| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | AMAZING GRACE (2006) |
| Director | Michael Apted |
| Writer | Steven Knight |
| Lead Actor | Ioan Gruffudd |
| Cast | Ioan Gruffudd, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon |
| Genre | Biography, Drama, History, Romance |
| Release Date | February 23, 2007 (United States) |
| Duration | 1h 58m (118 min) |
| Budget | $29 million |
| Language | English |
| IMDB Rating | 7.4/10 |
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AMAZING GRACE is the moving account of William Wilberforce’s 20-year campaign to achieve the abolition of slavery. As a young boy, Wilberforce met the Rev. John Newton (Albert Finney), a former slave ship captain who had a spiritual conversion: He quit slaving and became a clergyman. Newton wrote “Amazing Grace,” one of the most beloved Christian hymns.
Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd, Fantastic Four) is a carefree student at Cambridge, but he shows social awareness. In his 20s, he is elected to British Parliament.
In 1807, after Parliament votes to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire, Lord Tarleton (Ciarán Hinds, The Nativity Story) proffers the words noblesse oblige (a person of prestige has social responsibility to those less fortunate) to Wilberforce, who becomes convinced that slavery is evil.
The Slave Abolition Act was passed in August 1833, a month after Wilberforce’s death. It decreed that slaves in the Empire would go free in four years and the Crown would reimburse owners for their “property.”
Amazing Grace was produced by Bristol Bay, owned by Christian businessman Phillip Anschutz. (Bristol Bay also made the award winning film Ray.) Producers include a team of committed believers with impressive résumés Ken Wales (Christy), Terrence Malick (The New World), Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond) and her husband, David Hunt. Michael Apted (Nell) directed. The performances are solid, the cinematography is beautiful and David Arnold’s score is moving and memorable.
Viewers might want to follow this film by reading Amazing Grace William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, a new book by Eric Metaxas.
This year is the 200th anniversary of the British vote to abolish slavery, yet human trafficking (the transportation of persons using violence, deception or coercion for sex or economic profit) continues today on a global scale. Every time we hear or sing “Amazing Grace,” we need to be reminded of our human and Christian response and noblesse oblige. This great historical drama will be relevant as long as any person is held in bondage.
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