Amistad Movie Review

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 11th grade February 2008

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"Amistad" is a brilliant portrayal of the trials and tribulations of a group of illegally taken slaves from Sierra Leone. The movie covers the capture, the revolt aboard "La Amistad", and all the trials (Circuit and Supreme). The movie is very accurate in it it's telling,, overall very entertaining and, has very good acting.

The social classes in this movie can be seen very clearly. Throughout the entirety of the movie it is easy to tell that anyone who is black is on a different level then those of the people who are white. In some scenes it is more notable then in others, one scene that brings this to mind is during dinner with the president. This shows that young black men are serving all the higher class white men. Another clear mention of the classes is during John Quincy Adams' speech. He mentions the fact that if the same thing had happened to a white man, the court case would not have even come close to reaching this level.

Now compared to the real happenings in the United States during this time period, it's very accurate. Slavery was very present during these times, and it is as well in the movie. It was very common to be served by a black man, and to have black men clean up after you.

From the traditional African loin clothes, to the thick and bushy side burns of John Quincy Adams, the costumes are definitely well done, but are they accurate? The answer is yes. Although not completely perfect, almost all of the costumes are accurate. One prime example of this is John Quincy Adams costume. Anthony Hopkins, does not have big side burns, but Quincy Adams did however, and this very noted in the film,