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1492: Conquest of Paradise
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1492: Conquest of Paradise is a 1992 American/European adventure/drama film. Directed by Ridley Scott and written by Roselyne Bosch, the film was released for the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' voyage.
The story tells of Christopher Columbus' (Gérard Depardieu) discovery of the New World and its effect on the indigenous people, starting with his solicitation of Queen Isabella (Sigourney Weaver) to gain the necessary funding.
Plot
The film opens in 1491 with Columbus, currently being sheltered by monks, going to the faculty at the University of Salamanca to acquire approval and funding for an expedition to find a new route to the Indies. His justification is that the route along the African coastline is too long and that the Turks have cut off all land routes to China to Christian nations. He enlists the help of Martín Alonso Pinzón to win over the support of Queen Isabella after failing to convince the very reluctant audience at Salamanca. Impressing her, Columbus gets the funding he needs and sets off from the Spanish port of Palos de la Frontera (Huelva, Andalusia, south Spain). The voyage takes longer than expected but he does arrive on the island known as Guanahani but later christened as San Salvador on October 12, 1492. Over the course of the movie, he tries to govern new settlements, but is beset by angry locals and rebellious nobles. In the end, he is removed from his post in 1500 and forced into the Castile prison, but his adult son frees him: thus Columbus can begin to tell him the story of his voyages, but he dies shortly after he writes down the phrase: "I remember..."
Reception
Despite its dismal box office intake, 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.
Main cast
Gérard Depardieu as Christopher Columbus
Armand Assante as Gabriel Sanchez
Sigourney Weaver as Queen Isabella I
Loren Dean as Older Fernando Columbus
Ángela Molina as Beatriz Enriquez de Arana
Fernando Rey as Antonio de Marchena
Michael Wincott as Adrian de Moxica
Tchéky Karyo as Martín Alonso Pinzón
Kevin Dunn as Captain Mendez
Frank Langella as Luis de Santángel
Mark Margolis as Francisco de Bobadilla
Kario Salem as de Arojaz
Billy L. Sullivan as Younger Fernando Columbus
John Heffernan as Brother Buyl
Arnold Vosloo as Antonio de Guevara
Steven Waddington as Bartolomeo Columbus
Fernando Guillén Cuervo as Giacomo Columbus
José Luis Ferrer as Alonso de Bolaños
Bercelio Moya as Utapán
Juan Diego Botto as Diego Columbus
Achero Mañas as Ships Boy
Fernando García Rimada as King Ferdinand V
Albert Vidal as Hernando de Talavera
Isabel Prinz as Dueña
Jack Taylor as de Vicuna
Ángela Rosal as Pinzón's Wife
Silvia Montero as Pinzón's Daughter (uncredited)
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