Was there another Columbus movie?
I seem to remember another Columbus movie coming out around the same time. Does anyone know?
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MovieChat Forums > 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) Discussion > Was there another Columbus movie?
Do you mean The Discovery?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103962/
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Yes, it was "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery" which was released two months earlier. It was made by the same team that made "Superman: The Movie" in 1978. The movie was a joke as it had a ridiculous cast like Tom Selleck as King Ferdinand. This one was more historically accurate and the cast was superb. The soundtrack CD was a hot seller as it was scored by the legendary Vangelis ("Chariots of Fire" and "Blade Runner").
share BOTH films, however, were historic flops.
"Christopher Columbus: The Discovery" was a massive Warner Bros. big budget spectacle, from the producers Alexander Salkind and his son, Ilya Salkind. It was directed by John Glenn ( a 'James Bond' director, previously). A newcomer at the time, Georges Corraface, was cast as Columbus. The supporting cast had Tom Selleck as King Ferdinand (truly ridiculous; "Where's my gold?" in Magnum PI voice), Rachel Ward as the Queen, and of all people, the very pro-Native American actor Marlon Brando, as Torquemada, the Spanish Inquisitor. Brando accepted five million dollars in cash, up front, for twelve days on the film. He only has a few brief scenes, with very little to do. Then, he publicly denounced the film just prior to its opening, and went on and on about what a creep Columbus was. Salkind argued, and rightly so, that Brando didn't have a problem taking five million bucks and doing the film, only cared AFTER he got his money. Anyway, the film plays like a silly, amateurish, community-theater type of production. Very by the numbers, and very miscast. The acting and script are atrocious. Plays like a made for cable TV movie for USA in the early 90s or something. It was released in August 1992, and was savaged by critics and ignored by audiences.
"1492: Conquest of Paradise", from Paramount, was only slightly better. It was released in October 1992, right around the actual 500 year anniversary of Columbus' landing. It, too, was largely savaged by PC critics, who decried its treatment of Native Americans. Other critics complained of "corny imagery" like lightning striking and making a burning cross and so on. That film ultimately flopped commercially, as well.
Both films were made at the time to cash in on the 500 year anniversary. Unfortunately for them, the early 90s was rife with political correctness about Native Americans (especially following popular, pro-Native American fare like "Dances With Wolves" being released), and Columbus was suddenly viewed throughout most of popular culture at the time as a historical villain (it was even considered in Washington to end Columbus Day as a holiday!). So, both films absolutely sunk at the box office.
Neither film has ever even begun to make its money back, and both films went out of print in the US at the end of the VHS tape era. There is no official DVD or blu ray release at this time for either film in the USA.
Strangely enough, however, there are some gorgeous German blu rays of them!
"1492" is the one much more worth seeing, as you get a gorgeous visual look, a Vangelis score, great period detail, and Gerard Depardieu in a decent performance. "The Discovery" I only ever even saw because I was just such a massive Brando fan at the time. But he's barely in it, and the rest of it is laughable.