Spielberg’s Amistad, the telling of a true historical event in which enslaved Africans took over their slave ship and were then captured and put on trial to determine their freedom, has some things going for it. It looks great, the acting is really good (phenomenal, in fact, for Djimon Hounsou in his breakout role), and the design of the film is on par with any good historical drama. However, there can be problems that arise when a white filmmaker takes on a story that should be centered around the enslaved people, problems that I think cause this to be a bit of a misstep for the beloved director. I discuss all this and more in this episode.

https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ 

Feedback:

Email us at establishingshotpod@gmail.com

Leave a voicemail from the button on the right side of the screen on our website https://www.establishingshotpod.com/ 

Support the Show:

Join The Establishing Shot Family for early, ad-free episodes, bonus content, and access to our Discord server where we talk movies all the time: https://www.establishingshotpod.com/support/ 

Follow Eli and the Show:

Eli on Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/theeliprice

Eli on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/eliprice

Show on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EShotPod

Show on Instagram: https://instagram.com/establishingshotpod

Show on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@establishingshotpod

Show on Facebook: https://facebook.com/establishingshotpod

Show on TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@establishingshotpod

Show on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@EstablishingShotPod

Other Links:

My Letterboxd Ranking of Spielberg Films: https://letterboxd.com/eliprice/list/elis-ranking-of-steven-spielbergs-directorial/ 

Research Resources:

- Steven Spielberg All the Films: The Story Behind Every Movie, Episode, and Short by Arnaud Devillard, Olivier Bousquet, Nicolas Schaller

- Steven Spielberg: A Life in Films by Molly Haskell

- Courtland Milloy's Review of Amistad: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1997/12/14/amistad-through-a-different-lens/aaf8318e-93ab-44f9-93ce-2a6d92e08191/