Blu-ray Review: Steven Spielberg’s Progressive Slave Drama ‘Amistad’

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CHICAGO – Before Hollywood grappled with the unforgiving intensity of “12 Years a Slave,” they championed Steven Spielberg’s powerful film “Amistad,” years earlier, now available for the first time on Blu-ray. Densely comparing the movies is a difficult task considering their different perspectives, but they do stand as interesting bookends with how Hollywood has dealt with the American atrocity of slavery in their films. For example, 1997 film “Amistad” certainly comes after something like Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” but was rarely answered to for years after. And then, in the wake of films like “Django Unchained,” Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” was ready to embrace the discussion of the backyard horror of Tarantino’s film, without the comfort of fantastical revenge.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

“Amistad” suggests a slow acceptance of the events; instead of facing slavery, we were debating about them in long monologues, with Anthony Hopkins speaking for 80 minutes as John Quincy Adams with a smirk behind his serious face. Still, Spielberg presented images of malicious history way back in 1997 that would still be considered intense today, the soft lighting of his courtroom scenes be damned. Even after the cinematic epiphany of “12 Years a Slave,” “Amistad” has a power to be reckoned with, its story of two vastly different cultures connecting with human spirit more than language a commendable feat of a still rare variety.

This Blu-ray of “Amistad” isn’t a bulky one, offering only two special features. A theatrical trailer is included, and then there’s a “Making Of” short that runs about 30 minutes. Anyone who owns the “Amistad” DVD by chance will see that these are the same special features, worth nothing for anyone simply looking to update their copy.

Amistad was released on Blu-ray in May 2014
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

Synopsis: The story of an American court struggling to decide on what proper actions to take regarding a deadly slave mutiny on a ship in 1839. Meanwhile, a slave named Cinque (Hounsou) struggles to connect with the free Americans who do not speak his language.

Special Features:
o The Making of “Amistad”
o Theatrical Trailer

By Nick Allen
Contributor
HollywoodChicago.com