Rotten
In short, a wordy courtroom drama which seldom progresses beyond ciphers, stereotypes and salutary slogans.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Amistad
Freedom is not given. It is our right at birth. But there are moments when it must be taken.
1997 · 2h 35m · R
Drama, History, Mystery
Directed by
Steven Spielberg
Overview
In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams also becomes an ally.
Director and cast
- Steven Spielberg Director
- Nigel Hawthorne as Martin Van Buren
- Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams
- Morgan Freeman as Theodore Joadson
- Djimon Hounsou as Cinque
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as Ens. James Covey
- Matthew McConaughey as Roger Sherman Baldwin
- David Paymer as Secretary John Forsyth
- Pete Postlethwaite as Holabird
- Stellan Skarsgård as Tappan
- Anna Paquin Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
77%
Tomatometer
Rotten
In Amistad, an admirable but disappointing effort...[Speilberg] veers between stoic political correctness and mushy Hollywood platitudes.
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
Rotten
Spielberg seems to be dividing his filmmaking output into two distinct halves: in the summer months cranking out no-brainer dinosaur flicks...in the winter season unveiling his serious artistic stuff to edify the adults and woo the Oscar crowd.
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail
Fresh
The best parts of Amistad are those that simply bring their pride, fear and outrage to life.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
Fresh
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.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
More films
The Conspirator (2011)
Crime · Drama · History · PG-13
Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.
- Runtime
- 2h 2m
- Director
- Robert Redford
- Cast
- Evan Rachel Wood, James McAvoy, Kevin Kline
IMDb
6.9
Rotten Tomatoes
55%
Metacritic
55
Comments
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