Blood Diamond (2006)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

8 December 2006 (USA)

Genre:

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 Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Norway:15 | France:-12 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Germany:16 (bw) | Greece:K-13 | India:A | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, South Africa

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The pistol Danny Archer uses towards the end of the film is a Heckler & Koch USP.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The mercenary intervention in the Sierra Leone civil war (Executives Outcomes PMC) began in May, 1995 and ended in January, 1997. They were long since gone by the time of the RUF invasion of Freetown in January 1999 when the movie is set. It was actually a combination of British and UN troops who brought the war to an end in 2001. Possibly made deliberately to avoid associating EO with the fictional mercenaries, whose activities were much more sinister.

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:

Baai

Another fine piece by director Edward Zwick

A few years back I had the pleasure of visiting Antwerp, Belgium, a place many deem "the diamond capital of the world." Never before or since have I been in a location where I was surrounded by so much "bling". Storefronts had so many diamonds on display you would think they should be better kept in some European version of Fort Knox.

The film Blood Diamond puts an entirely new spin on Antwerp, the diamond industry and that pricey stone you might be wearing around your neck, on your ring finger, or in your ears (mine are cubic-Zs). Set in the West African country of Sierra Leone during the 1990s, this historical-adventure-drama covers a time when the country was in turmoil. Warlords, smugglers and the diamond syndicate all play roles in a refugee exodus, and the killing and enslaving of men to work the diamond fields. The title refers to diamonds which are harvested, smuggled and traded to finance the purchase of weapons used in Civil War.

Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) stars as a fisherman who has his family torn apart and instead of being killed, is sent to work mining diamonds where he finds and hides a large stone. Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) a former mercenary, diamond-smuggler, middleman, you-name-it, is looking to score with that stone and exit the business for good. Writer Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly) is tired of writing shallow stories about less than newsworthy events; she is looking for information about major players in the diamond trade. They all come together in a fast paced, adventure packed piece of film-making that is brutal at times but never boring. The film has a pleasant, unanticipated ending, something hard to pull off in a film of this kind.

Director/Producer Edward Zwick is probably the best in Hollywood at taking a big budget feature film with a historical theme and carefully relay a message without lecturing his audience. His earlier works include a story of the first all-black U.S. Civil War company in "Glory" a film, which resulted in Denzel Washington winning his first Oscar. Zwick takes credit for works like The Last Samurai, Shakespeare in Love, Traffic and Courage Under Fire. He is second to no one when it comes to balancing a historical event with action-drama entertainment. Edward Zwick is one of few L.A. directors who still works within the Hollywood establishment yet is able to put out good quality film.

Check out Blood Diamond, your "bling" may never look the same again.