https://andyfilm.com/2014/10/17/video-v ... discovery/
Happy Columbus Day: A Look Back at 1492 & CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: THE DISCOVERY
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AndyDursin
- Posts: 35759
- Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:45 pm
- Location: RI
Happy Columbus Day: A Look Back at 1492 & CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: THE DISCOVERY
Celebrate a cinematic Columbus Day with my vintage look at rival Columbus productions (and eventual box-office duds) 1492 and CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: THE DISCOVERY.
https://andyfilm.com/2014/10/17/video-v ... discovery/
https://andyfilm.com/2014/10/17/video-v ... discovery/
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Monterey Jack
- Posts: 10544
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- Location: Walpole, MA
Re: Happy Columbus Day: A Look Back at 1492 & CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: THE DISCOVERY
Catherine Zeta-Jones...?! 
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AndyDursin
- Posts: 35759
- Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:45 pm
- Location: RI
Re: Happy Columbus Day: A Look Back at 1492 & CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: THE DISCOVERY
Yes how did I manage to not write that up! 
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Paul MacLean
- Posts: 7533
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2004 10:26 pm
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Re: Happy Columbus Day: A Look Back at 1492 & CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: THE DISCOVERY
One thing I found utterly hilarious about Christopher Columbus: The Discovery was that the actress cast as the chief's daughter was clearly chosen for no other reason than her humungous "Penthouse" breasts.
She is topless in every scene -- and always framed in such a way as to show-off her “attributes”.
As far as 1492 -- agreed, it is rife with issues, but I've always had soft spot for this movie. I love historic epics, and this was really the last movie directed by "The Old Ridley". 1492 exhibits that wonderfully expressionistic lighting style which typified his earlier work -- which he drew away from after this film. Gerard Depardieu may not be a handsome guy (nor was he in the best shape by the time he made this film) but he is far-more charismatic and watchable than Georges Corraface.
Agreed on the character of Moxica, and Columbus' overscored temper tantrum (the music in this scene was clearly written for the earlier execution scene). There's also that weird moment when the Native American interpreter doesn't seem to understand why Columbus is angry that the tribe murdered and hung-up the corpses of Spaniards, because "You did the same thing to your god." Well, missionaries in the 1400s would never have explained the gospel by saying "We killed Christ" (in that era they would have blamed the Jews).
All the same, 1492 contains some of my favorite moments in any Ridley Scott film -- almost all of which feature Vangelis' music in synergetic tandem with Scott's images:
The first sighting of the New World.
The celebration after Columbus returns to Spain.
The erecting of the bell tower.
The tragic moment when Amerigo Vespucci is named "discoverer of the New World".
The final moments of the film, when Columbus begins to dictate his memoirs.
I also love the (clearly accidental) moment when the guy hits the ball into the camera lens!
And for all its clunkiness, I honestly find 1492 a more emotionally-resonant film than Gladiator, or the dispassionate flatline which is Napoleon. And Vangelis' score is major reason the film works as well as it does.
It's interesting that Christopher Columbus: The Discovery was helmed by John Glen and employed a lot of the Bond crew -- because Ridley Scott was initially interested in having John Barry score 1492. Scott offered to screen the film for Barry, but the director never followed up. I'd love to have heard a John Barry score for 1492...tho I wouldn't trade Vangelis' score for anything.
Here's neat little (probably fan-edited) piece on Vangelis scoring 1492...
She is topless in every scene -- and always framed in such a way as to show-off her “attributes”.
As far as 1492 -- agreed, it is rife with issues, but I've always had soft spot for this movie. I love historic epics, and this was really the last movie directed by "The Old Ridley". 1492 exhibits that wonderfully expressionistic lighting style which typified his earlier work -- which he drew away from after this film. Gerard Depardieu may not be a handsome guy (nor was he in the best shape by the time he made this film) but he is far-more charismatic and watchable than Georges Corraface.
Agreed on the character of Moxica, and Columbus' overscored temper tantrum (the music in this scene was clearly written for the earlier execution scene). There's also that weird moment when the Native American interpreter doesn't seem to understand why Columbus is angry that the tribe murdered and hung-up the corpses of Spaniards, because "You did the same thing to your god." Well, missionaries in the 1400s would never have explained the gospel by saying "We killed Christ" (in that era they would have blamed the Jews).
All the same, 1492 contains some of my favorite moments in any Ridley Scott film -- almost all of which feature Vangelis' music in synergetic tandem with Scott's images:
The first sighting of the New World.
The celebration after Columbus returns to Spain.
The erecting of the bell tower.
The tragic moment when Amerigo Vespucci is named "discoverer of the New World".
The final moments of the film, when Columbus begins to dictate his memoirs.
I also love the (clearly accidental) moment when the guy hits the ball into the camera lens!
And for all its clunkiness, I honestly find 1492 a more emotionally-resonant film than Gladiator, or the dispassionate flatline which is Napoleon. And Vangelis' score is major reason the film works as well as it does.
It's interesting that Christopher Columbus: The Discovery was helmed by John Glen and employed a lot of the Bond crew -- because Ridley Scott was initially interested in having John Barry score 1492. Scott offered to screen the film for Barry, but the director never followed up. I'd love to have heard a John Barry score for 1492...tho I wouldn't trade Vangelis' score for anything.
Here's neat little (probably fan-edited) piece on Vangelis scoring 1492...