"It is an extraordinarily important film, perhaps the most important film of my career." --Steven Spielberg on Amistad
It was not until just before the Christmas break that Henry Fassbender, shaper of ninth-grade minds at P.S. 117 in Huntington, Ind., finally found a moment to inspect the Amistad learning kit for himself. It had been sent to the school by overnight mail from DreamWorks, and the whole history department was aflutter. The graphics were compelling, the subject matter gripping, but as Henry sat in the faculty lounge carefully perusing the glossy pages, his heart began to sink. He could see his...