Blood Diamond (2006)

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writers (WGA):

Charles Leavitt (screenplay)
Charles Leavitt (story) ...

Release Date:

8 December 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Truth

Plot:

A fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.

Plot Keywords:

Diamond | Fisherman | Sierra Leone | Mercenary | Journalist

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Danny Archer
Djimon Hounsou	...	Solomon Vandy
Jennifer Connelly	...	Maddy Bowen
Kagiso Kuypers	...	Dia Vandy
Arnold Vosloo	...	Colonel Coetzee
Antony Coleman	...	Cordell Brown
Benu Mabhena	...	Jassie Vandy
Anointing Lukola	...	N'Yanda Vandy
David Harewood	...	Captain Poison
Basil Wallace	...	Benjamin Kapanay
Jimi Mistry	...	Nabil
Michael Sheen	...	Rupert Simmons
Marius Weyers	...	Rudolf Van De Kaap
Stephen Collins	...	Ambassador Walker
Ntare Mwine	...	M'Ed

Also Known As:

Blood Diamond (Germany)
Okavango (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and language.

Runtime:

143 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Mende | Afrikaans

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R (certificate #43118) | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Australia:MA | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Hong Kong:IIB | Brazil:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/16 | Netherlands:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Norway:15 | France:-12 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Germany:16 (bw) | Greece:K-13 | India:A | Sweden:15 | France:-16 (DVD rating) | Spain:18

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, South Africa

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The attack helicopter seen near the end of the film is a Mi-24 SuperHind Mk IV. The helicopter started life as a Russian Mi-24 (NATO designation "Hind") but underwent an extensive upgrade program by Advanced Technology and Engineering, a South African arms company. Upgrades include improvements to avionics, weapons systems, and counter measures.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the attack by the Sierra Leone government troops on the mining camp, a rebel is seen firing a Kalashnikov rifle, but the sound is clearly that of an M16.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Solomon Vandy: Dia. Dia. Don't want to be late.
Dia Vandy: English boys don't go to school every day.

Movie Connections:

References "Baywatch" (1989)

Soundtrack:

When da Dawgs Come Out to Play

Faithful to the Sierra Leone civil war, but just a small part of it, like Hotel Rwanda

I rate this a ten because I had the privilege of going to Sierra Leone after the war and participate in one of the war crimes trials there at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, created by the Sierra Leone government with the United Nations.

In a bit more than two and a half hours, the writers and directors have to tell the story of the civil war, keep it concise yet true, and tell it through the eyes of a few participants. Because the story line is so true, and the acting, writing, directing, locations, people, and photography are all superior, I must admit prejudice toward such a high rating. My local reviewer gave it a B+.

My exposure to the civil war and only some of the events of this movie were based on reading books, hundreds of witness statements, online material about the war, including the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Report, and listening to over 100 witnesses testify, and my trial was not even those of the RUF and AFRC, the really bad actors of the war, as the movie shows, pulling no punches. The accounts of atrocities are shockingly real. Tens of thousands had hands amputated, people were indiscriminately murdered, women raped or forced to marry, villages were burned, and children were kidnapped and forced to fight the war for both of the rebel factions (RUF and AFRC). Making a child a soldier is a war crime, and this movie artfully shows you why, without saying a word about it.

Sherman said, about our own Civil War, that "War is hell." But, African civil war is far different and atrocious because it inevitably leads to atrocities.

This fine work, with Hotel Rwanda, stands out as a film seriously attempting to explain the atrocities that Africans somehow can do to themselves.