Overview
A gripping tale of courage and survival against the backdrop of oppression and injustice.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- grave
- impassioned
- harrowing
- historical film night
- social justice discussion
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film heartfelt, important, and skillfully engaging despite its wordiness and occasional overstatement.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The mutiny survivors’ status and freedom are contested through a prolonged legal battle that reaches the Supreme Court.
Cinque and the other Africans cannot speak English, making translation and the recovery of their identities central to the case.
The legal campaign is largely presented through white American lawyers and allies assisting the imprisoned Africans, a framing later criticized by commentators.
The 1839 slave-ship revolt and subsequent American legal proceedings are staged across tall ships, confinement spaces, and formal government settings.
Films like Amistad, and why
Lincoln
shared historical drama, slavery-era injustice, morally urgent courtroom conflict, and emotionally direct filmmaking
Gandhi
shared historical drama, institutionalized racism, abolitionist struggle, and sweeping moral seriousness
To Kill a Mockingbird
shared courtroom drama, civil rights themes, principled legal advocacy, and racial injustice
12 Years a Slave
shared historical drama, slavery, abolitionist politics, and intense depictions of human suffering
Movie Details
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Release Date
- 1997-12-10
- Runtime
- 155 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (1464)
Cast
- Morgan Freeman
- Nigel Hawthorne
- Anthony Hopkins
- Djimon Hounsou
- Matthew McConaughey
- David Paymer
- Pete Postlethwaite
- Stellan Skarsgård
- Razaaq Adoti
- Abu Bakaar Fofanah
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Amistad about?
- A captured African leader and his fellow mutineers fight to prove their freedom in an American legal system built to define them as property.
- What is Amistad like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Amistad as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Amistad violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Amistad as graphic.
- What did critics think of Amistad?
- Critics broadly found the film heartfelt, important, and skillfully engaging despite its wordiness and occasional overstatement.
- Which films are like Amistad?
- Films with a similar feel include Lincoln, Gandhi, To Kill a Mockingbird, and 12 Years a Slave.
- How long is Amistad?
- Amistad runs 155 minutes.
- Where can I watch Amistad?
- In United States, Amistad is available to rent or buy from JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand.
