The Historical Adventures Of Christopher Columbus

Given the amount of controversy surrounding the erstwhile discoverer of America, any "historical" version of Columbus' life is guaranteed to displease someone. 1992 saw the release of two major motion pictures about Columbus, Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (standard history) and 1492: Conquest of Paradise (revisionist history)--both relative flops at the boxoffice. But this Japanese animated production of average quality (by Japanese standards) pre-dates both and is arguably better than Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, which it most closely resembles. Part 1 chronicles Columbus' early years as a chartmaker and student of navigation, his attempts to secure funding from Portugal and then Spain for his proposed expedition to cross the Atlantic searching for a trade route to the East, and the reluctant acceptance of the King and Queen of Spain to Columbus' extravagant demands for recompense. Part 2 focuses on the assemblage of Columbus' crew, the sailing in 1492 with its attendant drama of near mutinous sailors and soul-searching on the part of Columbus, and the initial landing. Skipping over Columbus' tyrannical administration of the islands, the video covers his subsequent expeditions and death in 1506 in about 5 minutes. On the whole, the film does a good job of covering the social milieu, the religious controversies, and historical circumstances surrounding Columbus' journey. And even though the film skirts around the more unsavory aspects of Columbus' story, the video's message of "dare to dream" is both inspiring and arguably applicable to Columbus' actual achievements. Recommended for larger collections. (R. Pitman)