Mountains of the Moon

When this film came out in 1990, it disappeared from the theaters as quickly as it came. Which is a shame really, because MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON is an excellent historical drama about the search for source of the Nile. The film is beautifully photographed on real African locations. I hate to call this film an epic, because that word has bad connotations today, and the film does not suffer from "epicitis" like so many films dubbed "epics". But MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON is an epic in the positive sense of the word.

The cast is uniformally good. A lot has already been written in this forum by others about the leads so I won't say anymore. Supporting player Delroy Lindo sometimes steals the show with his excellent role as the expeditions African guide.

I recommend you rent this along with STANLEY AND LIVINGSTONE for a night of good viewing.

Till next time...Your pal Jim.

This is an excellent film, and it's unfortunate that it wasn't more widely seen. I wish I would've caught it in the theater, as I'm sure it would be magnificent there.

In it, you're going to see some of the most painfully memorable scenes in cinema (that I refuse to give away), and an epic story that is most remarkably, wholly true.

I loved Raiders of the Lost Ark, and before "meeting" Sir Richard Francis Burton, thought characters of Indy's ilk were simply figments of Steven Spielberg's imagination. However, with study you will find that Burton's experience (and that well beyond this expedition) makes him one of the most enigmatic, interesting people to have ever walked the face of the earth. As they say, truth is stranger than fiction.

Slow, smart, challenging, beautiful. And highly recommended viewing.

Capt. Sir Richard Francis Burton and his mate, John Hanning Speke's travels to find the source of the Nile, and travails to claim the rigth to say that either of these two gentlemen adventurers discovered the source of the Nile makes for one of the biggest and best EPIC adventure films in recent memory. The performances from Patrick Bergin (better known for PATRIOT GAMES and SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY), and Ian Glen (last seen on Broadway opposite Nicole Kidman in THE BLUE ROOM), turn in career-making perfomances as the two polar opposites who race to find the glory at the end of finding the source of the Nile. Bob Rafaelson, the man behind the camera, does not feel the need to spare the audience of any graphic details from the expeditions (including spearings, native sex, castrations, and ugly political maneuvering), and in the end, this is the best way to go since sparing us would have cheated us. Nor does he feel the need to spare us from any ticks in the characters themselves (Burton's blatant drinking and womanizing) and their questions (Is Speke gay? Who does end up with the bigger ego?). But the film's greatest achievements are:

1 - It makes you understand why these two gentlemen lived the lives they lived.

2- It makes you want to read more about them.

3- It really does make you feel like you too, got to go to see the Mountains of The Moon.

A great story, beautifully filmed and acted about two Victorian era explorers. Irish-born Sir Richard Francis Burton, one of the greatest explorers in history, is in search of knowledge. English-born dilletante John Hanning Speke joins Burton's quest in search of glory. Together they search for the answer to one of the most elusive geographical questions of their time - what is the Nile's source? The film accurately shows how the Royal Geographical Society and other outside interests played Burton and Speke against each other for their own gain.

The film's tagline really says it all: "Two strangers made friends by a savage world. Two friends made enemies by a civilized world."

The British Empire owed a lot to opportunistic soldiers of fortune as well as to explorers: men who risked their lives (and the lives of others) for profit, fame and the recognition from their peers for their accomplishments. In the last category one could think of men like Livingstone, Stanley, Scott and Burton. Captain Richard Francis Burton (whose life we follow in this film) risked a lot for the sake of discovery (to find the source of the Nile) but at the same time he was also a man with a genuine interest and outmost respect for the indigenous peoples and cultures found deep in Africa.

In the film we see Burton joining forces with a young and ambitious Lieutenant (Lt. Speke) to travel again to his beloved Africa to locate the source of Nile with an expedition funded by the Royal Geographical Society. The film is an account of this trip but shows also events before and after this. Watching this movie we can grasp the differences between the two men, their strong ties and friendship during their common effort in the expedition and also later how each one coped with their success at home (London).

The Mountains of the Moon is a fascinating film. It tells a great story without romanticizing the situations during and after the trip to Africa. Burton, Speke and their comrades endured too much to find the source of Nile, and all of them for their own reasons. The novel by William Harrison (that this movie is based on) does not fall into the trap of trying to imitate Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' but gives us a different perspective altogether. Do not miss this film.