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Amistad (1997)
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10 Most Convincing Portrayals o ...
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SpoutBlog
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SpoutBlog on spout.com
hasn't rated it.
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"It’s more difficult to be convincing as a real person when acting on film than on the stage. The camera can get closer and your image ends up projected many times larger than life size. So, despite giving a Tony Award-winning performance as Richard Nixon in the theater version of Frost/Nixon, Frank Langella was not initially thought of as worthy to reprise the role in Ron Howard’s movie adaptation of the play. Part of it was that he’s not a big name, but another reason was that he looks nothing like Tricky Dick. Ultimately, Langella did get the part, and while he doesn’t resemble the former president, he apparently does a bang up job in the role. But the transition could easily have been as awkward as Ralph Bellamy’s reprisal of his Tony-winning portrayal of Franklin Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello. In the film version of that play, Bellamy’s vocal impersonation comes off more like a Scottish brogue (he sounds exactly like Sean Connery, in fact) than FDR’s signature “Locust Valley "
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WTF, Spielberg?
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JakeStevens
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JakeStevens Blog
lost interest.
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"Very torn about this film. I think the power of the story is undeniable, but Steven Spielberg's direction is maudlin and oversentamentalized, which takes away the power of the statement. The best moment of this film is Anthony Hopkins' 10 minute monologue, which is truly inspired, the worst is Anna Paquin's terrible Spanish accent. I found John Williams' score distracting at times, particularly the French Horns (don't get me wrong, I love French Horns) that would be playing underneath some important exposition. Cinque's backflash of his journey to America is horrifying, much like Schindler's List, but those moments are few and far between. And could Morgan Freeman be more underutilized? Sheesh! A big, fat Hollywood movie that should have been lean and mean. "
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Amistad
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JimBell
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liked it.
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"Amistad (1997) deftly side-steps the stereotype of a slavery movie. Through three successive trials the issue expands into a battle between doing the right thing and being political expedient—a theme that resonates today from the nearest bureaucracy to federal governments. The photography is top notch, Steven Spielberg keeps things moving along, and Anthony Hopkins, as John Quincey Adams, shows what great acting is all about. There are a few awkward bits which probably kept the movie from winning many awards even though it was nominated for several. But there are some really excellent aspects. The way in which the African slaves can speak to no one and no one can make themselves understood drives home the enormous initial difficulty of developing any understanding between races. The way in which the macho African cannot understand the slimy American judicial system dramatizes a culture clash. We see the advantages of being macho—tearing your chains out of the ship&rsquo ... "
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