Amistad

1997 • 2h 35m •

Drama History Mystery

MOVIEVIBE Rating

★ 7.0/10

1,460 reviews

Your Rating

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.

"Freedom is not given. It is our right at birth. But there are moments when it must be taken."

Top Billed Cast

Morgan Freeman

Theodore Joadson

Nigel Hawthorne

Martin Van Buren

Anthony Hopkins

John Quincy Adams

Djimon Hounsou

Cinque

Matthew McConaughey

Roger Sherman Baldwin

David Paymer

Secretary John Forsyth

Pete Postlethwaite

Holabird

Stellan Skarsgård

Tappan

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

C CinemaSerf Verified TMDB Critic

2022-06-24

Steven Spielberg took the helm for this rather classy, if very wordy, depiction of the celebrated legal battle that resulted from the mutiny of slaves aboard a Spanish ship in the late 1830s. A timely intervention from the US Navy rescued some of the crew, but then subjected the erstwhile cargo to an humiliating and debase battle for their "ownership". Roger Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey) takes up the cudgels on their behalf - at no small risk to himself, and with the assistance of former US President John Quincy Adams (Sir Anthony Hopkins) takes this principle all the way to the Supreme Court....