1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writer:

Roselyne Bosch (scenario)

Release Date:

9 October 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

Centuries before the exploration of space, there was another voyage into the unknown.

Plot:

Christopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas and the effect this has on the indigenous people.

Plot Keywords:

Christopher Columbus | New World | Bare Chested Male | Child Nudity | Male Rear Nudity

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Gérard Depardieu	...	Christopher Columbus
Armand Assante	...	Sanchez
Sigourney Weaver	...	Queen Isabella I.
Loren Dean	...	Older Fernando Columbus
Ángela Molina	...	Beatrix Enriquez
Fernando Rey	...	Antonio de Marchena
Michael Wincott	...	Adrian de Moxica
Tchéky Karyo	...	Martín Alonso Pinzón
Kevin Dunn	...	Captain Mendez
Frank Langella	...	Luis de Santángel
Mark Margolis	...	Francisco de Bobadilla
Kario Salem	...	Arojaz
Billy L. Sullivan	...	Young Fernando Columbus
John Heffernan	...	Brother Buyl
Arnold Vosloo	...	Guevara

Also Known As:

1492 (Australia)
1492: Christophe Colomb (France)
1492: La conquête du paradis
1492: La conquista del paraíso (Spain)

Runtime:

154 min

Country:

France | Spain

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | France:U | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:TE | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:PT | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Brazil:16

Filming Locations:

Costa Rica

Company:

Gaumont

Trivia:

Sigourney Weaver was always Ridley Scott's first choice to play Queen Isabella. However, when re-shoots for Alien³ (1992) were taking longer than expected, Anjelica Huston was considered for the role. Weaver became available only at the last minute.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When explaining navigation to Mendez, about 38 min in, Columbus states "a mistake of one degree, and we will be off 600 leagues." In fact, a mistake of one degree would result in a deviation of 60 nautical miles, about 20 leagues.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Young Fernando Columbus: Of all the words my father wrote - and there were many - I remember these the most: "Nothing that results from human progress is achieved with unanimous consent. And those who are enlightened before the others are condemned to persue that light in spite of others."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Finding Interest (1994)

Soundtrack:

Fever Ride

Masterpiece with a Fatal Flaw!

The flaw is Gerard Depardieu's English: too often does it undermine an otherwise magnificent movie. Why would I go through the effort? Because I speak perfect French and when you watch this film dubbed (and the dubbing is perfect, since it is Depardieu and Karyo dubbing themselves!) you realize what an awesome one it is. Ironically, I cann't imagine anyone other than Depardieu in the role, except maybe Russell Crowe (but at the time he was an unknown Hollywood!). The script is fantastic (sure it lingers in some places but it all happened SLOWLY in those days. One could argue that seven Samurai and Lawrence of Arabia are slow in places, well go rent a Steven Seagal picture, for all the good it will do you!), the performances are great (though betrayed in the English version by accents) and two combined elements set this appart from any other film in existence: the symphonic mix of photography and music! Ridley Scott has always had an awesome visual flair, but in that sense this must be the top of his game (yes, even counting Blade Runner, Legend and Gladiator). Then there's that score by Vangelis! I love movie music and always pay attention to it, but I have yet to hear more astonishing a theme (or any tune of the score, the whole CD is a masterpiece, unlike most of it's peers) than that of 1492: Conquest of Paradise. So if you master any other language than English, see this, on a big screen with good sound. That's when a flawed epic turns into a true work of art!