Amistad (1997) on Netflix
Off Cuba in 1839, captives aboard the schooner La Amistad rise against the crew under Cinqué. Held in Connecticut, they are defended by the lawyer Roger Sherman Baldwin.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.3/1088,737 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes78%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1839, the schooner La Amistad carries Africans who were sold into slavery in Cuba and chained in its hold. Off the Cuban coast, a captive named Cinqué leads an uprising against the crew and takes control of the vessel. Stopped in United States waters, the Africans are jailed and charged with piracy and murder. The navigators Pedro Montes and José Ruiz claim them as property, and the Spanish government of Queen Isabella II backs that claim. The administration of Martin Van Buren, wary of a diplomatic incident, sides with the Spanish claim through Secretary of State John Forsyth. The abolitionist Lewis Tappan and his colleague Theodore Joadson, a former slave, decide to help the captives. They approach the former president John Quincy Adams, who is reluctant, and hire a young attorney, Roger Sherman Baldwin.
Cast
- Abu Bakaar Fofanahas Fala
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Amistad (1997)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Djimon Hounsou had only 10 days to learn the Mende language for his role as Cinqué and had to phonetically recite some lines because it shared little with his native Gun language; he also said being restrained in real chains and shackles during filming was so hard it made him consider quitting on the first day.
- Cuba Gooding Jr. was offered a role in Amistad but turned it down and later regretted it. Dustin Hoffman was also offered a role and turned it down, while Will Smith and musician Seal both tried to secure the part.
- Spielberg was prepared to delay production by up to two years if he could not find the right actor; after considering over 150 actors, he watched the audition tape of the relatively unknown Djimon Hounsou reading a speech from the film's script.
- Before the film's release, novelist Barbara Chase-Riboud sued Spielberg's DreamWorks Pictures for $10 million, alleging that specific details from her 1989 novel Echo of Lions had been lifted for the screenplay.
- During the first scene between Cinqué and John Quincy Adams, actors Djimon Hounsou and Anthony Hopkins struggled through repeated takes trying not to cry because Spielberg kept telling them to hold back tears for the moment, and Hopkins reportedly wept once the scene was finally finished.
- Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun made a cameo playing Justice Joseph Story, calling it an honor to appear in what he described as "a significant film about our nation's struggle with slavery."
