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1492: Conquest of Paradise

  • 19921992
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 34m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
30K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,440
6,262
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
Watch {VideoTitle}
Play trailer1:42
1 Video
29 Photos
  • Adventure
  • Biography
  • Drama

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

IMDb RATING
6.4/10
30K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,440
6,262
  • Director
    • Ridley Scott
  • Writer
    • Rose Bosch(scenario)
  • Stars
    • Gérard Depardieu
    • Armand Assante
    • Sigourney Weaver
Top credits
  • Director
    • Ridley Scott
  • Writer
    • Rose Bosch(scenario)
  • Stars
    • Gérard Depardieu
    • Armand Assante
    • Sigourney Weaver
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 105User reviews
    • 38Critic reviews
    • 47Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:42
    Official Trailer

    Photos29

    Sigourney Weaver, Gérard Depardieu, and Fernando Guillén Cuervo in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
    1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
    1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
    1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
    1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
    Sigourney Weaver and Gérard Depardieu in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
    1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
    1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
    Sigourney Weaver in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
    Gérard Depardieu in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
    Gérard Depardieu in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
    Gérard Depardieu in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gérard Depardieu
    Gérard Depardieu
    • Columbusas Columbus
    Armand Assante
    Armand Assante
    • Sanchezas Sanchez
    Sigourney Weaver
    Sigourney Weaver
    • Queen Isabelas Queen Isabel
    Loren Dean
    Loren Dean
    • Older Fernandoas Older Fernando
    Ángela Molina
    Ángela Molina
    • Beatrixas Beatrix
    • (as Angela Molina)
    Fernando Rey
    Fernando Rey
    • Marchenaas Marchena
    Michael Wincott
    Michael Wincott
    • Moxicaas Moxica
    Tchéky Karyo
    Tchéky Karyo
    • Pinzonas Pinzon
    • (as Tcheky Karyo)
    Kevin Dunn
    Kevin Dunn
    • Captain Mendezas Captain Mendez
    Frank Langella
    Frank Langella
    • Santangelas Santangel
    Mark Margolis
    Mark Margolis
    • Bobadillaas Bobadilla
    Kario Salem
    Kario Salem
    • Arojazas Arojaz
    Billy L. Sullivan
    Billy L. Sullivan
    • Fernando (aged 10)as Fernando (aged 10)
    • (as Billy Sullivan)
    John Heffernan
    • Brother Buylas Brother Buyl
    Arnold Vosloo
    Arnold Vosloo
    • Guevaraas Guevara
    Steven Waddington
    Steven Waddington
    • Bartolomeas Bartolome
    Fernando Guillén Cuervo
    Fernando Guillén Cuervo
    • Giacomoas Giacomo
    • (as Fernando G. Cuervo)
    José Luis Ferrer
    • Alonsoas Alonso
    • (as Jose Luis Ferrer)
    • Director
      • Ridley Scott
    • Writer
      • Rose Bosch(scenario)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The replicas of Columbus' ships used in the film were built in Spain between 1990 and 1992. In 1992 they sailed the route of Columbus' first voyage to commemorate to 500th anniversary of the discovery of America. Today they are exhibited in Palos de la Frontera, Spain, and they are visited by approximately 200.000 people each year.
    • Goofs
      The Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria are shown starting back for Spain at the end of the first voyage. In fact, the Santa Maria had wrecked by this time; the return voyage would be made only by the Nina and the Pinta.
    • 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."

    • Alternate versions
      Japanese laserdisc is a longer cut of the film with five deleted scenes and a few extended ones. And R-rated violence that was cut for the US PG-13 version. The soundtrack for the film indicates that the film was originally much longer.
    • Connections
      Edited into Spisok korabley (2008)
    • Soundtracks
      Amazonia
      Permission of Grem Records, France

    User reviews105

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    On Creating Worlds
    1492 casts a long shadow over my filmgoing life. It is one of the first films I remember seeing where I started thinking of all the activity that went into making a film. My young mind did not process a lot of the plot - and in retrospect I can partly blame the makers of this film - but I did notice shots, sounds, music. Perhaps the music more than anything.

    So fast-forward a decade and a half at least... 1492 was massive in Europe when it came out. Ridley Scott, director of Alien, Legend and Blade Runner, was telling the story of Christopher Columbus, starring the venerable Gerard Depardieu, all to a score by Vangelis which flew off the shelves faster than any film score since, well, Blade Runner. What did they have to show for it.

    We know the story, or we think we do: Columbus, an Italian immigrant, gets a grant from Queen Isabella of Spain to map a shorter route to India, sailing West. What he discovers is a whole new world, the Caribbean islands. But the "new world" experiment fails badly and before long utopia becomes a stage for jealousy, manipulation, superstition and even genocide.

    It took several studios to co-finance this massive undertaking, based on a screenplay by journalist Rose Bosch. Supposedly, Scott immediately had his sights set on Depardieu, which paradoxically leads us to both the film's greatest asset and liability.

    Depardieu exudes a very un-Hollywood brand of charisma: grounded, vulnerable, but also prone to hardness and anger. His Columbus is a tragic idealist, likable even when carried away by his own arrogance. It's hard to imagine anyone else in the role. It is a pity then that his English was nowhere near good enough to carry the film.

    For many years, I had been warned and had only seen the film dubbed in my native French (it did help that Depardieu dubbed himself, as did supporting actor Tcheky Karyo), but upon seeing the film "as intended" I was simply baffled. This, coupled with a script that leaves a few motivations unexplained and sometimes gets bogged down, severely undermines a film that is otherwise brimming with first-rate craftsmanship.

    Despite the odd heavy-handed use of orange gradient filters recalling the younger Scott brother's feature-length Air Force commercial, the film is littered with unforgettable imagery. Vangelis' music, though even more effective listened to on its own, plunges you headfirst into another world, one of infinite possibilities.

    The net result is a very imperfect film, but as an exercise in world-creation, an admitted Ridley Scott hobby, you'l be hard pressed to find its equal.
    helpful•86
    45
    • OttoVonB
    • Sep 18, 2002

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 9, 1992 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • France
      • Spain
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
      • Latin
      • Arabic
    • Also known as
      • 1492
    • Filming locations
      • Playa Herradura, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
    • Production companies
      • Gaumont
      • Légende Films
      • France 2 Cinéma
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $47,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $7,191,399
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $3,002,680
      • Oct 12, 1992
    • Gross worldwide
      • $7,191,399
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 34 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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