Amazing Grace

"Behind the song you love is a story you will never forget."

2007 1h 57m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 333

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The true story of William Wilberforce and his courageous quest to end the British slave trade. Along the way, Wilberforce meets intense opposition, but his minister urges him to see the cause through.

“Behind the song you love is a story you will never forget.”

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Where to watch · US

Angel StudiosSubscription

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd
William Wilberforce
Romola Garai
Barbara Spooner
Benedict Cumberbatch
William Pitt
Albert Finney
John Newton
Michael Gambon
Lord Charles Fox
Rufus Sewell
Thomas Clarkson
Youssou N'Dour
Olaudah Equiano
Ciarán Hinds
Lord Tarleton

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Apted
Writers: Steven Knight
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 19 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Apted, shot by Remi Adefarasin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by David Arnold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Rick Shaine shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ioan Gruffudd and Romola Garai and Benedict Cumberbatch carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Behind the song you love is a story you will never forget.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0454776 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Apted directs. Remi Adefarasin behind the camera. David Arnold scores. Rick Shaine cuts. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 19 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
3Directed by Michael Apted, shot by Remi Adefarasin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by David Arnold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Rick Shaine shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ioan Gruffudd and Romola Garai and Benedict Cumberbatch carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Behind the song you love is a story you will never forget.".
8IMDB entry: tt0454776 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 12 themes, including "slavery", "based on true story", "hymn", "british history".

The technical file

Cinematography: Remi Adefarasin
Original score: David Arnold
Editing: Rick Shaine
Production design: Charles Wood
Costume design: Jenny Beavan
Makeup / hair: Jenny Shircore
Stunt coordinator: Franklin Mark Henson
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Status: Released
Box office: $32,120,360
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Amazing Grace (2007)

Also by

Michael Apted

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2014-10-21
★ 7/10
The cut is a little bit tangled making hard to follow every hop in time. Otherwise, script and photography are good and the cast does a good job.
CinemaSerf2023-01-07
★ 6/10
Aside from a few charismatic scenes from Sir Michael Gambon as the sagely if rather devious Foreign Secretary Lord Edward Fox, the rest of this really struggles to elevate itself from the doldrums of it's rather dreary cast. It possibly doesn't help that much of the drama is set in a wet and gloomy 19th century England but Ioan Gruffudd as the pioneering abolitionist William Wilberforce comes across as weedy and lacklustre. The same can be said for Benedict Cumberbatch's Prime Minister William Pitt and for the most part this felt like a chronological history lesson instead of a drama that enthused me with the controversial issues of a debate that took all but a decade to reach a meaningful parliamentary vote. There is little of substance to what debate there was and whilst the film makes no bones about the position it takes, it does not flesh out the arguments out using rigorous discussion or characterisation to help illustrate just why it all took so long; just why the populace were indifferent to these atrocities. I found that this just overly relied on our own repugnance for the subject matter to bother developing the themes interestingly and provocatively - and I found myself struggling with it as it neared the two hour mark. A serious biopic of this visionary and dedicated man and of his friends and of his opponents would certainly make for compelling viewing - sadly, though, this isn't that!