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10 Times Steven Spielberg Went Really F***ing Dark

What do you imagine when you think of Steven Spielberg? Do you think benevolent bearded uncle of family entertainment, the man behind such popular fare as ET, Jurassic Park, the Indiana Jones movies and, oh yes, Hook? Or do you think dark lord of Hollywood cinema, responsible for some of the most traumatic moments in recent cinema history?

2) Amistad

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amistad

Amistad is something of a forgotten Spielberg movie, mostly because it isn’t all that great. In spite of the blood-boiling subject – slavery, and the treatment of slaves by the American justice system – Spielberg appears oddly detached for much of Amistad, which spends most of its time in stifling court rooms.

The flashback scenes set on the slave ship, however, are undeniably disturbing, reaching their nadir in the moment that some of the slaves are chained together and thrown overboard, still alive, kicking down into the deep.

The real horror is in understanding the slaves are nothing but cargo to their captors, who look on dispassionately as they would at some particularly heavy barrels they might be tossing to drop weight.