Mountains of the Moon

1990
15
2h 16m

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

4.5K

YOUR RATING

The legendary true-story of Capt. Richard Francis Burton and Lt. John Hanning Speke's tumultuous expedition to find the source of the Nile river.

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Period Drama Adventure Drama History Mystery

The legendary true-story of Capt. Richard Francis Burton and Lt. John Hanning Speke's tumultuous expedition to find the source of the Nile river.The legendary true-story of Capt. Richard Francis Burton and Lt. John Hanning Speke's tumultuous expedition to find the source of the Nile river.The legendary true-story of Capt. Richard Francis Burton and Lt. John Hanning Speke's tumultuous expedition to find the source of the Nile river.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

4.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win total

User reviews57

Featured review

9/10

Indiana Jones who?

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.

Barry Kruse
Mar 19, 2002
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Trivia
The spear through Burton's face was an actual event, although the scar as depicted was wrong. The spear split his palate, causing a serious internal fracture of the jaw. It also came close to severing his tongue and it knocked out a half-dozen teeth, as well. The fact that he could survive such an extreme injury was near miraculous.

Goofs
In an scene set in 1854, Isabel is looking at a copy of "The Perfumed Garden" translated by Burton. Burton did not publish this translation until 1886. While Burton's translation was published in 1886, the original was written between 1410 and 1434. (Burton's unexpurgated translation, to be called "The Scented Garden", was still only in manuscript form when he died. Isabel burned it, believing that would help save his soul from damnation.)