Review of 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) by Ghaith J — 07 Sep 2009

This film is now 17 years old at the time of this review- and to be honest, it shows in more than a few frames. I actually love and hate this film, and by this I mean I literally love certain scenes in it, and hate others.

In many sequences, Director of Photography Adrian Biddle has produced flawless results, yet in other sequences the imagery - although seldom mediocre - lacks the polish you would expect from the team putting this movie together. This is also true of the soundtrack - Vangelis has constructed some deep, resonating, and beautiful scores to bind to the film, but unfortunately they sometimes "bind to the film", and sometimes feel slightly detached from what is happening on screen.

The choice of cast is interesting. I wouldn't have picked this cast, but I can't fault their performances in themselves. I can only say that in the cases of Gerard Depardieu, Sigourney Weaver, and Michael Wincott, they had made impressions in previous films that were so strong it was difficult at first to get past my preconceptions of the roles they would play.

I will stay clear of comments on whether this film is historically accurate or not, but I will say that the script and story followed was an involving take on Columbus, with Gerard Depardieu portraying a likable, passionate, enthusiastic - but idealistic - explorer. These traits do not stand him in good stead for any work within government, and the portrayal later in the film shows a highly flawed politician (no bad thing you might say).

The Columbus in this film is also seen steering a narrow path somewhere between complete silence and what would have been perceived as heresy. These are the subtle pointers to the intolerant and superstitious religious atmosphere in which Columbus voiced his opinions and finally set sail â there are also far less subtle signs of this oppressive environment in the film - some not particularly pleasant.

I've heard this film described as "Ridley Scott's masterpiece". I personally think it falls short of this description, but it is none the less a serious accomplishment - particularly considering it was made in 1992 and so I doubt there is any CGI in this film whatsoever.

If I was Ridley Scott, I probably would have looked back at this film with a little self-criticism.... and gone and made "Kingdom of Heaven". Oh wait a minute.... he did.