1492: Conquest of Paradise

Gérard Depardieu stars as Christopher Columbus in director Ridley Scott's epic film that chronicles the explorer's voyages and tribulations. Obsessed with his vision of pursuing a western route to Asia, in 1492, Columbus petitions Isabella (Sigourney Weaver), the Spanish queen, to fund his voyage, and with the help of her treasurer, Sanchez (Armand Assante), he finally succeeds in gaining her backing. Setting off in three ships, Columbus plies uncharted waters for weeks on end until his crew, exhausted and near starvation, threatens to mutiny. But the explorer rallies the men with an impassioned speech about the importance of the mission, and shortly thereafter they land in the New World. The crew establishes amicable relations with the native people, and Columbus leaves some of his men behind on his return to Spain, where he is greeted as a hero by the queen, eager to know what he has found. Upon his return to the New World, Columbus finds that a number of his crew have been killed, but insists on treating the Indians humanely, establishing a colonial government. Yet the colonists' relations with the Indians continue to worsen, and Columbus is recalled by Isabella.