Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1990
Mountains of the Moon (film)
Buy Mountains of the Moon (film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Mountains of the Moon' is a 1990 biographical film depicting the 18571858 journey of Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke in their expedition to Central Africa, which culminated in Speke's discovery of the source of the Nile River and led to a bitter rivalry between the two men. The film stars Patrick Bergin as Burton and Iain Glen as Speke. Delroy Lindo appears as an African whom the explorers meet.
The film was directed by Bob Rafelson based on the 1982 novel 'Burton and Speke' by William Harrison.
Cast
* Patrick Bergin as Richard Francis Burton
* Iain Glen as John Hanning Speke
* Richard E. Grant as Larry Oliphant
* Fiona Shaw as Isabel Arundell
* John Savident as Lord Murchison
* James Villiers as Lord Oliphant
* Adrian Rawlins as Edward
* Peter Vaughan as Lord Houghton
* Delroy Lindo as Mabruki
* Paul Onsongo as Sidi Bombay
* Bheki Tonto Ngema as King Ngola
* Martin Okello as Veldu
* Bernard Hill as David Livingstone
* Matthew Marsh as William
* Richard Caldicot as Lord John Russell
* Christopher Fulford as Herne
* Garry Cooper as Stroyan
* Roshan Seth as Ben Amir
* Anna Massey as Mrs. Arundell
* Omar Sharif as Sultan (unbilled)
Music
The original music was composed by Michael Small, who incorporated genuine traditional African music into a traditional orchestral palette. The soundtrack album was released on Polydor Records, but is long out of print. There are two major themes, one for Burton and the other for Africa. There is also a love theme for Burton's relationship to his wife Isabel Burton (portrayed in the movie by Fiona Shaw).
Availability
The film was released in a pan and scan VHS edition from a widescreen laserdisc and is currently available as both a pan and scan and widescreen DVD.
Reception
Peter Travers described 'Mountains' as "an epic of sweep and intimacy", and Siskel & Ebert gave it two thumbs up. Ebert wrote, "It's the kind of movie that sends you away from the screen filled with curiosity to know more about this man Burton." In 'Newsweek', critic Jack Kroll wrote, "The exploits of Sir Richard Francis Burton make Lawrence of Arabia look like a tourist."Jack Kroll, "In the heart of darkness," 'Newsweek', February 26, 1990 'Mountains of the Moon' holds a rating of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 16 reviews.
References
Bibliography
*Edward Rice, 'Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton: A Biography', Da Capo Press (June 5, 2001)
*Mary S. Lovell, 'A Rage to Live: A Biography of Richard and Isabel Burton', Norton & Company (1998)
Buy Mountains of the Moon (film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1990