FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Blood Diamond [DVD] [2006]

Blood Diamond [DVD] [2006]
enlarge	Director: Edward Zwick Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio Studio: Warner Home Video Category: DVD List Price: ~~£18.99~~ Buy Used: £1.20 as of 22/11/2009 23:13 GMT details You Save: £17.79 (94%) New (37) Used (63) from £1.20 Seller: london entertainment Rating: 103 reviews Sales Rank: 1212 Format: Subtitled, PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 138 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 7321902117621 ASIN: B000MQC92Y Theatrical Release Date: 2006 Release Date: June 18, 2007 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review Leonardo DiCaprio puts a handsome face on an ugly industry: In parts of Africa, diamond mining fuels civil warfare, killing thousands of innocents and drafting preteen children as vicious soldiers. DiCaprio (IThe Departed/I) plays Danny Archer, a white African soldier-turned-diamond-smuggler who gets wind of a large raw jewel found by Solomon Vandy, a native fisherman (Djimon Hounsou, IIn America/I) recently escaped from enslavement by a brutal rebel leader. Archer offers a deal: He'll help Vandy find his war-scattered family if Vandy will share the diamond with him. Drawn into this web of exploitation is journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly, ILittle Children/I), who agrees to help if Archer will tell her the details of how conflict diamonds make their way into the hands of the corporations who sell them to the Western world. DiCaprio is compelling because he never flinches from Archer's utter ruthlessness; Archer ends up doing the morally justifiable thing, but only because his desperate greed has led him to it. Hounsou and Connelly, though saddled with all the moral and political speeches, rise above the cant and keep the movie's treacherously formulaic plot rooted in human characters. But in the end, the story won't stick with you as much as the dead stillness in the child soldiers' eyes; the horror of African civil strife refuses to be contained by IBlood Diamond/I's uplifting message--and the movie is all the more potent as a result. I--Bret Fetzer/I

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 103 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...21 Next » Leo DiCaprio finds his niche April 17, 2007 O. Doyle (Ireland) 29 out of 35 found this review helpful I've never been a big Leo DiCaprio fan but was interested to see what the hoopla was about Blood Diamond and I have to say that I was not disappointed either in the storyline or the casting. br / br /The story plots the true price of the search for diamonds in Sierra Leone and how the suits of Europe hide the true depths of diamond mining and smuggling and how the diamonds help finance and encourage civil wars throughout Africa. This is a film though that, while concerned with the political situation in Africa, focuses more on how the obsessive search for a large, rare pink diamond consumes those who get too close to it. br / br /In Blood Diamond Leo DiCaprio has finally found a part that was made just for him. His portrayal of the opportunistic diamond smuggler Danny Archer was a cut above any other performance I've ever seen him do and may finally push the audience to stop seeing him as the floppy-haired hero of Titanic fame. He certainly won me over. br / br /Djimon Hounsou is nothing short of incredible and the chemistry between him and Leo was evident throughout. Hounsou was able to make the audience feel the whole range of emotions his character experiences ranging from pride and hope to fear, outrage, resignation, mistrust, desperation, and determination. br / br /Jennifer Connelly did as good a job as possible in her role as "the idealistic journalist who wants to make a difference." I thought she and Leo worked wonderfully together and along with Djimon Hounsou they make an engaging trio you can't help rooting for. br / br /All in all a wonderfully engaging film that shows the brutality behind the diamond trade for all to see. br / Another Oscar I think January 10, 2008 wolfenstein 8 out of 9 found this review helpful Leonardo DiCaprio has become one of the premiere American actors. With a set of natural instincts that lends a non-showy, believable quality to all of his performances, versatility, and movie star size charisma that fills up the screen and emotionally hooks the viewer into his character and story, it is hard to think of another male American actor (with the exception of Johnny Depp) who is consistently giving an audience its money worth; these two gentleman have taken the reins from Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, as those two Oscar-winning future legends of the silver screen gracefully age into more mature roles. br / br /In Blood Diamond, it is Mr. DiCaprio's performance that raises this film above it's standard Hollywood fare of a script (although it is a solid script) into something memorable. His performance here as an opportunistic diamond smuggler equals that of the one he gave earlier in the fall as "Billy Costigan" in The Departed, although the two characters couldn't be more different from each other. It may be his best performance yet, and in terms of sheer charisma and memorability it certainly rivals his mega-star making performance as "Jack Dawson" in Titanic. br / br /I liked Blood Diamond a great deal, but do not think it is a great film. A good movie? Yes. Very mainstream and formulaic, but it is raised up quite a bit by DiCaprio's character and his terrific realization of it. If I had read this script beforehand, I never would have thought of Leo for this role- possibly George Clooney or some other star known for "roguish charm," but not Leo. But now, having seen it, I can't imagine anybody else as "Danny Archer;" it is a fully realized, winning performance. br / br /Mr. Hounsou was wonderful as well, and I liked the chemistry between the two men in their scenes together. He was able to make the audience feel the gamut of emotions his character experiences during the course of the movie- pride and hope, fear, outrage, resignation, mistrust, desperation, and determination, and beautifully rises above the somewhat limiting way his role was written. br / br /I thought Ms. Connelly did as good a job as possible in her role as "the idealistic journalist who wants to make a difference." Her part was just a larger version of Joaquin Phoenix's in Hotel Rwanda. As always, I find she brings a certain dignity and intelligence to her performances and does not allow her incredible beauty to overshadow her acting. I thought she and Leo worked wonderfully together, as well, and along with Mr. Hounsou they make an engaging trio you can't help rooting for. br / br /In comparing it to other recent films about Africa, I didn't think this was quite as good as as Hotel Rwanda, but better than The Interpreter, The Constant Gardener, and The Last King of Scotland. I felt an emotional engagement with the characters I didn't experience in the latter three films. I found the script allowed my care for the characters to grow as the story progressed, and was not overly manipulative. At times it veered too much into standard action movie territory, with much violence and many "close calls" but would then be brought back into the realm of compelling human drama by a wonderfully acted, intimate scene. br / br /After reading some early negative comments, I was pleasantly surprised at my response to it. Compelling characters and the skillful use of a truly gripping global issue as the plot line make this a satisfying viewing experience- one that I would happily see again. br / br / A powerful tale of Africa February 4, 2007 O. Parker (Bristol, UK) 7 out of 8 found this review helpful Blood Diamond is a powerful tale of civil war driven by consumerism and the diamond trade. Edward Zwick brings his masterful direction to bear on his most arresting subject to date and produces his best work. Leonard DiCaprio provides a mesmerising anti-hero with his charming, selfish and desperate Danny Archer. Djimon Hounsou grounds the picture and provided me with a moral anchor throughout the chaos depicted. Jennifer Connelly is great as Archer's journalist foil and their romance is palatable. Bowen's motivation also treads on grey areas deepening the character. Like other recent cinematic tales of Africa this was shocking stuff and made me feel guilty and uncomfortable. The scenes of the RUF training child soldiers epitomised this aspect of the film. It was also thrilling cinema with compelling characters and left me both entertained and challenged. Entertaining, shocking and sure to get you thinking October 27, 2007 Mr. Patrick A. Harrington (Edinburgh) 7 out of 8 found this review helpful This is a moving and powerful film. It is set in the war-torn Sierra Leone of the 1990s. Here diamonds were a way of financing the purchase of arms by the rebels in a vicious civil war. From the start this brutality is not concealed or avoided. We see a tranquil seaside village suddenly invaded by RUF rebels (see note after review). They hack off the hands of many in order to frighten people from voting. Others are simply killed or press-ganged to work for them in the diamond mines or as child soldiers. Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is separated from his family and taken to work in the diamond fields. His son Dia (Kagiso Kuypers) is taken as a child soldier. br / br /The engine of the action is Solomon's attempts to free and reunite his family. He finds and hides a pink diamond of great value and hides it and this provides both a danger and an opportunity. The diamond could help him to rescue his wife and daughter from a life in refugee camps and his son from brutalisation and perhaps death. Or he could be killed in pursuit of it or by others wanting it for themselves. br / br /Enter Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a jaded, cynical Rhodesian and former South African mercenary. He wants the life that the diamond could give him. He helps Solomon reluctantly in return for being led closer to the diamond. Director Edward Zwick says: "To me this movie is about what is valuable. To one person it might be a stone; to someone else a story in a magazine; to another, it is a child. The juxtaposition of one man obsessed with finding a valuable diamond with another man risking his life to find his son is the beating heart of this film." br / br /The character of Archer is not one-dimensional - as the film progresses we see that his attitude to Africa and Africans is complex. We also learn a little about his childhood and upbringing and perhaps understand more of why he is as he is. br / br /Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly) accompanies and helps the two-men on parts of their journey. She is in a privileged position as an American journalist. She wants to use Archer to expose the truth behind conflict diamonds. br / br /The film works as a straight action story but it is more than that. There are some heavy political issues being raised. The World Diamond Council (backed by De Beers) is so worried that they are spending £7.5m to counter the inevitable negative public impression the film creates. De Beers also sponsored the head of Def Jam Records (and jewelry manufacturer), Russell Simmons, to tour well run sites in Africa. The industry is also offering to pay money to charity for every Star who will wear diamonds at the Oscar ceremony. br / br /This reaction is curious. The film ends on a positive note (perhaps unrealistically) with the creation of the Kimberley Process. This actually exists and is meant to ensure that conflict diamonds are no longer offered for sale in affluent countries. It was signed by 40 diamond producing nations in 2003. Yet there is strong evidence to suggest that it is being actively circumvented. At the International Press Conference held in London the stars and makers of Blood Diamond took the view that consumers had a responsibility to check that purchases were not conflict diamonds. Leonardo DiCaprio said:- "You can ask for some authentication that it isn't a conflict diamond. Buyers should just use their judgement and ask the right questions."Of course they are right but even if every consumer asks questions there is no guarantee that they will not be misled. Still we reproduce below some questions you might like to ask. br / br /Blood Diamond also raises questions about the exploitation of natural resources and the relationship between affluent and developing countries. The Director, Edward Zwick, pointed out that wherever natural resources have been discovered (oil, rubber, ivory etc.) local people have generally far from benefited. There is one scene in the film when an old man surrounded by dead bodies and burning homes says 'Thank God we don't have oil'. br / br /Blood Diamond is a film that will entertain you, sometimes shock you and certainly get you thinking and talking about important issues. It's refreshing that a major studio (Warner Bros) backed this film and that Edward Zwick, Paula Weinstein and the others delivered. Go see it and tell your friends! br / DiCaprio really can act November 24, 2007 J. C. Butler (teesside uk) 3 out of 3 found this review helpful It seems to me that Leo is contrary to my feeling after Titanic one of those stars who can really act and actually bring menace to his role. When this film arrived in its rental envelope I'd forgotten I'd ordered it and what it was about. A very pleasant surprise and a film I would heartily recommend. Showing reviews 1-5 of 103 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...21 Next »

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