Guide Note

The 2006 action-drama Blood Diamond stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a smuggler caught up in a civil war in Sierra Leone. The subjects of the film are conflict diamonds, so called because their mining and exporting supports military conflicts or warring insurgencies.

Fast Facts

1. Director: Edward Zwick
2. Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou
3. Awards: 5 Oscar nominations
4. Running time: 143 minutes
5. Release date: December 8, 2006
6. Russell Crowe was also considered for the role of Archer
7. Hounsou also plays a Mende tribesman in Amistad

The film follows Danny Archer, a white Rhodesian who smuggles guns and diamonds to trade with the Revolutionary United Front, who invaded Sierra Leone from Liberia in 1991. Archer meets a poor fisherman named Solomon Vandy who has discovered a large and rare diamond. Archer agrees to help rescue Vandy's kidnapped family in exchange for the diamond. They enlist the aid of American journalist Maddy Bowen to locate Vandy's family.

Blood Diamond received generally positive reviews upon its release, scoring 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. DiCaprio received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, though his other film from late 2006, The Departed, received more critical attention. Somewhat criticized are the film's lengthy action sequences, which some writers thought took away from the more important message about conflict diamonds and African civil war.