Blood Diamond (Widescreen Edition)

This movie is an actual masterpiece. I've watched it around 10 times over the years, and it is one of those movies that does not ever decrease in greatness. From the acting, to the plot, to the direction and story line to the bone-chilling truth of what the movie showcases, it is just masterfully done. I love Leo in this movie and Djimon Hounsou's performance as Solomon Vandy is second to NONE and literally gives me the chills and goosebumps and watery eyes every single time. This movie is beyond great. Truly.

Blood diamonds: Diamond mined in war zones and sold to finance conflicts (Through the means of affording ammunition and etc)I avoided watching this movie in full for a long time. Unlike most people, I'm vaguely familiar with the concept of blood diamonds (and other conflict-related trades) and I tend to not enjoy war/political related films to begin with; they can be mundane (and not to mention, hard to follow) and they, to be quite honest, can sometimes feel like a waste of time. After viewing this in full however, I will say -this is a film worth watching regardless of your political affiliations or opinions.I am a fan of all things controversial, and this film is riddled with concepts and moments that are discomforting when not expected. The violence in this movie is non-stop (and is also mostly uncensored). The audience witnesses children being kidnapped and forcibly trained to use guns to kill targets at will. There are scenes where drug use is both explicit and alluded to - and, again, children young enough to be in grade school tend to be involved in this kind of activity. For some people this might be a deterrence, but if you're anything like me it's intriguing and ends up demanding the audience to stay engaged.Building on this last point, the violence in this movie is seemingly never-ending; at times it feels random, but its shown to be very systematic through the use of brief conversations and interactions the characters have with one-another. The best part about the use of violence in this film, however, is how often it is used to /interrupt/ scenes meant to be evoke a sense of peace and order. The violence feels as chaotic for the audience as it does for the characters in the film, and it pulls out a sense of empathy that would otherwise be based purely off of shock-value; nothing about this movie is comfortable to watch (and, it shouldn't be) and the feeling of dread of what might happen next is nothing short of ingenious.It goes without saying that the acting in this film was damn-near flawless. Djimon Hounsou won an at least 3 awards for best supporting actor for his role - and it was more than well deserved. The emotional range of his character is appropriate given the subject matter, and his performance is as powerful as it is convincing.DiCaprio's acting is as authentic as usual (paired with an accent that feels legitimate), and I would say this is one of his best performances of his entire career.My only criticism is this - by the end of the movie, I don't feel as an audience member any better at identifying diamonds that can potentially make me complicit in contributing to this system of violence and chaos. The film ends with a meeting in which the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was created to restrict the flow of conflict diamonds in the main market, but the film doesn't let the audience know that the success of this meeting is controversial. At the end of the day, it's still up to the buyer to ensure that any diamonds they may or may not purchase don't contribute to any of the actions seen in this film - and a little reminder of that would have sufficed. It doesn't take away from the overall message of this movie, but it would have taken this film just a few steps further in to the right (and morally correct) direction.A hard watch, but an important one.I would recommend!

This is one of those movies that will stay with me for some time to come. I note that it has been termed 'disturbingly violent' by some reviewers, but that isn't the reason this will stay with me. The mining of blood diamonds is based on forced labor in war-torn countries, primarily to finance insurgents, so I expected violence. What I didn't expect was for this movie to portray such a wide range of humanity--from international greed through what happens to people living in a war zone, to the simple love of family and a desire to restore that family. The story within this movie is moving, tender, violent and powerful.

I truly believe this is one of Leonardo DiCaprio's best performances. His depiction of a south Africian white man is flawless. The accent is spot on and his emotion is heart wrenching. This is a sober movie with great humane overtones. It will open your eyes to greed and violence in the blood diamond business. Great performances all around and of course, the very best in production value. A great classic in my opinion.

One of the best movies of the decade. Piercing story, brilliantly performed, tied together perfectly with a brilliant score. This film brought a small taste of the Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" back to me through a 21st century lense. You can also watch this movies with different lenses, maybe you like action, redemption, a certainly unconventional love story that perhaps will make you elevate the idea of love despite circumstance. I could go on for pages. Well worth a viewing.

I saw this movie in the theater when it first came out. DiCaprio should have won his Oscar for this role rather than The Revenant. This movie is so fast-moving, wrenching and informative all at the same time. Great acting by the entire cast, and entertaining while still being haunting and making you really think about the greed and exploitation that surrounds a somewhat vain and manipulated conviction that diamonds are a girl's best friend.

When I originally saw this movie in a theater in its initial release, I commented to my wife that we were watching 2 Academy Award performances by Leo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou. The performances by these 2 actors are outstanding and I still feel they were robbed of the awards. Jennifer Connelly also performed flawlessly. I highly recommend this movie. It is well worth your time.

I got this because I had read reviews saying it was like Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Conrad's book is layered with metaphor and atmosphere; you have to study it to find it's deeper meanings. This movie is more like a sledgehammer. No fault of the movie, that's what modern viewers want. The story is compelling and the acting is excellent. Djimon Hounsou earned his academy nomination, DiCaprio nails the South African accent, and Jennifer Connelly is believable and ravishing at the same time. The depiction of the forced recruitment of child soldiers is probably the best ever captured on screen.

日本を始めとする先進国の消費者は心して観るべき映画。世界は宝石類や貴金属、象牙等の稀少な天然嗜好品を搾取が容易なアフリカ等からの輸入に頼っているが、本作は紛争ダイヤモンドの違法採掘と密輸の内幕を描いた社会派傑作。ストーリーは殆どシリアス=ノンフィクションで、主要シーンは凄惨な内戦場面が占めるが、本作は単なる問題告発映画ではない。南ア国籍の元傭兵でダイヤ･兵器密売人をレオナルド･ディカプリオ、家族との再会を誓うダイヤ採掘奴隷をジェイモン･フンスー、この問題を追う最前線ジャーナリストをジェニファー･コネリーが演じ、この三人のヒューマン･ドラマがかなり濃厚で、長めの2時間24分がアッという間だ。アフリカ中西部に位置する元英国領シエラレオネ。反政府の改革統一戦線（RUF）の非道な内戦資金を影で支えたのが紛争ダイヤだ。本作は紛争ダイヤの国際的禁輸を義務付けるキンバリー･プロセスが制定された背景を語るフィクションだ。本作では無慈悲な大量殺戮と奴隷強制労働、誘拐児童を少年兵に仕立てるマインドコントロール、ダイヤ密輸の実態、民間軍事会社の専横やダイヤ･カルテルの傲慢、危険地帯のジャーナリズム等が全編に亘って極めてリアルに描かれる。特に冒頭にかなり残酷なシーンがあるが我慢して観続けて欲しい。劇中のヴァン･デ･カープ社は、ダイヤ市場で有名なデ･○アス社を模しており、ダイヤ=ローンダリングとも言える紛争ダイヤ流通や需給操作が生々しい。赤い血が染み込んだアフリカの赤い土。それを映したピンク･ダイヤモンドを巡る男達の駆け引きと、バラバラにされた家族を追う男の執念、ジャーナリストの使命感に触れて少しずつ変わっていく主人公アーチャー。彼自身が少年兵らと同じ存在だと悟ってからのディカプリオの演技は、彼の新境地とも言える圧巻さ。残念ながらオスカーには届かなかったが格調高いベストな演技だった。三人以外も黒人エキストラ全員の演技が迫真モノで、他に｢ハムナプトラ｣のイムホテップ役アーノルド･ヴォスルーや、｢パッセンジャー｣のアンドロイドバーテン役マイケル･シーン等の変わり種が起用され、なかなか味がある。エンドロール前に流れる「キンバリー･プロセスを無視する密輸の横行、阻止できるのは消費者だけ」が本作が視聴者に放ったメッセージだ。透明なダイヤが再びピンクに染まらない行動を我々先進国の消費者が取れるかが試されていて、なかなか耳に痛い。Blu-rayはシエラレオネの内戦やダイヤ流通知識、出演者コメントやメイキング等が満載で、かなり社会勉強になるお奨め仕様です。

Enjoyed this Movie about Diamond Smuggling in Sierra Leone. It shows desperate people in severe poverty taking chances and others Smuggling , exploiting the diamond trade for arms and greed.Received this DVD promptly. Absolutely recommend this movieVery happy with the seller received DVD promptly. Thank you

Perfect item, as described. Quick service, excellent seller.

Good movie

My 13 year old daughter was asking about the diamond trade for a project at school - I showed her this film which is very entertaining but she had an insight to the slavery of black people also. Is good