Amistad
Movie, 1997, The '90s, Set in 1839
Amistad is #17 of 35 in release order and #17 of 35 in chronological order in the Steven Spielberg.
The story
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.
Amistad recap
Amistad (1997) dramatises the 1839 revolt by captive Africans aboard a Spanish slave ship and the court battle over their freedom in the United States. Steven Spielberg directs a script by David Franzoni. Sengbe Pieh, called Cinqué (Djimon Hounsou), breaks his chains and leads the uprising aboard La Amistad off Cuba, sparing two Spaniards to steer for Africa; they sail north instead, and a US ship seizes the schooner off Long Island. Charged with murder and claimed as property by the Spaniards, the officers who seized the ship and Spain's young Queen Isabella II (Anna Paquin), the Africans are defended by property lawyer Roger Sherman Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey), backed by abolitionists Lewis Tappan (Stellan Skarsgård) and Theodore Joadson (Morgan Freeman). With interpreter James Covey (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Cinqué tells of his capture in Sierra Leone and the Middle Passage aboard the Portuguese slaver Tecora. President Martin Van Buren (Nigel Hawthorne) swaps in a new judge to please the South. Amistad comes after The Lost World and before Saving Private Ryan in Spielberg's career.
Amistad ending explained
Amistad ends with the Supreme Court freeing the Africans. A district judge rules them free, but Van Buren appeals, and former president John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) argues the case, invoking the nation's founding ideals. Afterwards, British forces led by Captain Fitzgerald storm the slave fort of Lomboko and destroy it. Closing captions say Cinqué returned home but found his family gone amid war in Sierra Leone, and that Van Buren lost the 1840 election. Joadson is a fictional character created for the film.
Post-credits scenes
No. Amistad has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Amistad
Amistad is streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, and YouTube (free) in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes 78%
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Lost World: Jurassic Park, before Saving Private Ryan.
- Chronological order: after The Lost World: Jurassic Park, before Saving Private Ryan.
Cast
- Morgan Freeman as Theodore Joadson
- Nigel Hawthorne as Martin Van Buren
- Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams
- Djimon Hounsou as Cinque
- Matthew McConaughey as Roger Sherman Baldwin
- David Paymer as Secretary John Forsyth
- Pete Postlethwaite as Holabird
- Stellan Skarsgård as Tappan
- Razaaq Adoti as Yamba
- Abu Bakaar Fofanah as Fala
- Anna Paquin as Queen Isabella
- Tomas Milian as Calderon
Directed by Steven Spielberg.