1492: Conquest of Paradise

Flawed, certainly, but by no means the horror-show its paltry box-office performance would suggest. Read full review

In its own way and up to a certain point, 1492 is a satisfactory film. Depardieu lends it gravity, the supporting performances are convincing, the locations are realistic, and we are inspired to reflect that it did indeed take a certain nerve to sail off into nowhere just because an orange was round. Read full review

The movie's pageantry and visual grandeur are its most impressive elements, along with Depardieu's command as Columbus. [09 Oct 1992, p.20]

He never gets the material under control. But what he has, in 1492, is dazzling. [09 Oct 1992, p.G5]

Scott and Bosch deserve credit for honoring the moral complexities and consequences of Columbus's conquests, but in trying to cram so much into a lavishly mainstream film, they've lost the impact of an adventure that is perhaps best relived in documentaries. [09 Oct 1992, p.3]

1492 is a pretty good movie, but it isn't as good as you might like. Part of the problem is Roselyne Bosch's script. The screenwriter (and co-producer) seems so determined to make a hero of Columbus that she can't resist giving him every virtue and virtuous motive available, and placing him in direct opposition to every bad guy or bad idea around, including decadent aristocrats, ignorant priests, and the Church and the Inquisition in general. [12 Oct 1992]