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Blood Diamond

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Blood Diamond (2006)

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Reviews Counted:204

Fresh:127

Rotten:77

Average Rating:6.3/10

Consensus: Blood Diamond overcomes poor storytelling with its biting commentary and fine performances.

Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for strong violence and language

Runtime: 2 hrs 23 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:26-01-2007

Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of the chaos and civil war that enveloped 1990s Sierra Leone, "Blood Diamond" is the story of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe, and Solomon... Set against the backdrop of the chaos and civil war that enveloped 1990s Sierra Leone, "Blood Diamond" is the story of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe, and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a Mende fisherman. Both men are African, but their histories and their circumstances are as different as any can be until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond, the kind of stone that can transform a life…or end it. Solomon, who has been taken from his family and forced to work in the diamond fields, finds the extraordinary gem and hides it at great risk, knowing if he is discovered, he will be killed instantly. But he also knows the diamond could not only provide the means to save his wife and daughters from a life as refugees but also help rescue his son, Dia, from an even worse fate as a child soldier. Archer, who has made his living trading diamonds for arms, learns of Solomon's hidden stone while in prison for smuggling. He knows a diamond like this is a once-in-a-lifetime find—valuable enough to be his ticket out of Africa and away from the cycle of violence and corruption in which he has been a willing player. Enter Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an idealistic American journalist who is in Sierra Leone to uncover the truth behind conflict diamonds, exposing the complicity of diamond industry leaders who have chosen profits over principles. Maddy seeks out Archer as a source for her article, but soon finds it is he who needs her even more. With Maddy's help, Archer and Solomon embark on a dangerous trek through rebel territory. Archer needs Solomon to find and recover the valuable pink diamond, but Solomon seeks something far more precious…his son. Directed by Edward Zwick, the action drama "Blood Diamond" stars Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Aviator"), Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly ("A Beautiful Mind") and Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou ("In America"). The screenplay was written by Charles Leavitt, from a story by Leavitt and C. Gaby Mitchell. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Virtual Studios, "Blood Diamond," a Spring Creek / Bedford Falls production, in association with Initial Entertainment Group, released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. "Blood Diamond" is produced by Paula Weinstein, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz, Graham King and Gillian Gorfil. The executive producers are Len Amato, Kevin De La Noy and Benjamin Waisbren. The film also stars Michael Sheen, Arnold Vosloo, David Harewood, Basil Wallace and introduces Kagiso Kuypers as Dia. Collaborating with Zwick behind the scenes were director of photography Eduardo Serra, production designer Dan Weil, costume designer Ngila Dickson, and editor Steven Rosenblum. James Newton Howard composed the score. This film has been rated "R" by the MPAA for "strong violence and language" "Blood Diamond" opens nationwide on December 8, 2006, and will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. -- © Warner Bros. [More]

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, Stephen Collins

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, Stephen Collins, Jimi Mistry, Ato Essandoh, Michael Sheen, Basil Wallace, Kasigo Kuypers, Arnold Vosloo, Marius Weyers

Director: Edward Zwick

Director: Edward Zwick
Producer: Gillian Gorfil, Marshall Herskovitz, Graham King
Composer: James Newton Howard
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for Blood Diamond

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 >> >|
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Issue-tainment. Puts the issue of conflict diamonds in the public eye. Whether or not that makes it a great drama is a slightly different question.

Full Review Source: BBC Radio Five Live | comment Comment
01/29/07
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode
BBC Radio Five Live
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Zwick does a fine job in combining a broad range of elements and turning them into a compulsive and thought-provoking adventure and is aided by beautiful cinematography.

Full Review Source: Sunday Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
01/28/07
Mark Adams
Mark Adams
Sunday Mirror [UK]

The issues may be simply put, but the brilliant action sequences engage us viscerally.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
01/28/07
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

DiCaprio deserves his Oscar nomination for the breathtaking intensity of his performance.

Full Review Source: Independent on Sunday | comment Comment
01/28/07
Nicholas Barber
Nicholas Barber
Independent on Sunday

The best thing about it is the convincing acting by DiCaprio and Hounsou.

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (UK) | comment Comment
01/28/07
Cosmo Landesman
Cosmo Landesman
Sunday Times (UK)

A comparatively honest effort from Hollywood but one fatally weakened by the familiar scent of compromise in its final reels.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
01/26/07
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

This is the thinking man's thriller. You want in-depth background? Google it.

Full Review Source: thelondonpaper | comment Comment
01/26/07
Stuart McGurk
Stuart McGurk
thelondonpaper

Some will dismiss it as "typical Hollywood", yet that isn't always a bad thing. In so many movies, destruction and loss are dwelt upon because they are irreducible truths. But survival is a truth, too, and this film pays it often stirring witness.

Full Review Source: Independent | comment Comment
01/26/07
Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Independent

It’s DiCaprio’s Oscar-nominated turn that steals the show.

Full Review Source: Sun Online | comment Comment
01/26/07
Johnny Vaughan
Johnny Vaughan
Sun Online

While there’s some serious sag between the action scenes, this is a blockbuster with brains and the kind of film to make us all think twice on our next visit to the jeweller.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
01/26/07
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

In the ongoing conflict between Hollywood glamour and telling the truth about Africa, it's the former that wins.

Full Review Source: Daily Mail [UK] | comment Comment
01/26/07
Christopher Tookey
Christopher Tookey
Daily Mail [UK]

Gripping action and an excellent DiCaprio cannot disguise what is, essentially, an effective, if shallow, exposition of a hugely complex global issue.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
01/26/07
Jonathan Dean
Jonathan Dean
Total Film

The whole thing is more Gerald Ratner than Harry Winston.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
01/26/07
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

So bleak and depressing you will never look at a gemstone again without idly wondering how many lives it might have cost.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment 2 Comments
01/26/07
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Not robust enough to deliver on its early promise.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
01/26/07
James Mottram
James Mottram
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you can ignore Zwick's colonial bombast, Blood Diamond is quite a ride: a gripping tale of greed and exploitation set against a background that seems constantly on the verge of explosive violence.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/26/07
Paul Arendt
Paul Arendt
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Great performances, provocative ideas and gripping action scenes fall prey to Hollywood logic and pat storytelling in the final hour.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/25/07
Damon Wise
Damon Wise
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It doesn’t entirely evade the issue at its core – conflict diamonds – in favour of pure action by way of guns and planes, thrills and spills; but it hardly embraces the subject fully either.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/25/07
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Slightly too long and not quite as worthy as it thinks it is, this is still an entertaining, well acted thriller that manages to raise some important political issues in between the action sequences.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
01/25/07
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Great performances, provocative ideas and gripping action scenes fall prey to Hollywood logic and pat storytelling in the final hour.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/25/07
Damon Wise
Damon Wise
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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