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| Cinque attempting to remove nail from Amistad's decking. |
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| Cinque, angry after learning that the case will have to be tried again. |
Sound Effects
In the opening sequence, as
Cinque is working to remove the nail from the wood of the ship, the sound of heavy
breathing by Cinque creates a feeling of urgency as well as determination, and
perhaps even desperation. There is loud
thunder and rain heard in the background.
The clanging of the swords is terribly loud and frequent during the
mutiny sequence. It conveys a sense of chaos. When Cinque stabs the man in the abdomen,
toward the end of the mutiny scene, the penetration of the sword is heard, and
then drown out by the sounds of the man and Cinque screaming. Again, the chaos is palpable.
Later, as the prisoners are being
taken into their holding cells, the audience can clearly hear the chains
rattling.
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| Chains and leg irons rattle as the men are taken to their cell. |
When Queen Isabella II of
Spain (Anna Paquin) is eating, alone in her dining hall in Spain, the silence
of the room is underscored by the audible sounds of her knife and fork on her
plate.
I could not appreciate any
examples of non-realistic or unexpected sound effects in the movie. I might be wrong, but it seems to me that
this is very appropriate for the style and genre of the movie. There is a very realistic, almost documentary
feel to the movie, and any use of non-realistic sound effects would certainly
take away from that sense of realism.
The movie is a courtroom drama and a historical drama. The sense of drama that the audience gets
from the movie is very much tied to the power that the movie has to make the
audience feel like they are a part of the events being depicted.
Music
I viewed some critical scenes of
this movie again this morning, and I immediately took notice of the music being
played during the title sequence. I was
transported by the melancholy sound, and I found that it immediately puts me in
an indefinable mood when I begin watching this movie. My curiosity was sparked, so I decided to
research where the music in the title scene came from, and I quickly found that
it was composed specifically for the film.
Furthermore, I found that the music in the film was so successful that
it had been written about at a scholarly level.
In his book The Invisible Art of
Film Music: A Comprehensive History, Laurence MacDonald uses the music in Amistad as an example of director Steven
Spielberg’s partnership with composer John Williams on multiple film projects. “As the film’s title is shown, a woman’s solo
voice is heard in a melancholy melody based on a simple three-note motif that
is later identified with the head of the mutiny” (2013, p. 404, para. 4). The theme is replayed later when the
prisoners look through a Christian Bible, this time played by a flute and a
harp (MacDonald, 2013). “When former
president John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) is approached to help defend the
Africans, a theme of noble character is heard, with the lyrical trumpet tones
of Tim Morrison,” (2013, p. 404, para. 5).
“This music is also played at length during the climactic scene in which
Adams eloquently pleads on behalf of the prisoners before the Supreme Court”
(2013, p. 404, para. 5). As MacDonald
points out, composer John Williams effectively uses distinctive sounds, notes,
instruments, and sequences to identify individual characters, and to bring
those characters to the forefront of the audience’s mind while experiencing
specific scenes of the movie.
If the music were removed from
the film, the drama that it builds would suffer. For instance, the melancholy sound in the
very beginning of the film helps to set the scene as one of desperation and
sadness. It would also be difficult to
identify certain characters and the feelings they convey if their accompanying
music were to be removed from the film.
Dialogue
The screenplay writer, David
Franzoni, and the director, Steven Spielberg, use dialog very well to establish
characterization fairly early in the film.
For example, attorney Roger S. Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey) is
introduced early in the film as a rather brash and immodest man, who is quite
certain of himself and of his duties. When
he introduces himself to Lewis Tappan (Stellan Skarsgard) as the attorney best
suited to handle the case of the prisoners (0:26:55) he unabashedly states
that, as a property attorney, he is the type of attorney the case needs, or he
“wouldn’t have bothered coming down here, would I have?” This rhetorical question is terribly cocky
and condescending, but Baldwin’s experience with law eventually proves that his
high opinion of himself is well deserved.
In a later scene, Baldwin’s
hubris is established further when he is outlining the appropriate strategy for
the case, “On the other
hand, let's say they aren't slaves. If
they aren't slaves, in which case they were illegally acquired, weren't
they? Forget mutiny. Forget piracy. Forget murder and all the rest. Those are subsequent irrelevant occurrences. Ignore everything but the pre-eminent issue at
hand. The wrongful transfer of stolen
goods. Either way, we win” (0:33:55). Baldwin is quite confident that he knows much
more about the appropriate strategy to win the case, and does not hesitate to
convey this confidence.
John Quincy Adams’ (Anthony Hopkins) character is also established
early, using dialogue. Based upon a real
person who actually served in the U.S. House of Representatives, John Quincy
Adams was the only U.S. President to return to Congress after serving a term as
Chief Executive. Hopkins’ portrayal is
that of a crotchety and cynical old man, unapologetically condescending and
impatient. However, he is also worldly,
experienced, and wise. In an early
scene, as abolitionists Theodore Joadson (Morgan Freeman) and Lewis Tappan (Stellan
Skarsgard) are
attempting to convince Adams to take the case defending the Africans, claiming
that the case is important because the Secretary of State has already appealed
to the court on behalf of President VanBuren to send the Africans back to the
Queen of Spain, Adams interrupts, “What season is it? There are two ways of knowing for certain
without consulting a calendar: The leaves on the maple trees have all gone, and
the fact that the president is not at home over there on Pennsylvania Avenue. Tell me, sir.
Do you really think VanBuren cares about the whims of an eleven-year-old
girl who wears a tiara? Because I can
assure you, sir, having been over there, only one thing occupies his thoughts
this time of year, being all things to all people, which of course, means being
nothing to no one. In other words,
getting himself re-elected” (0:30:00).
Adams is impatient, short, condescending, and cynical; even
self-involved. However, his points are
important to the eventual winning of the case.
Dialogue is also used to drive
the plot forward and tell the audience just exactly what is going on, such as
in the scene beginning at 0:24:20 in the courtroom, when preliminary claims are
being made and multiple parties introduce themselves as the rightful owners or
custodians of the “property” seized off the coast of Long Island.
References
Allen,
D. (Producer) & Spielberg, S. (Director). (1997). Amistad. [Motion picture]. United States: Dreamworks & HBO
Pictures.
MacDonald,
L. (2013). The invisible art of film
music: a comprehensive history. United Kingdom: Scarecrow Press.
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