The Making of Amistad is a 1997 English-language Documentary movie written by Brian Ross and David Franzoni. The movie is directed by Kellie Allred, Steve Kroopnick and Brian Ross and produced by Debbie Allen, Steven Spielberg and Colin Wilson under the banner of HBO Pictures. In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free. The making of amistad features Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou, Matthew Mcconaughey, Nigel Hawthorne, David Paymer and Bill Corso. The music was composed by John Williams. Cinematography was done by Janusz Kami ski and editing by Michael Kahn. The motion picture has a running time of 154 minutes. It was released on 2nd April 1998 in English,Mende,Spanish and Portuguese languages. The Making of Amistad was made on a budget of $36 million and it was a hit at box office gross of $44 million. Distribution rights for the movie were acquired by DreamWorks Pictures.