1492: Conquest of Paradise

1492: Conquest of Paradise (in French, 1492 : Christophe Colomb) is an epic 1992 adventure/drama film which tells the fictionalized story of the discovery of the New World by the Genoan explorer Christopher Columbus and the effect this had on the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The film was released by Paramount to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage.
 * Written by Roselyne Bosch, directed by Ridley Scott.

Centuries before the exploration of space, there was another voyage into the unknown. (tagline)

Christopher Columbus

 * Is Ambition only a Virtue among nobles, a fault for others?
 * Riches don't make a man rich, they only make him busier.
 * Paradise and Hell both can be earthly.

Dialogue

 * Isabella I: The New World is a Disaster.
 * Christopher Columbus: And the old one, an Achievement?


 * Sanchez: [Columbus stops Sanchez after he leaves an audience with the Queen. Sanchez looks at him, disgusted] You're a dreamer.
 * Columbus: [shooting a glance out of a window] Tell me, what do you see?
 * Sanchez: [pausing to look] I see rooftops, I see palaces, I see towers, I see spires that reach... to the sky! I see civilization!
 * Columbus: All of them built by people like me.
 * [Sanchez doesn't respond - shocked]
 * Columbus: No matter how long you live, Sanchez, there is something that will never change between us. I did it. You didn't.


 * Columbus: I believe the Indies are no more than 750 leagues west of the Canary Islands.
 * Antonio de Marchena: How can you be so certain?
 * Columbus: The calculations of Toscanelli, Marin de Tyr, Esdras...
 * Antonio de Marchena: Esdras is a Jew...
 * Columbus: So was Christ.
 * Antonio de Marchena: Two minutes and you're already a dead man.
 * Columbus: For telling the truth?
 * Antonio de Marchena: Yes. They are burning people for less. The men you are about the confront have no emotions. You must learn to control your passion.
 * Columbus: Passion is something one cannot control.


 * Queen Isabella I.: [During her last audience with Columbus] I have looked for a reason why I should allow you to go back and although I've tried I couldn't find one. Help me find one.
 * Columbus: All my life I have dreamt of reaching the continent. I thought my dreams grandiose. But reality was beyond my expectations. Far beyond. And now I want to explore that land before I die.
 * Queen Isabella I.: I allow you to undertake another voyage. But without your brothers. Nor for you to return to Santo Domingo or any other colonies. The New World is a disaster.
 * Columbus: And the old one an achievement?
 * Queen Isabella I.: [after Columbus leaves] I know. I shouldn't tolerate his impertinence.
 * Sanchez: Then why?
 * Queen Isabella I.: Because he is not afraid of me.

Tagline

 * Centuries before the exploration of space, there was another voyage into the unknown.

Cast

 * Gérard Depardieu as Christopher Columbus
 * Armand Assante as Gabriel Sanchez, Columbus's archenemy in Castile
 * Sigourney Weaver as Queen Isabella I
 * Loren Dean as Older Ferdinand Columbus
 * Ángela Molina as Beatriz Enriquez de Arana
 * Fernando Rey as Antonio de Marchena
 * Michael Wincott as Adrián de Moxica, Columbus's archenemy in the Indies
 * Tchéky Karyo as Martín Alonso Pinzón
 * Kevin Dunn as Captain Méndez
 * Frank Langella as Luis de Santángel
 * Mark Margolis as Francisco de Bobadilla
 * Kario Salem as de Arojaz
 * Billy L. Sullivan as Younger Ferdinand Columbus
 * John Heffernan as Brother Buyl
 * Arnold Vosloo as Hernando de Guevara
 * Steven Waddington as Bartholomew Columbus, brother of Christopher
 * Fernando Guillén Cuervo as Giacomo Columbus, brother of Christopher
 * José Luis Ferrer as Alonso de Bolaños
 * Bercelio Moya as Utapán
 * Juan Diego Botto as Diego Columbus
 * Achero Mañas as Ship's Boy
 * Fernando García Rimada as King Ferdinand V
 * Albert Vidal as Hernando de Talavera
 * Isabel Prinz as Dueña
 * Jack Taylor as de Vicuña
 * Ángela Rosal as Pinzón's Wife
 * Silvia Montero as Pinzón's Daughter (uncredited)