Amistad

[Sark79]

Tonight I watched Amistad. It has been awhile since I have seen it. I forgot how powerful a movie it is. Spielberg shows how great a director he is in this film.

Has anyone seen it?

[b4matt]

I'm sometimes not sure we live on the same planet Sark... I've never heard of it

Your posts tho m8 r the best.

What year did it come out?

[Sark79]

ehhh not sure. It was set in the 1840's but it wasn't filmed then.  Sometime after 1980 or maybe 1990 ...   To be honest it could be anytime from 1910 up to 2000. lol    Ask Nemesis , he will know  . 

[ifm]

It's famous for being one of the biggest money losing movies ever Matt, never seen it myself though, something to do with a tibetan prince/monk innit?

[tikay]

ehhh not sure. It was set in the 1840's but it wasn't filmed then.  Sometime after 1980 or maybe 1990 ...   To be honest it could be anytime from 1910 up to 2000. lol    Ask Nemesis , he will know  . 

Gotta love Sark.

"set in the 1840's but was not filmed then...."

[Royal Flush]

97

[ifm]

I got it mixed up with "Ishtar", completely different film

[Ginger]

An amazing film, a must see IMO.

[Sark79]

An amazing film, a must see IMO.

I agree.


The film shows the horrors of the slave trade. Seeing people with chains round their necks purely on the basis of their skin colour is shocking. I read a book about this a few years ago, but I forgot about most of it. It is only after seeing this film again that it reminds me of the terrible treatment of these innocent people. Words like " cargo" in relation to people is very emotional and words like " owners of these people " and " Surrender these goods " makes it hard to imagine they are used to describe people.

I often think to myself.  What if I had been around in the period between the 1700's and late 1800's. Would I have been caught up in the slave trade.  After all my socialisation and beliefs would have been very different to what they are now.  All my family come from Northern England and had strong ties with Industry around the Manchester area. There is a strong possibility that my ancestors would have been connected to this trade, however loosely that may be either through selling cargo brought from the Colonies, etc. Many areas of Britain is built on the back of Slavery, particularly places like Glasgow and other ports.  The difference between us and other countries who were also involved in the trade is , we sweep it under the carpet and fail to acknowledge our part. In Holland recently there was a national slave day where respect is paid to those who were ill treated in this way.

[TightEnd]

Firstly, its a very moving film

Secondly, the really horrific stories associated with slavery are most commonly depicted in the American South in tales such as "Roots". This persisted through to as late as the 1960s in diluted form via segregation and of course the 1980s/1990s in South Africa via Apartheid

In the UK Sark the main consequences of you being born then at the start of the Industrial Revolution would have been far shorter life expectancy and it is debateable whther the consequences of the industrial revolution led to great wealth as it did for many families or penury as it did for others.

A very interesting period ofr our economioc and social history

[El Yortle]

I saw this when it first came out on rental and thought it was a very well made film. It seems to have been somewhat forgotten in favour of some of Spielberg's other work, but definitely worth checking out.

[Ginger]

I saw this when it first came out on rental and thought it was a very well made film. It seems to have been somewhat forgotten in favour of some of Spielberg's other work, but definitely worth checking out.

Agreed, it wasn't really pushed when it came out. I was manager of a video shop at the time and it was shocking how many people had never heard about it.

It's one of those films that isn't easy to watch because of the subject matter, but a film that everyone should see once.

[bhoywonder]

i seen it

yeah good film


im just back from the da vinci code

if you have read the book dont bother with the film

it follows the book religiously ( geddit )

[Sark79]

i seen it

yeah good film


im just back from the da vinci code

if you have read the book dont bother with the film

it follows the book religiously ( geddit )

lol

[ifm]

It's never much good watching a film when you have read the book from which it came.
As you read a book your imagination takes over and you form the characters in your own mind, what they look like, what they sound like etc.
Then you see the film and they are nothing like you imagined, also there is so much more detail in a book they could never pack into a film.
I was traumatised by "the bone collector", in Deavers books Lincoln Rhyme is a white bloke yet in the film he's played by Denzil Washington!!!!