1492: Conquest of Paradise

As visually lush as the Costa Rican forests where it was filmed, 1492: Conquest of Paradise retells the story of Christopher Columbus's voyage from Spain to America without much deviation from the familiar school history lesson. Columbus (Gerard Depardieu) proposes to sail across the Atlantic in search of the New World—a possible feat, he says, because the Earth is round, a claim made much to the consternation of the Catholic Church's superstitious patriarchy. After carefully courting the patronage of Queen Isabella (Sigourney Weaver), Columbus sets sail with his crew, eventually marking the end of their turgid journey with the sighting of Hispaniola's majestic shoreline (set to the soaring instrumentals of Vangelis). Although the navigator is knighted as a viceroy and hailed as a hero upon his homecoming in Spain, a return trip to the islands of the Taino people reveals that the colonists who were left to set up shop in the New World—particularly skull-faced scourge Moxica (Michael Wincott)—have allowed the land to devolve into a blood-soaked killing field. Director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Roselyne Bosch, while closely sticking to some historical accuracies—such as Columbus's use of a quadrant to navigate the night sky—also indulge in more romantic fancies like dashing swordfights and gory slaughter in the jungle. Depardieu plays Columbus as a cuddly (albeit hard-headed) bear of a man who is conveniently absolved of much guilt in the deaths and mistreatment of the Native Americans with the introduction of made-to-order villain Moxica. That being said, Scott's ability to compose great shots makes this 1992 epic more than just a lazy retread of the Columbus story. Extras include audio commentary by film historians Howard S. Berger and Nathaniel Thompson, and deleted scenes. A strong optional purchase. (J. Cruz)