun (Arliss Howard) from South Carolina attacks President Van Buren; stressing the economic importance of slaves in the South, Calhoun suggests that, if the government frees the Amistad Africans, the South will go to war. With his advisers' warning of the heightened sectional threat of civil war, President Van Buren orders that the case be submitted to the US Supreme Court on appeal. The Court is dominated by Southern slaveholder justices.
Tappan splits with Joadson and Baldwin, who break the news to Cinquè. Needing a knowledgeable ally, Baldwin and Joadson meet again with John Quincy Adams, who has been following the case carefully. Adams, aware that Cinquè refuses to talk to Baldwin, invites the African leader to his home. They walk in his greenhouse, where Cinquè is moved by seeing an African violet, native to his homeland. Adams decides to assist the case. During preparations, Cinquè tells Adams that he is invoking the spirits of his ancestors. Adams' father, President John Adams, was one of America's founding fathers.
At the Supreme Court, John Quincy Adams gives a passionate speech in defense of the Africans. He argues that if Cinquè were white and had rebelled against the British, the United States would have exalted him as a hero; and that the Africans' mutiny to regain their freedom was no different to the Americans' rebellion against their oppressors in the Revolution. Arguing that condemning the Amistad Africans to slavery would render the principles and ideals of the Constitution worthless, he exhorts the judges to free the Africans. Adams invokes the spirits of America's founding fathers and the Declaration of Independence. He concludes by arguing that, if a verdict in the Africans' favor should hasten a civil war, it will be the final battle of the American Revolution.
Justice Joseph Story (featuring Associate Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun in a cameo role) announces the Supreme Court's ruling: because the Amistad Africans were illegally kidnapped, United States laws on slave ownership do not apply. As free men, the Africans had the right to fight to escape their illegal confinement. The Supreme Court authorizes the release of the Africans and their transportation to Africa, if they so wish. Cinquè bids emotional farewells to his American companions; he shakes Adams' hand, gives Joadson his lion tooth (his only memento of Africa), and thanks Baldwin in English and in Mende.
The film's last scenes convey outcomes among major players: British Royal Marines assault the Lomboko Slave Fortress, killing the slavers and freeing Africans from its dungeons. With the fortress evacuated, Captain Fitzgerald orders it destroyed by the cannons on his ship. Other scenes show Martin Van Buren losing his re-election campaign, Isabella II learning of the Africans' release, and the later fall of Atlanta from the American Civil War. Cinquè and his fellow Africans return to Sierra Leone, dressed in white, the West African color of victory, and accompanied by James Covey. A postscript says that Cinquè returned to find his country in civil war and his wife and child missing, likely sold into slavery.
Cast[edit]
Morgan Freeman as Theodore Joadson
Nigel Hawthorne as Martin Van Buren
Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams
Djimon Hounsou as Sengbe Pieh / Joseph Cinqué
Matthew McConaughey as Roger Sherman Baldwin
David Paymer as Secretary of State John Forsyth
Pete Postlethwaite as William S. Holabird
Stellan Skarsgård as Lewis Tappan
Razaaq Adoti as Yamba
Abu Bakaar Fofanah as Fala
Anna Paquin as Queen Isabella II
Tomas Milian as Calderon
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Ens. James Covey
Derrick Ashong as Buakei
Geno Silva as Ruiz
John Ortiz as Montes
Ralph Brown as Lieutenant Gedney
Darren E. Burrows as Lieutenant Meade
Allan Rich as Judge Juttson
Paul Guilfoyle as Attorney
Peter Firth as Captain Fitzgerald
Xander Berkeley as Hammond
Jeremy Northam as Judge Coglin
Arliss Howard as John C. Calhoun
Austin Pendleton as Professor Gibbs
Pedro Armendáriz Jr. as General Espartero
Harry Blackmun as Justice Joseph Story
This was the second film for which Anthony Hopkins received an Academy Award nomination for playing a U.S. President, having previously been nominated in 1995 for playing Richard Nixon in Nixon.
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun appears in the film as Justice Joseph Story.
Production history[edit]
David Sterritt wrote that Spielberg saw "great potential" in the Amistad story and decided to take it on, although he had been criticized by the black community for his adaptation of The Color Purple (1985).

The idea of filming the Amistad affair came from actress and director Debbie Allen, who had run across some books on the subject. After running into fund-raising problems, she brought the project to Spielberg, who wanted to stretch his artistic wings after making The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), and was looking for a prestige production to direct for DreamWorks SKG, the studio he'd recently co-founded. Spielberg was an unlikely person to tackle the Amistad story, since his previous picture about black characters, The Color Purple, had been badly received by the black community, its eleven Oscar® nominations (no wins) notwithstanding. "I got such a bollocking for The Color Purple," he told a New York Times interviewer, "I thought, I'll never do that again." But he saw great potential in the Amistad story and decided to take it on, even though his crowded schedule meant doing pre-production while DreamWorks was still being launched and post-production while 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998) was before the camera.[1]
Music[edit]

Amistad

Soundtrack album by John Williams

Released
December 9, 1997
Recorded
1997
Genre
Score
Length
55:51
Label
DreamWorks Records
John Williams chronology

Seven Years in Tibet
 (1997) Amistad
 (1997) Saving Private Ryan
 (1998)


Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
AllMusic 4/5 stars
Filmtracks 4/5 stars
Movie Wave 3/5 stars
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack[edit]

[show]Track listing







  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The lyrics from "Dry Your Tears, Afrika" (including the reprise) are from a 1967 poem by French-speaking Ivorian poet Bernard Binlin Dadié. The words are primarily in Mende, one of Sierra Leone's major languages.
Historical accuracy[edit]
The Supreme Court decision reversed District and Circuit decrees regarding Africans' conveyance back to Africa. They were to be deemed free, but the U.S. government could not take them back to Africa, as they had arrived on American soil as free people.[2]
Many academics, including Columbia University professor Eric Foner, have criticized Amistad for historical inaccuracy and the misleading characterizations of the Amistad case as a "turning point" in the American perspective on slavery. [3] Foner wrote:
“ In fact, the Amistad case revolved around the Atlantic slave trade — by 1840 outlawed by international treaty — and had nothing whatsoever to do with slavery as a domestic institution. Incongruous as it may seem, it was perfectly possible in the nineteenth century to condemn the importation of slaves from Africa while simultaneously defending slavery and the flourishing slave trade within the United States. ”
“ Amistad's problems go far deeper than such anachronisms as President Martin Van Buren campaigning for re-election on a whistle-stop train tour (in 1840, candidates did not campaign), or people constantly talking about the coming Civil War, which lay twenty years in the future. ”
The film version of Adams' closing speech before the Supreme Court and the court's decision bear no resemblance to the much longer historical versions; they are not even fair summaries.[4][5]
Several inaccuracies occur during the film's final scenes:
During the scene depicting the destruction of the Lomboko Fortress by a Royal Navy schooner, the vessel's captain refers to another officer as "ensign". This rank has never been used by the Royal Navy.[6]
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
Amistad received mainly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 76% based on reviews from 59 critics, with an average score of 6.9/10.[7] Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today summed up the feelings of many reviewers when she wrote: "as Spielberg vehicles go, Amistad — part mystery, action thriller, courtroom drama, even culture-clash comedy — lands between the disturbing lyricism of Schindler's List and the storybook artificiality of The Color Purple."[8] Roger Ebert awarded the film three out of four stars, writing:

"Amistad," like Spielberg's "Schindler's List," is [...] about the ways good men try to work realistically within an evil system to spare a few of its victims. [...] "Schindler's List" works better as narrative because it is about a risky deception, while "Amistad" is about the search for a truth that, if found, will be small consolation to the millions of existing slaves. As a result, the movie doesn't have the emotional charge of Spielberg's earlier film — or of "The Color Purple," which moved me to tears. [...] What is most valuable about "Amistad" is the way it provides faces and names for its African characters, whom the movies so often make into faceless victims.[9]
Box office[edit]
The film earned $44,229,441 at the box office in the United States, debuting at No. 5 on December 10, 1997.[10]
Awards[edit]
Amistad was nominated for Academy Awards in four categories: Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Original Dramatic Score (John Williams), Best Cinematography (Janusz Kamiński), and Best Costume Design (Ruth E. Carter).[11]

Award
Category
Nominee(s)
Result

Academy Award
Best Cinematography Janusz Kamiński Nominated
Best Costume Design Ruth E. Carter Nominated
Best Original Dramatic Score John Williams Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Anthony Hopkins Nominated
American Society of Cinematographers
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases Janusz Kamiński Nominated
Art Directors Guild
Excellence in Production Design for a Feature Film Rick Carter (production designer),
 Tony Fanning, Christopher Burian-Mohr, William James Teegarden (art directors)
 Lauren Polizzi, John Berger, Paul Sonski (assistant art directors)
 Nicholas Lundy, Hugh Landwehr (new york art directors) Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association
Best Supporting Actor Anthony Hopkins Nominated
Most Promising Actor Djimon Hounsou Nominated
Critics' Choice Movie Award
Best Film Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Anthony Hopkins Won
David di Donatello
Best Foreign Film Steven Spielberg Nominated
Directors Guild of America Award
Outstanding Directing – Feature Film Nominated
European Film Awards
Achievement in World Cinema
(also for Good Will Hunting) Stellan Skarsgård Won
Golden Globe Award
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Djimon Hounsou Nominated
Best Director Steven Spielberg Nominated
Best Motion Picture – Drama Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Anthony Hopkins Nominated
Grammy Award
Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television John Williams Nominated
NAACP Image Award
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Djimon Hounsou Won
Outstanding Motion Picture Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Morgan Freeman Won
Online Film Critics Society
Best Supporting Actor Anthony Hopkins Nominated
Producers Guild of America Award
Best Theatrical Motion Picture Steven Spielberg, Debbie Allen, Colin Wilson Nominated
Political Film Society Awards
Exposé Nominated
Satellite Award
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Djimon Hounsou Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay David Franzoni Nominated
Best Art Direction and Production Design Rick Carter Nominated
Best Cinematography Janusz Kamiński Won
Best Costume Design Ruth E. Carter Nominated
Best Director Steven Spielberg Nominated
Best Editing Michael Kahn Nominated
Best Film – Drama Steven Spielberg, Debbie Allen, Colin Wilson Nominated
Best Original Score John Williams Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role Anthony Hopkins Nominated
Southeastern Film Critics Association
Best Supporting Actor 2nd place
See also[edit]
United States v. The Amistad, an 1841 U.S. Supreme Court case concerning a slave rebellion on the ship
Tecora
List of films featuring slavery
Supreme Court of the United States in fiction
Trial movies

Portal icon Film portal
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Sterritt, David. Joemar Acosta is one of the cast also. "Amistad", Turner Classic Movies. Accessed December 8, 2011.
2.Jump up ^ Story, Joseph. "The United States, Appellants, v. The Libellants and Claimants of the Schooner Amistad, Her Tackle, Apparel, and Furniture, Together With Her Cargo, and the Africans Mentioned and Described in the Several Libels and Claims, Appellees", Supreme Court of the United States 40 U.S. 518; 10 L. Ed. 826 (January 1841 Term), Cornell University Law School. Accessed December 8, 2011.
3.Jump up ^ Foner, Eric. "The Amistad Case in Fact and Film", History Matters. Accessed December 8, 2011.
4.Jump up ^ "The United States, Appellants, v. The Libellants and Claimants of the Schooner Amistad...".
5.Jump up ^ "JQA Adams Before the Supreme Court", History Central.
6.Jump up ^ British Royal Navy ranks (including relevant time period) "Officer Ranks in the Royal Navy", Royal Naval Museum. Accessed February 15, 2012.
7.Jump up ^ "Amistad Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
8.Jump up ^ Wloszczyna, Susan. "Amistad review", USA Today. Accessed December 8, 2011.
9.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (December 12, 1997). "Amistad :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved Dec 8, 2011.
10.Jump up ^ "Amistad". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
11.Jump up ^ "Academy Awards: Amistad". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Amistad (film)
Amistad at the Internet Movie Database
Amistad at allmovie
Amistad at Box Office Mojo
Amistad at Rotten Tomatoes
2 speeches from the movie in text, audio, video from American Rhetoric
Amistad at Virtual History


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Steven Spielberg


Filmography ·
 Awards and nominations
 

Directorial
 works
Firelight (1964) ·
 Slipstream (1967) ·
 Amblin' (1968) ·
 "L.A. 2017" (1971) ·
 Duel (1971) ·
 Something Evil (1972) ·
 The Sugarland Express (1974, also wrote) ·
 Jaws (1975) ·
 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977, also wrote) ·
 1941 (1979) ·
 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) ·
 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) ·
 Twilight Zone: The Movie ("Kick the Can" segment, 1983) ·
 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) ·
 The Color Purple (1985) ·
 Empire of the Sun (1987) ·
 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) ·
 Always (1989) ·
 Hook (1991) ·
 Jurassic Park (1993) ·
 Schindler's List (1993) ·
 The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) ·
 Amistad (1997) ·
 Saving Private Ryan (1998) ·
 A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001, also wrote) ·
 Minority Report (2002) ·
 Catch Me If You Can (2002) ·
 The Terminal (2004) ·
 War of the Worlds (2005) ·
 Munich (2005) ·
 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) ·
 The Adventures of Tintin (2011) ·
 War Horse (2011) ·
 Lincoln (2012)
 

Written only
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies (1973) ·
 Poltergeist (1982, also produced) ·
 The Goonies (1985)
 

Produced only
An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) ·
 Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) ·
 Flags of Our Fathers (2006) ·
 Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) ·
 Super 8 (2011)
 

Created for TV
Amazing Stories (1985–1987) ·
 High Incident (1996–1997) ·
 Invasion America (1998)
 

See also
Amblin Entertainment  (Amblimation)
   ·
 DreamWorks ·
 USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education
 

 


Categories: 1997 films
English-language films
American films
1990s drama films
American drama films
American legal films
Military courtroom dramas
DreamWorks films
Epic films
Films about mutinies
Films about American slavery
Films based on actual events
Films directed by Steven Spielberg
Films produced by Steven Spielberg
Films about Presidents of the United States
Films set in Connecticut
Films set in Cuba
Films set in Massachusetts
Films set in New York
Films set in Sierra Leone
Films set in the 1830s
Films set in the 1840s
Films set in Washington, D.C.
Films shot in Connecticut
Films shot in Massachusetts
Films shot in Rhode Island
Films about race and ethnicity
La Amistad
Film scores by John Williams





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