Watch Amazing Grace For Free

Redundant and unnecessary.

One of my all time favorites.

It is a performances centric movie

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I loved this movie! I am so thankful for people like William Wilberforce who see wrongs in society and do whatever it takes to right them. Talking points - How did William Wilberforce help change our world for the better? If you knew you could succeed what causes would you embrace and champion? What can you do to fight for a cause you believe in this year?Warning - Unfortunately there are some very low-cut dresses in this film. It's not a big part of the film, but it is there. If this movie just didn't have that I would have rated it a 10.

Amazing Grace (2006): Dir: Michael Apted / Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Rufus Sewell, Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Benedict Cumberbatch: Overwhelming and beautiful portrayal of God's grace upon those burdened with difficulties. In this case the subject at hand is slavery and the struggle for one political individual with a conscience to break the slave trade. Set in the 1800's Ioan Gruffudd heads the fight against slave trade but discovers quickly that the battle isn't an easy one although he has his supporters as well as his oppressors. Director Michael Apted is backed by tremendous production and costume design that convincingly portray the time period. Apted is the appropriate director for this project having made Coal Miner's Daughter and Gorillas in the Mist. This ranks as one of his greatest achievements backed with a production that backs the periods. Gruffudd does an outstanding job as one man attempting to influence many against hardship. In supporting roles are Rufus Sewell as a clergymen who approaching Gruffudd regarding the issue. Plus strong veteran performances by Albert Finney and Michael Gambon whom also sense that this issue will be a dire journey to complete as well. Tremendous production highlights the appeal and underscores the core message, which regards freedom and the ability to sense God's grace at hand. Score: 10 / 10

The idealist William Wilberforce (finely played by Ioan Grufudd) along with Rhomas Clarkson (Rufus Sewell) and a group of anti-slave trade maneuver his way through Parliament, endeavoring to end the British transatlantic trade that would lead to a great victory . Wilberforce helped by his lifelong friend and future P. M . William Pitt (Benedict Cumberbatch) will fight to get their purports for social justice . Wilberforce encounters the inspiration in newfound love interest (Romola Garai) to rejuvenate the battle with new ideas . After many attempts to bring legislation forward over twenty years, he is eventually gets a bill being passed through Parliament in 1807, in which abolishes the slavery the British empire forever.This is a bicentennial tribute to William Wilberforce and his parliamentary bill abolishing the slave trade . Thought-provoking and moving film dealing with interesting issues , including fidelity to historical accuracy and detailed moral battles . Ioan Gruffudd is good as obstinate , romantic parliamentary member who battles relentlessly injustices ; he does a dignified portrayal about a great man . The prestigious cast shows their awareness of the contemporary impact about the brooding themes and are allowed to step out of period detail . Special mention to Benedict Cumberbatch as his lifelong friend Prime Minister William Pitt and N' Dour realizing an enjoyable portrait of an ex-slave . All of them are quietly upstaged by Albert Finney as a repent , remorse ex-slaver . The motion picture was marvelously directed by Michael Apted , he's director, producer of several successes such as ¨The word is not enough¨, ¨Gorillas in the mist¨ , ¨Class action¨, ¨Nell¨, ¨Enigma¨ , ¨Chronicles of Narnia II : The voyage of Dawn Treader¨ among others . Rating : Above average and worthwhile seeing , the whole family will enjoy this film .It's a very likable biography and enormously appealing for students and scholars . Overall this is a really nice movie . If you are familiar with the history then you will like this splendid film .This is a biopic well based on historical events , adding more details over the largely described in the movie are the following : William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire (1784–1812). In 1785, he underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian, resulting in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform. In 1787, he came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of anti-slave-trade activists, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Charles Middleton. They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition, and he soon became one of the leading English abolitionists. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for twenty-six years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. Wilberforce was convinced of the importance of religion, morality and education. He championed causes and campaigns such as the Society for Suppression of Vice, British missionary work in India, the creation of a free colony in Sierra Leone, the foundation of the Church Mission Society, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. His underlying conservatism led him to support politically and socially repressive legislation, and resulted in criticism that he was ignoring injustices at home while campaigning for the enslaved abroad.In later years, Wilberforce supported the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery, and continued his involvement after 1826, when he resigned from Parliament because of his failing health. That campaign led to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire; Wilberforce died just three days after hearing that the passage of the Act through Parliament was assured. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to his friend William Pitt.

There's an art to cooking fresh tuna, it should be very lightly seasoned and seared, too much seasoning you ruin the taste, too long on the grill you kill the fish. Making a film about the abolition of slavery is very much the same, you need a light hand or from the outset it can very easily fall into a pit of despair and political correctness. Amazing Grace then, seems to be seasoned just right as rather than focus on the atrocities of the slave trade it concentrates on the battle the abolition movement faced in parliament.Set in the late 17 hundreds, this is the true story of the abolition movement. It chronicles the life of William Wilberforce, a dashing young politician from the North of England driven by a spiritual awakening influenced by John Newton ( writer of the hymn Amazing Grace) and a sense of moral duty to bring forth the end of slavery.It's a fairly historically accurate film, the sets are truly amazing, especially the historic dock scenes, and costume design is wonderful. There are however a number of points where I felt the film fell short. It's true William Wilberforce fought tirelessly to get his anti slavery bill passed and it did almost kill him, Wilberforce has always been the name most rewarded with ending slavery, but I do not feel enough was made of the role played by Thomas Clarkson. To truly understand Clarkson's efforts one first needs to view this age through different eyes, it's hard for us living in a world of Google, iPhones and 24 hour CNN to imagine a world without radio or television, a world where 90% of the population could neither read nor write or a place where newspapers and books were in short supply. This is indeed how the world was at the end of the 18th century. So whilst we can sit back in judgment of those we perceive allowed slavery to continue, the reality is that very few people even knew about it. The slavers, plantation owners and sugar barons controlled the media, putting out propaganda, suggesting that slavery conditions were indeed better than those many people in Britain faced themselves. There were of course those who knew otherwise but they were an elite few and for the most part kept quiet whilst making money. It took Thomas Clarkson's efforts of traveling the length and breadth of England non stop, to every town and village with his exhibition showing the people of Britain the real conditions of slave ships and the cruelty of life on plantations. To understand the politics of the time we must think about the current Iraq war and the special interests. Just as today a majority of the people are against the Iraq war, troops are there because of special interests, the government contractors and military suppliers making money from war, the oil industry controlling the media and despite us living in a world of information technology there is still a massive amount of people who have no idea what's really going on. The slave trade was no different, it was allowed to continue by parliament because the traders, tobacco growers and sugar barons were able to bribe parliament for such a long time, so whilst the guilt falls on that small group of profiteers involved we can at least forgive the people as they did not have TV or google and knew nothing of it. So it really was Clarkson's efforts down in the street in the trenches informing the people as much as it was Wilberforce's efforts in the chambers that brought about the abolition for once there was public change and public opinion against slavery Parliament had to follow. I did not feel this film went far enough to convey that, Clarkson it seemed was just an auxiliary character.The second point, whilst seemingly trivial, is that some mention was made of the American war of Independence, it was however omitted that a major part of the American intent to separate from Britain was due to the fear in the colony of abolition. The American's themselves wanted to break free of debt to the crown by creating their own monetary system and take control of the cotton, tobacco and hemp industries which depended on slavery to be economical. Franklin, a spy for the French and Coloialists attended a masonic lodge in Scotland was very aware that the abolition movement was a growing force. To secure an economical future America needed to be independent from the crown before Britain abolished slavery or their economy would be destroyed. Other than one line in the film where William Pitt mentions the letters between Wilberforce and Jefferson there was no real mention of this, perhaps then not wanting to offend American viewers the writer Steven Knight chose a 'politically inoffensive version' of events rewriting history as Hollywood often does, rather than an historically accurate one.Those annoyances aside it is a pretty good film. It's less heavy handed than Amistad for example and there's some generally good acting. Nothing outstanding but I did like Michael Gambon as Lord Fox and Toby Jones as the Duke of Clarence. Costume and make up is superb and it has its cinematographic touches. There were some deeply touching moments as you would expect from a film on this subject but the style of direction from Micael Apted deals mostly with the facts making this more palatable than say Schindler's List for example.8/10