1492: Conquest of Paradise
| 1492: Conquest of Paradise | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Ridley Scott[1] |
| Produced by | Mimi Polk Gitlin Alain Goldman |
| Written by | Roselyne Bosch |
| Starring | Gérard Depardieu Sigourney Weaver Armand Assante Fernando Rey |
| Music by | Vangelis |
| Cinematography | Adrian Biddle |
| Editing by | William M. Anderson Françoise Bonnot Les Healey Armen Minasian Deborah Zeitman |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 9, 1992 (US) |
| Running time | 142 minutes |
| Country | Spain, United Kingdom, France |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $47,000,000 US (est.) |
| Box office | $7,191,399 US (Domestic) |
1492: Conquest of Paradise is an epic 1992 European adventure/drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Roselyne Bosch, which tells the story of the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus (Gérard Depardieu) and the effect this had on the indigenous people. The film was released for the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Christopher Columbus' discovery of the Americas and the effect this has on the indigenous people, starting with his solicitation of Queen Isabella I (Sigourney Weaver) to gain the necessary funding.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Gérard Depardieu | Christopher Columbus |
| Armand Assante | Gabriel Sanchez |
| Sigourney Weaver | Queen Isabella I |
| Loren Dean | Older Fernando Columbus |
| Ángela Molina | Beatriz Enriquez de Arana |
| Fernando Rey | Antonio de Marchena |
| Michael Wincott | Adrián de Moxica |
| Tchéky Karyo | Martín Alonso Pinzón |
| Kevin Dunn | Captain Méndez |
| Frank Langella | Luis de Santángel |
| Mark Margolis | Francisco de Bobadilla |
| Kario Salem | de Arojaz |
| Billy L. Sullivan | Younger Fernando Columbus |
| John Heffernan | Brother Buyl |
| Arnold Vosloo | Hernando de Guevara |
| Steven Waddington | Bartolomeo Columbus |
| Fernando Guillén Cuervo | Giacomo Columbus |
| José Luis Ferrer | Alonso de Bolaños |
| Bercelio Moya | Utapán |
| Juan Diego Botto | Diego Columbus |
| Achero Mañas | Ships Boy |
| Fernando García Rimada | King Ferdinand V |
| Albert Vidal | Hernando de Talavera |
| Isabel Prinz | Dueña |
| Jack Taylor | de Vicuña |
| Ángela Rosal | Pinzón's Wife |
| Silvia Montero | Pinzón's Daughter (uncredited) |
[edit] Release and reception
1492: Conquest of Paradise opened in theatres on October 9, 1992. It was rated PG-13 in the United States due to violence and brutality.
Overall, the film had mixed reviews and poor box office results.[3][4][5][6][7] The movie review site Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 47% "rotten" rating. However, movie critic Roger Ebert said in his review that the film was satisfactory, stating "Depardieu lends it gravity, the supporting performances are convincing, the locations are realistic, and we are inspired to reflect that it did indeed take a certain nerve to sail off into nowhere just because an orange was round."[8]
[edit] Box Office
The film was not a success, debuting at No.7.[9]
[edit] Historical inaccuracies
The overall tone of the movie gives the viewer the impression that Columbus was combating ignorance while trying to raise support for his voyage westward. This notion of the movie is inaccurate since everyone who warned him about the impossibility of the voyage was correct. It was common knowledge among scientists in 1492 that the Earth was round and that it was 40,000 km in circumference. This size of the Earth made it impossible to sail westward from Europe to Asia simply because the technology to create ships large enough to carry all the food and water needed for such a voyage didn't exist. Columbus, however, used outdated calculations to measure the distance from Europe to Asia and ended up with a distance roughly equal to the distance from Europe to the islands of the Caribbean, which was a possible trip at the time.
[edit] Music
Despite the picture's dismal box office intake in the United States, the film's score by renowned composer Vangelis became a successful album worldwide. Its main theme, Conquest of Paradise, was used by former Portuguese Prime-Minister António Guterres at his 1995 election and is used by the Portuguese Socialist Party as its anthem since then.[citation needed] The theme is also used by New Zealand Super 14 Rugby Franchise, the Crusaders as they run onto the field, often accompanied by actors dressed as knights and riding on horseback and rugby league team Wigan Warriors who play in Super League. The theme was also played before the start of every match in 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Cricket tournament as well as the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. In these events the theme was played right before the national anthems of the two competing nations, as the flags of the two nations were carried into the ground, along with the players of the two teams. The German boxer Henry Maske (former world champion (IBF) in the Light heavyweight category) used the main theme as his official entry theme during his professional career.
[edit] See also
- Carry On Columbus - A comedy-film about Columbus released in 1992
- Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, another film about Columbus released in 1992.
[edit] References
- ^ Berkman, Meredith (1992-10-16). "Coming to America". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20179375,00.html. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ Mathews, Jack (1992-05-03). "MOVIES : Voyage of Rediscovery : With '1492,' director Ridley Scott and writer Roselyne Bosch aim to portray Christopher Columbus not as a legend but as an extraordinary though flawed person". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1992-05-03/entertainment/ca-2005_1_christopher-columbus. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
- ^ "Columbus As A Hollywood Hustler". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/1992/09/06/columbus-as-a-hollywood-hustler.html. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ "1492: Conquest of Paradise". Washington Post. 1992-10-09. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/1492conquestofparadisepg13howe_a0af13.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ "1492: Conquest of Paradise". Variety. 1991-12-31. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117791068?refcatid=31. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ "1492: Conquest of Paradise". Dessert News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700000002/1492-Conquest-of-Paradise.html. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ "1492: Conquest of Paradise". Entertainment Weekly. 1992-10-16. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20164943,00.html. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ 1492 Review by Roger Ebert
- ^ Fox, David J. (1992-10-13). "Weekend Box Office A Bang-Up Opening for `Under Siege'". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1992-10-13/entertainment/ca-32_1_opening-weekend. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
[edit] External links
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- 1992 films
- Epic films
- Films set in the 15th century
- Films set in the 1490s
- Adventure drama films
- Films directed by Ridley Scott
- Films shot anamorphically
- Films shot in the United States Virgin Islands
- English-language films
- Indigenous film in Latin America
- Depictions of Christopher Columbus
- Films set in Spain
- Films set in pre-Columbian America
- Biographical films
