Amazing Grace

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Posted By: Kirk Siddals - 06/08/2007 12:38:27

Ioan Gruffudd heads the cast of AMAZING GRACE, acclaimed director Michael Apted’s moving, historical epic about the life of anti-slavery pioneer William Wilberforce.  Set for DVD release by Momentum Pictures,   AMAZING GRACE and will be available to rent from 23rd July 2007 and to buy from 6 August 2007, and is released in the 200th Anniversary year of the passing of the Bill that outlawed the slave trade in Britain and its Empire.  AMAZING GRACE from Bristol Bay Productions and Ingenious was produced by  Ed Pressman, Terence Malick, Patricia Heaton, David Hunt and Ken Wales.

 

Michael Apted (Coal Miner’s Daughter, Gorillas in the Mist) worked with screenwriter Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things) on AMAZING GRACE  which is the incredible true story of William Wilberforce, who tirelessly led the campaign to abolish slavery in Britain.  At a time when the slave trade was not only perceived as acceptable, but as a necessity for the economy, Wilberforce and his fellow abolitionists dared to speak out against a massive injustice, fighting long and hard for the freedom of others.


Boasting a star-studded ensemble cast that includes Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four, King Arthur, TVs Hornblower), as William Wilberforce, Rufus Sewell (The Illusionist, Tristan & Isolde, A Knight’s Tale), as Thomas Clarkson one of Wilberforce’s allies, Albert Finney (Erin Brockovich) as John Newton the composer of Amazing Grace,  one of the most beloved hymns of all time, and Michael Gambon (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Gosford Park) as Lord Fox, an MP who joins Wilberforce in his fight against the slave trade.

 

AMAZING GRACE also includes a host of venerable and rising talent amongst whom are Benedict Cumberbatch as William Pitt,  Romola Garai who plays Wilberforce’s wife the beautiful and headstrong Barbara Spooner, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds, Bill Patterson and Grammy Award winning Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour, who plays Olaudah Equiano, an African slave to the Colonies who bought his freedom and made his home in London becoming a leading light in the anti-slavery movement.


Wilberforce, was born in Hull in 1759 to a prosperous trading family.  Following the death of his father and uncle he became a wealthy man and pursued a career in parliament and was elected to the House Of Commons at the age of 23.  A close friend of William Pitt (Benedict Cumberbatch) England’s youngest ever Prime Minister, Wilberforce  was entrusted with the cause of the Abolition of Slavery.  Wilberforce quickly became  the rallying voice in Parliament for a fragmented group of like-minded people to fight the cause and make the people of Britain and ultimately the world, acknowledge the horror of the Slave Trade.


AMAZING GRACE follows Wilberforce’s career through his 20s and 30s, as he and his fellow humanitarians waged the first modern political campaign, using petitions, boycotts and mass meetings to take their message to the country at large.  Finally a bill to Abolish Slave Trade was passed in 1807.


Trailer:

http://ondemand.mymovies.net/filmmedia/film/fid6123/trailers/trid2745/wm/low.asf?partner=momentum

Release information:

Retail Release Date:        6th August 2007
RRP:                              £19.99
Certificate:                      PG
Running Time:                112 minutes    
Catalogue No:                 MP712D
Barcode:                        5060116722062                                               
DVD Extras:                  Commentary :Director & Ioan Gruffudd, Amazing Grace : How Sweet The Sound, Chris Tomlin Music Video, Trailer
            

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