Amistad

Like Spielberg's other 1997 picture, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, this mildly effective film is neither as good as it ought to have been nor as wretched as its detractors claim. The true story of a slave revolt and the various legal machinations that followed, it's a fine, skillful drama that suffers primarily from Spielberg's chronic insecurity about whether or not we're being moved by the story he's telling. Thankfully, this unfortunate neurosis manifested itself only occasionally during the brilliant Schindler's List--most notably in Schindler's tearful (and wholly fictional) "I could have done more" speech--but it's omnipresent here, mostly because the music virtually never stops. Even the picture's most placid, least urgent scenes must struggle to extricate themselves from John Williams' hideously sticky-sweet score--and when Williams cranks it up to eleven, as in renegade slave Cinque's infamous courtroom outburst ("Give us free!"), you may feel an urge to stand at attention, as for the National Anthem. If you can tune out the grandstanding reverence, however, you'll find a remarkable story at the film's core, and one that's worth seeing just for Anthony Hopkins' delightfully crusty performance as John Quincy Adams. Recommended. (M. D'Angelo)[Blu-ray Review—May 6, 2014—Paramount, 155 min., R, $22.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1997's Amistad sports a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras include a “making-of” featurette (27 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: Steven Spielberg's historical drama looks sharp on Blu-ray.]