This is a film whose protagonist is a recently maligned historical figure, so clutch your pearls if you don't dare see history as it might've occurred to Columbus. For me, it was worth considering that the world isn't black and white, that we judge from a modern moral framework that did not (indeed, could not) exist in 1492, and that opinions on colonialism in the 21st century aside, Colombus was a moral man. Bringing Christianity to the New World was exactly what a moral person in 1492 would concern themselves with (whether that suits your sensibilities today is irrelevant) and the story accurately portrays that he intended to do so with compassion and humanity - which does make him a sympathetic figure relative to his contemporaries.
If you read his journals, the story is supposedly historically more-or-less accurate (I have not, only excerpts).
I'm pleased to gain a greater understanding of a truly remarkable life. He was a dreamer, a visionary; an ambitious, self-made man; a foreigner and immigrant his entire life, who reshaped history (but whose person should not be blamed for the arc of all that ensued due to his discovery).
Ridley Scott is a master, of course. The world is vivid and detailed. It's dated filmmaking, but I was never too conscious of it. The score is great. And I never thought Depardieu's accent detracted from the telling as some others have complained about.
If you read his journals, the story is supposedly historically more-or-less accurate (I have not, only excerpts).
I'm pleased to gain a greater understanding of a truly remarkable life. He was a dreamer, a visionary; an ambitious, self-made man; a foreigner and immigrant his entire life, who reshaped history (but whose person should not be blamed for the arc of all that ensued due to his discovery).
Ridley Scott is a master, of course. The world is vivid and detailed. It's dated filmmaking, but I was never too conscious of it. The score is great. And I never thought Depardieu's accent detracted from the telling as some others have complained about.