| | | From the Director of Glory and The Last Samurai.
Features: DVD, Special Edition, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled
An ex-mercenary turned smuggler (Leonard DiCaprio). A Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou). Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across the alternately beautiful and ravaged countryside. Directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai), this urgent, intensely moving adventure shapes gripping human stories and heart-pounding action into a modern epic of profound impact.
"Spectacular, exciting, and stunningly well made." David Denby, The New Yorker
"Sensational performances!" Jeffrey Lyons, NBC's Reel Talk
"...Zwick's epic story has numerous virtues apart from suspense and spectacle." Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"A visually sumptuous, bullet-train-paced thriller with a really provocative theme." Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"DiCaprio is remarkable..." Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Editor's Note
Set in Sierra Leone, BLOOD DIAMOND explores the role of diamond trading in the African civil war of the late 1990s. Narrowly escaping death when his village is invaded by R.U.F. militia, farmer Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is enslaved at a diamond mine and has his family taken from him. When he discovers an unusually large stone he buries it, knowing it may be his only tool for retrieving his family. While Vandy is imprisoned, white African diamond smuggler Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) overhears an angry R.U.F. leader shouting at the farmer about the missing diamond, and he gets Vandy out of jail, then bribes him with the promise that he will help find Vandy's family in return for half the diamond's worth. Bonded by a common goal, the two men clash over drastically different values, but manage to stick together in pursuit of the prize. Also playing a part is fearless American journalist Maddie Bowen (Jennifer Connolly), whose flirtations with Archer and obsession with the truth land her in the middle of the bloody action. As the three embark on a dangerous journey filled with close calls, unlikely bonds form that threaten to change Archer's unfeeling ways. Meanwhile, a plotline following Vandy's beloved son shows us the horror being done to and by child soldiers at the hands of the so-called freedom-fighting rebel forces. Addressing his serious subject with passion and skill, director Edward Zwick (THE LAST SAMURAI) delivers impressive action sequences that feel horrifically real without seeming excessive. While some critics have taken stabs at the film for its Hollywood elements, no one can argue against BLOOD DIAMOND's noble intentions or its stellar performances. To most viewers, the film is likely to provide a disturbing and educational look at a world many know little about.
| Features | Audio Commentary With Director Edward Zwick | | Audio: English, French, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Documentary: Blood On The Stone - Follow The Path Of A Diamond From The Ground To The Store | | Dubbed: French, Spanish | | Featurettes: Becoming Archer - A Profile Of Leonardo DiCaprio & How He Trained For The War, Journalism On The Front Line - Jennifer Connelly On Women Journalists At War, & Inside The Siege Of Freetown - See How Ed Zwick Tackled The Pivotal Scene | | Interactive Menus | | Music Video: Shine On Em By Rap Artist Nas | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish |
| Entertainment Reviews
 | Blood Diamond - DVD By: Anne Gilbert - filmcritic.com DVD Reviews Published on: 3/9/2007 6:32 PM | |
Blood Diamond has too many politics to be an action movie, too little hanky panky to be a romantic drama, and too many chase scenes to be real social activism. It's action drama against the backdrop of political turmoil -- in this case, Sierra Leone in 1999 -- where it is tricky to come off as neither tritely do-gooder nor exploitative. In this case, the effort is surprisingly successful.
...read the full review |
| Blood Diamond (Two-Disc Special Edition) - DVD Review By: Rafe Telsch - Cinema Blend DVD Reviews Published on: 3/22/2007 1:36 AM | | It's become trendy to either lavish Oscar nominated films with instant praise or to instantly dislike them for their notable accomplishments. I've never understood either side, choosing to judge a picture on its own merit - not on its award potential. Understand then, my dislike of Blood Diamond has nothing to do with the five nominations the Academy bestowed upon the film. Instead my disinterest is spawned by the film's preachy nature and less than compelling tale of greed. ...read the full review |
| Blood Diamond - DVD Review By: Ray Ellis - Blogcritics.org Reviews Published on: 3/28/2007 4:14 AM | | he conflict diamond trade -- diamonds illegally traded to finance rebellions and terrorism -- has come under international scrutiny of late, due at least in some small measure to the movie Blood Diamond. Set in 1999 Sierra Leone during its brutal civil war, this 2006 film raised the mainstream public's awareness of the problem....read the full review |
| Technical Info
|
Release Information
| | Studio: Warner |
| Release Date: 9/30/2008 |
| Running Time: 143 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2006 | | Catalog ID: 115299 | | UPC: 00085391152996 | | Number of Discs: 2 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, Spanish Dubbed, French, Quebecois Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 2.40:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (2007) | | | Golden Globe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama | | | Image Award, Blood Diamond, Outstanding Motion Picture | | | Image Award, Djimon Hounsou, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | | | Oscar, Leonardo DiCaprio, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | | | Oscar, Djimon Hounsou, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | | | Oscar, Steven Rosenblum, Best Achievement in Editing | | | Oscar, Lon Bender, Best Achievement in Sound Editing | | | Oscar, Andy Nelson, et. al., Best Achievement in Sound Mixing | | | Screen Actors Guild, Leonardo DiCaprio, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role | | | Screen Actors Guild, Djimon Hounsou, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role |
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| | Professional Reviews | Premiere
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[With] astonishingly dark, whiplash-inducing action scenes....Caching its polemic within a tough-minded entertainment." 12/01/2006 p.43New York Times
"[DiCaprio] plays the smuggler as the scum he is....A character who has inspired the most fully sustained performance of his adult life." 12/08/2006 p.E1 Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "Crammed full of exhilarating set-pieces and panoramic photography, it also included the DiCaprio role most likely to snag Best Actor..." 02/01/2007 p.37 Sight and Sound
"It is clear that the film-makers have done an enormous amount of research on their subject.....Individual sequences -- such as the massacre that opens the movie -- are staged in bravura but chilling fashion." 02/01/2007 p.46-47 Box Office
"[DiCaprio] commands the heavy attention of a performer comfortable in his own actorly skin." 02/01/2007 p.72 Ultimate DVD
4 stars out of 5 -- "This is Hollywood thriller at its best but one that also delivers a powerful moral message about Western greed, capitalism and exploitation." 05/01/2007 p.104 ReelViews 8 of 10
To an extent, Blood Diamond is a victim of its own length. While the film includes a number of disturbing political and sociological insights, the adventure story is tepid and loses momentum as the storyline bogs down. The main character, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, has an effective arc that is believable because it does not force him to act contrary to his nature, but it takes a long time for Blood Diamond to get us to DiCaprio's moment of recognition. Pacing issues aside, this is a well constructed movie - clearly the product of a director who understands how to make a top-notch motion picture. It looks great and sounds great. If only Edward Zwick's mastery of the medium had extended to pruning the screenplay and editing the final result, Blood Diamond might have been a tremendous film rather than one worthy of only a lukewarm recommendation. - James Berardinelli
The Flick Filosopher 9 of 10
There are a lot of reasons to be enthralled by Blood Diamond, Edward Zwick's new action-drama-with-a-conscience: the deeply disturbing story he tells, for one, about how American consumer demand for diamonds and European colonialism drive and support horrifying civil strife in impoverished Africa is one that comparatively few people are aware of, and will be appalled to learn...probably the most stunning aspect of the film is Leonardo DiCaprio's performance as Archer...Much of the credit for Archer's force and integrity as a character -- even if as a man, his integrity is questionable -- is down to Dicaprio: this is his arrival as a genuinely grownup actor, even more so than his powerful performance in The Departed, earlier this year...you believe DiCaprio: he doesn't look like an actor having a lark playing a bad guy. He looks and sounds and feels like the real deal. - MaryAnn Johanson
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