1492 Conquest of Paradise free essay sample

The paper discusses the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise, and compares it to the actual voyage of Columbus. The paper examines the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise in light of the historical telling of the Columbus story. The films setting, portrayal of character, dialog and violence are assessed against fact. The film is found to overall not be a realistic portrayal of historical fact. This film depicts the violence of the Spaniards when the first discovered the New World, and shows how cruel man can be to fellow man, in the name of conquest and riches. It depicts Columbus as also a good deal more convincing as a human being. As played by Gerard Depardieu, he seems huge and shaggy and dogged, just the kind of man who would get an idea in his head and refuse to surrender it (Ebert). In the film, director Ridley Scott portrays him as arrogant at times, which an explorer would have to be to lead three tiny ships into the unknown to prove his theories. We will write a custom essay sample on 1492: Conquest of Paradise or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the movie he says to Sanchez, the Spanish royal treasurer: Look out there! What do you see? Sanchez: I see clouds I see palaces, I see steeples: I see civilization and I see spires that reach to the sky. Columbus: All of them created by people like me. No matter how long you live Sanchez, there is something that will never change between us: I did it, you didnt (1492).