1492: Conquest of Paradise
Short description
1492: Conquest of Paradise follows Christopher Columbus as he spends years trying to convince European rulers to back his plan for a westward sea route to the Indies. He finally wins support from the Spanish court, and in August 1492 three caravels sail from Palos. Months later the crew reaches land in the Bahamas, but the island is not the Asia they expected. The film goes on to show the settlement of the new territory, the growing cruelty toward the indigenous population it brings, and Columbus's worsening standing among the Spanish nobility; he is eventually arrested and sent home, and though he later wins permission for another voyage, he never recovers his former position.
Ridley Scott directed this eighth of the 34 films he has made, arriving between Thelma & Louise and White Squall. Gérard Depardieu plays Columbus, with Sigourney Weaver as Queen Isabella, Armand Assante, Ángela Molina, Loren Dean and Fernando Rey among a credited cast of 21. Roselyne Bosch wrote the screenplay and produced alongside Scott and Alain Goldman, with 162 crew credited.
The production's scale is visible on screen: it cost about 47 million dollars and was a wide international effort mounted by Paramount with companies in Spain, France and the United Kingdom. Its worldwide gross of roughly 7 million dollars fell well short of that outlay. Audiences are divided rather than hostile, with a 6.4 rating on IMDb from 35,000 votes and 6.3 on TMDB from 950, while critics gave it 4.3 out of 10 across 23 reviews, a noticeably harsher verdict than viewers reached.
What's left behind the scenes
- Exterior scenes were shot in Seville and Granada, Spain, as well as in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
- The film's producers had to sue the Zalkinds for the right to use the name Christopher Columbus in the title.
- Ridley Scott was not the first choice for director; Francis Ford Coppola, Roland Joffé, Oliver Stone, and David Putnam were all considered beforehand. Scott, who had long dreamed of working on a historical film, was considered as a potential director for another cinematic project timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, the film “Christopher Columbus: A History of Discovery” by Alexander Zalkind and Ilya.
- The role of Queen Isabella of Castile was initially given to Anjelica Huston, but was then given to Sigourney Weaver, who had previously worked with Scott on “Alien”.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
