Helping to maneuver audiences through these two stories are Solomon Vandy (played by Djimon Hounsou) — a Mende fisherman forced by African rebels to work the diamond fields — and Danny Archer (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) — an ex-mercenary-turned-diamond smuggler. Solomon finds the titular gem and hides it away, hoping to use its potential wealth to reunite with his family. Danny discovers this secret and wants in on the diamond's sale. But when Solomon's son is kidnapped and taken in by rebels as a child soldier, the two men become reluctant partners — in exchange for 50-percent of the diamond, Danny grudgingly agrees to help rescue the boy.
Throw Maddy Bowen (played by Jennifer Connelly) — an American journalist with political pull who's in Sierra Leone to uncover the truth behind conflict diamonds — into the mix and you have a gripping, action-packed story that's sure to inform and inspire.
Upon screening Blood Diamond, this reviewer was struck with two harsh realities: the first having to do with his understanding of conflict diamonds, or lack thereof. Most people have some sort of passing knowledge as to what a conflict diamond is — the name alone speaks volumes. But perhaps what's not so well known is how deep this illegal trade (stones smuggled out of countries at war, the proceeds of which are used to pay for more weapons) reaches into the lives of everyday people. The average villager in 1990s Sierra Leone lived in constant fear that he/she would be killed or turned into a slave, all to help spread the diamond trade. The average child of 1990s Sierra Leone lived with the thought that he/she could, in the blink of an eye, lose his/her innocence, forced to fight alongside the guerillas as a child soldier.
The average consumer of the so-called "First World" nations to this day lives in complete denial that the diamond he/she is buying could in fact be helping to continue this vicious cycle. Trust me: This film will generate a number of post-viewing conversations and will definitely make you think twice before forking down hundreds of dollars at Zale's this holiday season.
Also of significance is the performance turned in by DiCaprio. Never really a fan of the actor's previous work (some great films, mind you, but I could never get past his "pretty boy" image), his total immersion into the role of an African (originally from Zimbabwe) mercenary was quite amazing. Mastery of just one of those components is challenging enough, but the actor manages to nail the speech and demeanor of a white African, while also pulling off the action that comes with being an ex-solider of fortune. Though not quite his cup of cinematic tea, he could easily make the transition from this film into something along the lines of a Bourne Identity.
While good in their own right, Hounsou and Connelly have seen better projects. Most memorable of Hounsou's work is the fact that he is completely believable as an uneducated fisherman struggling to save his family. Perhaps that in and of itself is the sign of a great performance. Connelly also puts forth an authentic portrayal as a female journalist who's traveled the war-torn reaches of the world in an effort to expose the truth. Always the bright spot of any project she's a part of, the actress fades into the background of this feature — perhaps allowing the story to shine in her place.
Boiled down to its essence, Blood Diamond is an absorbing, action-packed film with a powerful message — one sure to entertain as it educates, and one that will elevate DiCaprio into a new category of leading man.
(Movie review by Eric Moro.)
Score: 8 out of 10
The Video
Conspiratorially-minded DVD aficionados have been musing lately whether studios have been slacking off on mastering quality of standard DVD titles in order to make HD-DVD/Blu-ray offerings look even better in comparison and from the beginning Blood Diamond provides fuel for these theories because the first 20 minutes of the 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer are simply atrocious.
With horrendous, watery compression artifacts; edge-enhancement halos; blurry text and landscapes that shimmer and pulse garishly, it appears that as a tribute to the film being set in 1999 they mastered the disc to look as if it was manufactured in 1999 when well-encoded discs were less prevalent. If I hadn't opened the sealed retail package myself I would've thought I was watching one of the watermarked screener copies some studios send to prevent copies from being freely made.
After this inauspicious start, things get much better - about the time they get out of jail - but never get much better than pretty good. Color fidelity is good within the context of the color-timed palette which plays with the saturation and contrast in accordance with mood of the scene. Fine and overall details are adequate, thanks to the aggressive enhancement, but overdone filtering is frequently evident. Black levels and shadow tone could've stood some improvement. While the overall quality is tolerable, once past the first reels, the inconsistency and overwhelming flaws early on hold the score down.
Score: 5 out of 10
Languages and Audio
Audio choices are English, French and Spanish Dolby 5.1 Surround with matching subtitles. Unlike the visuals, the audio presentation is much more impressive. As is typical, the talk-dominated scenes are more front-loaded, but once the lead and rocket propelled grenades start to fly and stuff gets blown up real good, the surround channels get into the act.
Gunshots crack in front of you and impact behind you with excellent positional accuracy as the chaos envelopes the listener. Some more LFE-channel oomph would've been nice, but tones are sufficiently meaty. Dialogue, score and effects are properly balanced and overall dynamic levels are even, preventing the dreaded "turn me up, turn me down" volume knob scrambling that can occur at times. No distortion was noted.
Score: 9 out of 10
Packaging and Extras
The discs come in the standard keep case with the second disc on a hinged flap. A cardboard sleeve with matching artwork surrounds the case, but thanks to some nice spot varnish in the printing, it looks better than the usual redundant sleeves. There is no insert. Extras include:
- Feature commentary with director Edward Zwick
- Blood on the Stone documentary (50:16)
- Becoming Archer featurette (8:33)
- Journalism on the Front Line featurette (5:15)
- Inside the Siege of Freetown featurette (10:33)
- Nas "Shine on 'Em" video (2:48)
- Theatrical trailer
For purchasers of the single-disc version, the only extra (other than the trailer) is Zwick's commentary and it's a good one. In a low-key, matter-of-fact tone, he is a font of interesting filmmaking information as he points out the invisible computer enhancements and set construction techniques to replicate Sierra Leone's landscape in Mozambique and South Africa. (Sierra Leone is simply too war-ravaged and lacking in infrastructure to facilitate large-scale film production.) Seldom lapsing into dull fawning for his stars, he discusses the strengths of their performances; especially Hounsou's considering English is his third language. One fun side note is that whenever he wanted to give direction to him that kept DiCaprio in the dark, they would speak in French along with the cinematographer and others in the crew, much to DiCaprio's torment.
Jumping to the second disc, the centerpiece is Blood on the Stone, an excellent look at whether the Kimberly Process - the means of allegedly preventing conflict diamonds from getting into the diamond supply chain - is working as advertised. Presented by award-winning Sierra Leonean journalist Sorious Samura (who served as a technical advisor on the film), it gives a look at the miserable conditions under which diamonds are mined in order to bring the bling to your ring.
Samura's eldest daughter was killed in the civil war, so there is a personal undercurrent to his trek from the muddy mines of Leone to the smuggling routes into Guinea, the bazaars of Congo and finally the diamond district of New York City. Along the way he finds that not a lot of questions are asked and there are still too many stones that will fund brutal rebels getting into circulation. One segment with a former child soldier who breaks down in tears at the memories of the atrocities he committed is even sadder when you realize that his experience was shared by thousands of other youths robbed of their youth.
People will refuse to wear fur because of the reported cruelty to animals involved, but I wonder how many would forego diamonds considering the human toll that even legitimate mines collect. With diamond prices artificially inflated through cartel controls that allow for false scarcity - sapphires are far rarer, yet much less expensive - to see the backbreaking work required to find these little bits of compressed carbon is appalling. It's too bad this documentary wasn't put onto the first disc so that everyone could see it, not just special edition purchasers.
The remaining extras are more standard with the Becoming Archer and Journalism on the Front Line featurettes focusing on DiCaprio's and Connolly's preparations for and thoughts about their roles. While not as fluffy as an EPK piece, they're still rather lightweight. (Do not watch these before the film because they contain spoilers.) Not to sound politically correct, but why wasn't Hounsou profiled since it's his character, his son, his finding of the diamond, and his country's torment which underlies everything the white characters do? It's a very weird and unfortunate omission.
More involved is the Siege of Freetown segment which shows the extensive planning and storyboarding that went into the rebel attack as well as stunt techniques and camera angles utilized to execute a shot of someone being thrown off a balcony. It's not deep, but it's fairly interesting for behind-the-scenes buffs.
Finally, the Nas tune is mediocre. Considering the ironies of so much of hip-hop culture being wrapped up in "iced-out grillz" and "bling" - when did rap music change from Public Enemy's Chuck D's description of "ghetto CNN" to become a ghetto Robb Report? - it would've been cooler if a conscious rapper like Mos Def or Common had dropped the science about what those rocks mean for the people back in Africa.
Score: 7 out of 10