1492: Conquest of Paradise

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1492: Conquest of Paradise

PG-13,

1992,

2h 25m,

History/

Drama

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Watchlist

30%

23 Reviews

Tomatometer

50%

10,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

30%

Tomatometer

23 Reviews

50%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Determined to find a new sailing route to India, Christopher Columbus (Gérard Depardieu) convinces Spanish Queen Isabella (Sigourney Weaver) to finance an expedition. Setting sail with three ships, Columbus quells potential mutinies until the men arrive in North America. After his triumphant return home, Columbus is appointed governor of the new territory, but his dream of a peaceful new world does not fit with nobleman Don Adrian de Moxica's (Michael Wincott) visions of conquest.

Critics Consensus

Historically inaccurate and dramatically inert, Ridley Scott's retelling of Christopher Columbus' exploits is an epic without grandeur or insight.

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David Ansen

Newsweek

Feb 8, 2018

This $50 million spectacle must be one of the least entertaining epic films ever made.

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Anthony Lane

Independent (UK)

Jan 4, 2018

Ridley Scott's 1492: Conquest of Paradise is a long, becalmed and hollow hull of a movie about the old order bumping into the New World.

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Jack Kroll

Newsweek

Oct 18, 2008

Here's a one-word review of 1492: hubris.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Mar 15, 2025

5/10

As a historical epic, it boasts an authentic rendering of the period that reflects Scott's attention to visual detail, but overall, its portrayal of the legendary conqueror is lost like a ship at sea. [Full review in Spanish]

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Ellie Lucas

From the Front Row

Jun 4, 2019

2/4

A beautifully constructed drag that never seems to become the grand epic it truly wants to be.

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Vanessa Letts

The Spectator

Jul 24, 2018

The film doesn't, as it should have done, make any profound attempt to examine the split between good and evil within Christopher Columbus himself.

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Kylo W

Mar 21, 2019

Best movie about Columbus. Revisionist American haters, communist pigs try to rewrite our history of our great and Noble founder. This movie gives his peace his justice and his love for people and discovery.

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Abraham W

May 23, 2018

Columbus romanticized according to the heady and overwrought sensibilities of the 1990s. In the words of Roger Ebert: "I am not convinced that Columbus was as enlightened as he seems in this movie, but perhaps historical figures exist in order to be reinterpreted every so often in terms of current needs. In Columbus': "Life has more imagination than we carry in our dreams."

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Albus M

Aug 20, 2017

20/08/17 A not so accurate historical biopic of Christopher Columbus. They paint him as a noble that cared immensely for the local indigenous. Further reading suggests this is not the case.

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Leia L

May 23, 2017

It's hard to imagine a worse movie that 1492: Conquest of Paradise. What bull****.

Hagrid W

Feb 22, 2017

It is so inaccurate it hurts.

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Ridley Scott

Director

Gérard Depardieu

Christopher Columbus

Armand Assante

Sanchez

Sigourney Weaver

Queen Isabella I.

Loren Dean

Older Fernando Columbus

Ángela Molina

Beatrix Enriquez

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Synopsis

Determined to find a new sailing route to India, Christopher Columbus (Gérard Depardieu) convinces Spanish Queen Isabella (Sigourney Weaver) to finance an expedition. Setting sail with three ships, Columbus quells potential mutinies until the men arrive in North America. After his triumphant return home, Columbus is appointed governor of the new territory, but his dream of a peaceful new world does not fit with nobleman Don Adrian de Moxica's (Michael Wincott) visions of conquest.

Director: Ridley Scott
Producer: Alain Goldman, Ridley Scott
Production Co: Gaumont, France 3 Cinéma
Rating: PG-13
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 6, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.5M
Runtime: 2h 25m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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