The Mission: Special Edition

Director Roland Joffe's (The Killing Fields) 1986 epic boasts impeccable credentials, earning the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, an Academy Award for Chris Menges' breathtaking cinematography, and Golden Globes for Robert Bolt (Lawrence of Arabia, Dr. Zhivago, A Man for All Seasons) and Ennio Morricone, honored for screenplay and musical score, respectively. Throw in a cast headed by Oscar-winners Jeremy Irons and Robert De Niro and you have the very model of a prestige project. But the film is ponderous and preachy in a way that The Killing Fields was not, and De Niro is decidedly miscast as Mendoza, an 18th century slave trader turned missionary (although what actor can redeem dialogue such as "So me you do not love"?). Jeremy Irons fares better as Gabriel, a Jesuit who runs a remote South American jungle settlement that shields the indigenous Indian tribes from the Portuguese colonialists who would rather use them as slaves than convert them. The talent involved and the plight of the tribes are not without interest, but for all its lush beauty and battle sequences (albeit confusingly staged), the film's most arresting moment actually comes at the beginning, as a crucified priest lashed to a cross is set afloat in a raging river that carries him over a waterfall. Boasting a gorgeous DVD transfer, this double-disc set also features audio commentary by Joffe, the 57-minute making-of/behind-the-scenes documentary “Omnibus: The Mission” (focusing on the set location and Waunana Indian tribe who played tribespeople in the film), selected cast/crew filmographies, an awards list, and a trailer. Optional. (K. Lee Benson)