1492: Conquest of Paradise

1492: Conquest of Paradise
Theatrical release poster
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]

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.

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)

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]

Box Office

The movie was not a success, debuting at No.7.^[9]

Music

Main article: 1492: Conquest of Paradise (album)

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.

See also

Film portal

• Carry On Columbus - A comedy-film about Columbus released in 1992
• Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, another film about Columbus released in 1992.

References

1. ^ "Coming to America". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20179375,00.html. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 
2. ^ "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. 
3. ^ "Columbus As A Hollywood Hustler". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/1992/09/06/columbus-as-a-hollywood-hustler.html. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 
4. ^ "1492: Conquest of Paradise". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/1492conquestofparadisepg13howe_a0af13.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 
5. ^ "1492: Conquest of Paradise". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117791068?refcatid=31. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 
6. ^ "1492: Conquest of Paradise". Dessert News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700000002/1492-Conquest-of-Paradise.html. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 
7. ^ "1492: Conquest of Paradise". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20164943,00.html. Retrieved 2010-11-30. 
8. ^ 1492 Review by Roger Ebert
9. ^ "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. 

External links

• 1492: Conquest of Paradise at the Internet Movie Database
• Movie stills