Amazing Grace (2006 film): Difference between revisions
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'''''Amazing Grace''''' is a [[2006 in film|2006 film]] directed by [[ |
'''''Amazing Grace''''' is a [[2006 in film|2006 film]] directed by [[Nathan's pan]] about the campaign against [[History of slavery|slave trade]] in the [[United Kingdom]], led by [[William Wilberforce]], who was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation through the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|British parliament]]. The title is a reference to the [[hymn]] "[[Amazing Grace]]" and the film also recounts [[John Newton]]'s writing of the hymn and highlights his influence on Wilberforce. |
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The film premiered at the closing of the [[Toronto Film Festival]] on September 16, 2006 and its US premiere was at the opening of the [[Heartland Film Festival]], [[Indianapolis, Indiana]] on October 19, 2006, after which director Michael Apted participated in a question and answer session. It also was screened as the centrepiece of the annual [[Santa Barbara International Film Festival]].<ref>Sneider, Jeff. [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117956575.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 Santa Barbara announces lineup], ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', January 4, 2007.</ref> |
The film premiered at the closing of the [[Toronto Film Festival]] on September 16, 2006 and its US premiere was at the opening of the [[Heartland Film Festival]], [[Indianapolis, Indiana]] on October 19, 2006, after which director Michael Apted participated in a question and answer session. It also was screened as the centrepiece of the annual [[Santa Barbara International Film Festival]].<ref>Sneider, Jeff. [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117956575.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 Santa Barbara announces lineup], ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', January 4, 2007.</ref> |
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Revision as of 20:07, 7 December 2010
| Amazing Grace | |
|---|---|
 Film release poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Apted |
| Written by | Steven Knight |
| Produced by | Terrence Malick Patricia Heaton David Hunt Edward R. Pressman Ken Wales |
| Starring | Ioan Gruffudd Benedict Cumberbatch Romola Garai Albert Finney |
| Cinematography | Remi Adefarasin |
| Edited by | Rick Shaine |
| Music by | David Arnold |
Production companies | |
Release dates | September 16, 2006 (premiere) February 23, 2007 (US) March 23, 2007 (UK) |
Running time | 118 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $32,120,360 |
Amazing Grace is a 2006 film directed by Nathan's pan about the campaign against slave trade in the United Kingdom, led by William Wilberforce, who was responsible for steering anti-slave trade legislation through the British parliament. The title is a reference to the hymn "Amazing Grace" and the film also recounts John Newton's writing of the hymn and highlights his influence on Wilberforce.
The film premiered at the closing of the Toronto Film Festival on September 16, 2006 and its US premiere was at the opening of the Heartland Film Festival, Indianapolis, Indiana on October 19, 2006, after which director Michael Apted participated in a question and answer session. It also was screened as the centrepiece of the annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.[1]
The film's wider release was on February 23, 2007 through IDP and Samuel Goldwyn Films,[2] which coincided with the 200th anniversary of the date the British parliament voted to ban the slave trade.
Plot synopsis
The film begins in 1797 with William Wilberforce severely ill and taking a holiday in Bath, Somerset, with his cousin, Henry Thornton. It is here that William is introduced to his future wife, Barbara Spooner. Although he at first resists, she convinces him to tell her about his life.
The story flashes back 15 years to 1782, and William recounts the events that led him to where he is now. Beginning as an ambitious and popular Member of Parliament (MP), William was persuaded by his friends William Pitt, Thomas Clarkson, Hannah More, and others to take on the dangerous issue of the British slave trade. This led him to become highly unpopular in the House of Commons amongst the MPs representing vested interests of the slave trade in London, Bristol, and Liverpool.
Exhausted, and frustrated that he was unable to change anything in the government, William becomes physically ill (in the film he is depicted as suffering from chronic colitis), which brings the story back up to 1797. Having virtually given up hope, William considers leaving politics forever. Barbara convinces him to keep fighting because if he does not, there will be no one else capable of doing so. A few days afterward, William and Barbara marry.
William, with a renewed hope for success, picks up the fight against slave trade where he had previously left off, aided by Thornton, Clarkson, and James Stephen. In time, after the 20-year campaign and many attempts to bring legislation forward, he is eventually responsible for a bill being passed through Parliament in 1807, which abolishes the slave trade in the British Empire forever.
Historical inaccuracies
Prince William, the Duke of Clarence was not a member of the House of Commons, but was, beginning in 1789, a member of the House of Lords, where he did speak against the abolition of slavery. However, prior to being made a Duke like his elder brothers and receiving a similar Parliamentary grant to the House of Lords, Prince William had put pressure on his reluctant father by threatening to run for the House of Commons. This prospect had horrified his father, George III, who in May 1789 made him a royal duke and thus ineligible for the House of Commons. Wilberforce addresses the Duke of Clarence as "Your Grace", which is correct in the parts of the film which cover 1782–1789. By May 1789, as a royal duke, his proper honorific would then be "Your Royal Highness".
Charles James Fox actually died in 1806, the year before the Abolition bill was passed. Fox was the younger son of a baron, and his title was "The Honourable Charles Fox" — not, as in the film, "Lord Charles Fox". Fox was in reality only ten years older than William Pitt. Banastre Tarleton, later a baronet, was never a lord, as titled in the film.
Various ships in the film fly the flag of the British East India Company despite the fact that that flag was not used outside the East Indies. When crossing the Atlantic, these ships would instead fly the British ensign.
Cast
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Production
The film was shot primarily in Hull, Yorkshire. Baker's Quay, which forms part of the Parliament docks on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, was used as a backdrop against which to recreate the atmosphere of the East India Docks in London circa 1780. Shooting took place during October 2005 and involved the tall ships, Kaskelot, Earl of Pembroke, Johanna Lucretia and Phoenix.[3] During January 2006, the scenes from The Houses of Parliament were shot at the 1743 Church within Chatham Historic Dockyard. The wedding scene was filmed at Garsington Church.[4]
A number of outside scenes were shot at the former Greenwich Hospital, now part of the University of Greenwich and around Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Release
Box office
According to Box Office Mojo, Amazing Grace brought in a little over $4 million at the box office over its opening weekend of February 23–25, 2007, making it the 10th-highest grossing film for the weekend, behind such new releases as The Astronaut Farmer and The Number 23. The film had grossed $21,250,683 in the United States as of June 14, 2007. Worldwide box office as of August 26, 2007, stood at $32,050,774.[5]
Awards
Amazing Grace was named "Best Spiritual Film of 2008" in the third annual "Beliefnet Film Awards".
Reception
As of October 29, 2007, Rotten Tomatoes amassed a total of 108 reviews for the film, 70% of which were positive (or "fresh"). According to the website, the film is "your quintessential historical biopic: stately, noble, and with plenty of electrifying performances."[6]
Soundtracks
- Music Inspired By the Motion Picture Amazing Grace
- Original Score from the Motion Picture Amazing Grace
References
- ^ Sneider, Jeff. Santa Barbara announces lineup, Variety, January 4, 2007.
- ^ Release date of Amazing Grace from BoxOfficeMojo.com
- ^ Full details of the filming can be found at Gloucester Docks and the Sharpness Canal website - Filming "Amazing Grace" and details of the ships used at Square Sail on the Canal.
- ^ "St Mary, Garsington". A Church Near You. Archbishops' Council. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
- ^ Box Office Mojo
- ^ Amazing Grace at Rotten Tomatoes
External links
- Amazing Grace official U.S. website
- Amazing Grace official UK website
- Amazing Grace film credits
- Amazing Grace at IMDb
- Amazing Grace at Rotten Tomatoes
- Amazing Grace at Box Office Mojo
- Amazing Grace at AllMovie
- Amazing Grace at Metacritic
- Interview with Walden Media's Chip Flaherty about Amazing Grace
- "English Abolition – The Movie" by Adam Hochschild from The New York Review of Books
