History Film / Amistad

* TheDogBitesBack: The slaves raise up and kill the slavers.

This was the second film for which Creator/AnthonyHopkins received an AcademyAward nomination for playing a U.S. president, having previously been nominated in 1995 for playing UsefulNotes/RichardNixon in ''Film/{{Nixon}}''.

* OutOfCharacterMoment: More for the historical Matthew [=McConaughey=] than for his actual character. When the case is won in the lower court, [=McConaughey=] leaps in the air, shouting a BigYes while clenching his fist in a way that seems ''pretty odd'' for a lawyer in the 1840s.

* OutOfCharacterMoment: More for the Matthew McConaughey than for his actual character.When the case is won in the lower court, McConaughey leaps in the air, shouting a BigYes while clenching his fist in a way that seems ''pretty odd'' for a lawyer in the 1840s.

* TheDogBitesBack: The slaves raise up and kill the slavers (man, the name of that article leads to really UnfortunateImplications).

* AnachronismStew: Gustave Doré's illustrated Bible is shown, but Doré was only 9 in 1841 and his Bible wouldn't be published until 1866.

* BittersweetEnding: Adams wins the case and Cinque and the other Africans are freed and return to Africa. The ending texts reveals Cinque's family were carried off into slavery and the civil war that the Americans were dreading the case would lead to finally consumed them.
* ChekhovsGun: The surviving Spaniards, realising that the ship will be searched as part of their plan to be freed by another passing boat, hide crucial documents away. Joadson later finds them, and uses them to win the case in the lower courts as they prove the slaves are African.

* EtTuBrute: Cinque, the village chief, is sold to slavers by his own people (and possibly his wife).

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: Adams' first appearance is during a court session to determine whether or not to honour an old man's request that his possessions form an institute of national treasure. The representative addressing Adams dismisses the collection as "bunch of junk". The old man? James Smithson, founding donor of the Smithsonian Institution.

* MisplacedVegetation: A ''West'' African slave is surprised to see an ''East'' African Violet at an American garden.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: President Martin Van Buren.

* FakeNationality: Evident in the actors portraying Ruiz and Montes: One is Mexican-American, the other Puerto Rican, and none hide their accents.
** FakeAmerican: Brit Nigel Hawthorne plays American president Martin Van Buren. This was, however, ''averted'' with AnthonyHopkins, who despite being born in UsefulNotes/{{Wales}} is a naturalized American citizen. Despite this fact, some American actors became furious at Steven Spielberg for casting an "Englishman" (as noted, Hopkins is ''Welsh'', not English) in the leading role of an American president.
** Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard plays Lewis Tappan.

** AntiVillain: Arguably. It's shown in a couple of scenes that Van Buren's biggest fear was [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar civil war.]] Yes, he's worried about his own re-election campaign, but he's even more worried about keeping the peace.

This was the second film for which Creator/AnthonyHopkins received an AcademyAward nomination for playing a U.S. president, having previously been nominated in 1995 for playing RichardNixon in ''Film/{{Nixon}}''.

** FakeAmerican: Brits Nigel Hawthorne and AnthonyHopkins both play American presidents. Apparently this made some American actors furious at Steven Spielberg.

''Amistad'' is a 1997 Creator/StevenSpielberg film based on the true story of a slave mutiny that took place aboard a ship of the same name in 1839, and the legal battle that followed. It shows how, even though the case was won at the federal district court level, it was appealed by President MartinVanBuren to the Supreme Court, and how former President UsefulNotes/JohnQuincyAdams took part in the proceedings.

''Amistad'' is a 1997 Creator/StevenSpielberg film based on the true story of a slave mutiny that took place aboard a ship of the same name in 1839, and the legal battle that followed. It shows how, even though the case was won at the federal district court level, it was appealed by President MartinVanBuren to the Supreme Court, and how former President JohnQuincyAdams took part in the proceedings.

* CoolOldGuy: JohnQuincyAdams.

** AntiVillain: Arguably. It's shown in a couple of scenes that Van Buren's biggest fear was [[TheAmericanCivilWar civil war.]] Yes, he's worried about his own re-election campaign, but he's even more worried about keeping the peace.

* RoyalBrat: 10-years old Queen Isabel II of Spain (the fact that her mother was regent and the actual head of state at the time is omitted under the RuleOfCool).

* EvilBrit: ''Super''averted. Not only does the film take pains to note the role the British played in battling against slavery (although not the role they played in having it...), but the film even casts British actors as two of the decent Americans involved.

This was the second film for which AnthonyHopkins received an Academy Award nomination for playing a U.S. president, having previously been nominated in 1995 for playing RichardNixon in ''Film/{{Nixon}}''.

* TokenMinority: Theodore Joadson, the black abolitionist played by MorganFreeman, did not exist.

This was the second film for which AnthonyHopkins received an Academy Award nomination for playing a U.S. president, having previously been nominated in 1995 for playing RichardNixon in ''Nixon''.

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: All the crewmen in the ''Tecora'' (a Portuguese ship) speak Spanish with thick Mexican accents.
* BittersweetEnding: Adams win the case and Cinque and the other Africans are freed and return to Africa. The ending texts reveals Cinque's family were carried off into slavery and the civil war that the Americans were dreading the case would lead to finally consumed them.

* HollywoodHistory: Presidential candidates didn't campaign for votes at the time, and some aspects of the court case are altered for dramatic effect.

* RoyalBrat: 10 years-old Queen Isabel II of Spain (the fact that her mother was regent and real head of state at the time is omitted under the RuleOfCool).
* TokenMinority: Theodore Joadson, the Black abolitionist played by MorganFreeman, did not exist.

* DidNotDoTheResearch: Presidential candidates did not campaign in 1840.