1492: CONQUEST OF PARADISE duked it out with Christopher Columbus: The Discovery in 1992, seeking to rediscover the maligned medieval mariner for the 500th anniversary of his journey to The New World. Like the once-venerated, lately reviled route seeker, both expensive productions foundered in an ocean of red ink and gales of reviewer rejection. This one, though flawed (and overly flayed) is leagues ahead of its daffy competitor. That’s thanks to director & producer Ridley Scott, the supporting cast, production design, camerawork and score. *

Few filmmakers can summon atmosphere, the tangible sense of “being there”, in a time or place of different worlds like Scott, and even when he deals a rare dud (White Squall) the exquisitely detailed productions he commands are stunning to simply look at. His lavishly appointed take on Columbus, though wounded by miscasting in the key role and by a raft—make that a fleet—of historical and geographical inaccuracies in the screenplay by Roselyn Bosch, is leagues ahead of the other attempts (only a few) to cinematically capture a complicated character and an age when conquest and subjugation were practices not just standard but sanctified.

In terms of relative importance (historical fact vs. artistic ‘truth’) the script’s whitewashing of its hero’s more than considerable dark side is the greater error: for brevities sake we won’t belabor details here but instead offer a helpful link below. **

However, for storytelling’s sake and market viability (ya gotta get grosses, it’s a business after all) the most obvious misstep was in casting Gerard Depardieu in the lead. A powerful actor with great (offbeat) presence, his heavily accented English was too much for a patience-taxed mass audience. He’s not (as many snippy critics hissed) unintelligible, but one tends to lean forward to make sure you’re catching what he’s saying and that takes you out of the necessary spell to a degree. That, and taking into account the yawning chasm of historical ignorance and snap judgment revisionism in a modern audience (face it, and no, I’m not talking about you–I hope) and there’s a recipe for box office misery.

The leading man (not bad, just miscast) and fact-mangling aside, there’s a lot to savor. Armand Assante is dynamic as aristocrat rival ‘Sanchez’ and Sigourney Weaver an intelligently lofty Isabella (Ferdinand barely there this time). Playing nobleman Adrián de Moxica (in this script taking the blame for atrocities against the ‘Indians’), Michael Wincott adds another vile bastard to his gallery of period villains (Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, The Count Of Monte Cristo), the picture of imperial arrogance.

Adrian Biddle’s gorgeous cinematography drinks in the rich art direction and costume design, the elaborate settings in Spain (including Salamanca and Sevilla), the rigor and beauty of the oceanic scenes and the lush ‘paradise’ locations in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Vangelis provides the music score, whose captivating anthem theme went on to become a best-seller and fixture at numerous assorted venues.

This deserved, but did not receive, Oscar nominations for art direction, costume design and music score. Longer by a half-hour than “that other Columbus movie”, Ridley’s ‘Admiral of the Ocean Sea’ was also a bit costlier at $47,000,000, and didn’t take in quite as much, foundering at 108th place in the States with just $7,200,000. But according to Scott, in Europe it “clocked $57,000,000”. Posterity has been kinder to Sir Ridley’s effort, while little forgiveness is shown to the also-ran sank vessel. ***

“No matter how long you live, Sanchez, there is something that will never change between us. I did it. You didn’t.”

Rock solid support from Tchéky Karyo, Kevin Dunn, Fernando Rey, Frank Langella, Loren Dean, Mark Margolis, Angela Molina, Stephen Waddingon and Arnold Vosloo. 156 minutes.

* Inquisition Redux—insipidity piped in with Carry On Columbus, the 31st and final entry in the ‘Carry On’ larks that had been larfing it up since 1958. On home sod in the U.K. it out-grossed both of the big projects. In 2004 a poll taken of British film actors, technicians, writers and directors voted it the worst British film ever made.

** Strong recommendation to a piece written by Ben Rowe, detailing the film’s copious fancies. https://medium.com/@bentheorowe/accuracy-vs-storytelling-in-ridley-scotts-1492-conquest-of-paradise-9d6757423cd0

*** In The Year Of Our Attendance 1992, if unmoved (or seasick) by the dueling Columbus crews, historical epic fans were at least blessed by The Last Of The Mohicans, a resounding classic of colonial Americana that plays fair all around. Just don’t tick off ‘Magua’…