1492: Christopher Columbus

Synopsis

In 1492, at the end of the Reconquista , the Spanish rulers finally gave their consent to Christopher Columbus for a project that aims to open a new sea route to India by sailing west. The navigator does not suspect that this expedition will lead to the “discovery” of America . He discovered several islands including the Island of Hispaniola (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic ). On his second expedition, he founded on this island in early 1494, the town of La Isabela which will quickly collapse because the location chosen is not favorable.

Technical sheet

• Original title: 1492: Conquest of paradise
• French title: 1492: Christophe Colomb
• Director: Ridley Scott
• Scenario: Roselyne Bosch
• Photography: Adrian Biddle
• Editing: William M. Anderson , Françoise Bonnot , The Healey , Armen Minasian and Deborah Zeitman
• Sets: Norris Spencer
• Costumes: Charles Knode and Barbara Rutter
• Music: Vangelis
• Distribution: Gaumont , Pathé
  Paramount Pictures
• Producer: Alain Goldman , Ridley Scott , Roselyne Bosch , Marc Boyman & Pere Fages
• Languages: Native American dialect
• Country of origin: France , Spain , United Kingdom
• Genre: Adventure , History
• Duration: 149 minutes
• Year: 1992
• Budget:
  • ~ US $ 47,000,000
  • ~ 34 490 000 €
• Recipe:
  •  United States : ~  US $ 7,191,399
  •  France : ~ 3,081,521 entries
  •  Germany : ~ 816 987 entries
• Release dates:
  •  United States : October 9 , 1992
  •  France : October 12 , 1992

Distribution

• Gérard Depardieu (VF: himself ) : Christopher Columbus
• Armand Assante (VF: Jean Barney ) : Gabriel Sanchez
• Sigourney Weaver (VF: Tania Torrens ) : Queen Isabella
• Michael Wincott (VF: Michel Vigné ) : Adrian de Moxica
• Cheky Karyo (VF: himself ) : Martín Alonso Pinzón
• Kevin Dunn (VF: Joel Martineau ) : Captain Mendez
• Frank Langella (VF: Jacques Frantz ) : Luis de Santangel
• Mark Margolis (VF: Gerard Rinaldi ) : Francisco de Bobadilla
• Arnold Vosloo : Hernando de Guevara
• Steven Waddington (VF: Jean-François Vlérick ) : Bartolomeo Colomb
• Loren Dean (VF: Damien Boisseau ) : Fernando Columbus adult
• Ángela Molina (VF: Liliane Patrick ) : Beatrix Enriquez
• Fernando Rey (VF: Edmond Bernard ) : Antonio de Marchena
• Kario Salem : Arojaz
• Billy L. Sullivan (VF Boris Roatta ) : Young Fernand Colomb
• John Heffernan : Brother Buyl
• Fernando Guillén Cuervo (VF: Jean-Philippe Puymartin ) : Giacomo Colombo
• José Luis Ferrer : Alonso de Bolaños
• Bercelio Moya : Utapan
• Juan Diego Botto (VF: Denis Laustriat ) : Diego Columbus
• Achero Mañas : Docker
• Fernando Garcia Rimada (VF: Bernard Alane ) : King Ferdinand V
• Albert Vidal : Hernando de Talavera
• Clara Isabel Prinz : Duègne
• Jack Taylor  (in) : the viscount
• Ángela Rosal : Pinzón’s wife

Source and caption : French version (VF) on Voxofilm ⁴

Music

The soundtrack of the film was composed by Vangelis .

Distinctions

• Nomination for best photography ( Adrian Biddle ), at the British Society of Cinematographers 1992.
• Appointment to the Golden Globe for best musical in 1993.

Around the film

• The screenwriter Roselyne Bosch had the idea of the project of this film while she was looking for an article on Columbus. The project has been on hold for years until Ridley Scott agrees.
• Francis Ford Coppola , Roland Joffe and Oliver Stone were all approached before Scott agreed to direct the film.
• Scott had long dreamed of making a film about Christopher Columbus. He demanded, before agreeing, that Gerard Depardieu get the title role. Contacted, Depardieu immediately accepted.
• Sigourney Weaver was Scott’s first choice for the role of Queen Isabella of Castile . However, she was filming Alien³ when she was approached and it took longer than expected. It’s Anjelica Huston who was contacted. Finally, Weaver declared herself available at the last minute. In addition, Sigourney Weaver wore a wig during the shoot because she had her head shaved for Alien³ .
• The film was shot in the Costa Rican jungle and in the region of Salamanca in Spain . Filming at sea was done near the coasts of the Dominican Republic and the US Virgin Islands . The film was shot in 16 weeks.
• The scenario of the film has had multiple versions to find its very particular financing since the share of big studios (Paramount in this case) was almost nil. The film is a totally European co-production, Franco-Hispano-British. We can therefore speak of independent production on a large scale.
• The scenario comes from a personal desire and goes beyond the “classic” scenario in terms of time and investment. The film was produced and co-produced by Ridley Scott . It traces the discovery of the New World by a utopian Christopher Columbus , hallucinated (incarnated by Gerard Depardieu ). The film was shot in the Costa Rican jungle and in Spain. Two caravels, replicas of the Pinta and La Niña, and a nave, replica of the Santa Maria, were built in the port of Bristol and began, five hundred years later, the same journey as Columbus to join the filming location. The film was released around the world the week of October 12, 1992, five hundred years to the day after Columbus set foot on Guanahani Island .

See also

External links

• 1492: Christopher Columbus [ archive ] on Allociné
• (en) 1492: Christopher Columbus [ archive ] on the Internet Movie Database

Notes and references