Rating: 
Summary: For Adventurers & Explorers
Review: Great movie, great unknown cast PLUS one of the best directors of the latter 20th century. Some of the better cinema treats do not make the top box office due to the lack of a revenge motive or one man saves the world type. Don't expect the gargantuan special effects but rely on Bob Rafelson's direction. If you are into Swartzennegger and Stallone then this one is not for you. No "hasta la vistas, baby"; just pure cinema professionalism.
Rating:
Summary: Excellence!!
Review: I first saw this movie in 1991 and instantly fell in love, wishing I could go out and dicover something as monumental as the source for the Nile River. The acting in this movie is stupendous, Patrick Bergin as "Richard Burton", Iain Glen as "John Speke", and Fiona Shaw as Burton's wife,(I forgot here name in the movie), they all deserve Oscars for their performances. This movie was highly overlooked by hollywood and that is a huge mistake by them, this movie could and should have won best picture honors. The scenery is breathtaking the way it is filmed and the history is potrayed in a fairly accurate light. This movie should be on everybody's top ten list.
Rating:
Summary: It is a MOVIE you know
Review: Ken Burns makes documentaries, Bob Rafelson doesn't. To the people who complain about the alleged historical inaccuracies of this film, I say, "relax". First of all, as is mentioned in the script, no one knows exactly what the relationship between Burton and Speke was except them. So I think it acceptable for the filmmakers to take liberty there. If a film isn't entertaining...well, it won't get made in the first place. And considering how un-Hollywood films like this are, I consider it a minor miracle that it got made in the first place. Same can be said about many others.Anyhow. I think if you watch this film with a non-judgmental mindset, you'll be sure to enjoy it immensely. It's just so well made. As others have written, the cast and performances are top-notch, as is the directing and photography. The numerous scenes using what appear to be real native Africans are mesmerizing. The sense of adventure that exploration of this type embodied, both good and bad, is brought through very clearly. Yes, it makes you want to go off to Africa and discover something great. Not a bad idea. Historically accurate? I don't know. What's more, I don't care. This is a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: It is a MOVIE you know
Review: Ken Burns makes documentaries, Bob Rafelson doesn't. To the people who complain about the alleged historical inaccuracies of this film, I say, "relax". First of all, as is mentioned in the script, no one knows exactly what the relationship between Burton and Speke was except them. So I think it acceptable for the filmmakers to take liberty there. If a film isn't entertaining...well, it won't get made in the first place. And considering how un-Hollywood films like this are, I consider it a minor miracle that it got made in the first place. Same can be said about many others. Anyhow. I think if you watch this film with a non-judgmental mindset, you'll be sure to enjoy it immensely. It's just so well made. As others have written, the cast and performances are top-notch, as is the directing and photography. The numerous scenes using what appear to be real native Africans are mesmerizing. The sense of adventure that exploration of this type embodied, both good and bad, is brought through very clearly. Yes, it makes you want to go off to Africa and discover something great. Not a bad idea. Historically accurate? I don't know. What's more, I don't care. This is a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: the most criminally overlooked movie of all time
Review: Mountains of the Moon is possibly the most criminally overlooked movie of all time. For all the horrid yet prize-winning films about morose Europeans falling in love with colonial Africa, this absolute diamond about the search for the source of the Nile has gone inexplicably unappreciated. The Cinematography of this film is breathtaking (being one of the handful of people who saw it in the theaters, I should know). The filmmakers have not only captured the wonders of the African landscape, their job of depicting Victorian England is something even the folks at Merchant/Ivory must envy. Beauty aside, Patrick Bergin and Fiona Shaw turn in two of the greatest acting performances of the Twentieth Century. I first fell in love with Shaw in this movie...not even playing Petunia Dursley has strained my affection. Mountains of the Moon is, at its core, a meditation on the meaning of friendship. Where does friendship end and love begin? Betrayal in one (even if only a suspected betrayal) can be just as fatal as in the other. With one final nod to Delroy Lindo in a smaller, but crucial, role before I go, I give Mountains of the Moon my absolute highest recommendation. This is one of the best movies ever. Get it today.
Rating: 
Summary: Full screen vs. Wide screen
Review: Several other reviewers had commented that this was a widescreen edition mis-labeled as a full screen DVD. They are 1/2 right. It is a letterbox edition that thinks it is full screen. I had difficulty getting a wide image on a 16x9 screen (black bars on top bottom and sides), but on a regular TV got a letterbox image. Black saturation is not great on the image. I think it was probably transfered to DVD from a letterbox videotape. It would be nice if Artisan re-did this movie as a widescreen anamorphic DVD from the original 35mm print. The movie has spectacular scenes of Africa and it is a shame that the image quality is not the highest.
Rating:
Summary: Full screen vs. Wide screen
Review: Several other reviewers had commented that this was a widescreen edition mis-labeled as a full screen DVD. They are 1/2 right. It is a letterbox edition that thinks it is full screen. I had difficulty getting a wide image on a 16x9 screen (black bars on top bottom and sides), but on a regular TV got a letterbox image. Black saturation is not great on the image. I think it was probably transfered to DVD from a letterbox videotape. It would be nice if Artisan re-did this movie as a widescreen anamorphic DVD from the original 35mm print. The movie has spectacular scenes of Africa and it is a shame that the image quality is not the highest.
Rating:
Summary: mrinfo
Review: still a great movie and still in widescreen !
Rating:
Summary: This is WIDESCREEN.
Review: This is a beautiful WIDESCREEN TRANSFER. The cover of the box says fullscreen, the aspect ratio symbol says fullscreen, and the disc itself says fullscreen. Somehow, the executives at Artisan in charge of Incredibly Bad Decisions (using fullscreen, adding Macrovision, etc) got outfoxed. Score one for the good guys. Don't know if it's anamorphic, though. Extremely good color and definition, even when you zoom in 8x. If you like this movie, you'll be more than happy with the DVD. Fairly priced, too.
Rating:
Summary: Enormously Satisfying
Review: This is one of those films that you don't want to end but which leaves you feeling it had to be longer than its actual running time, it is so full of drama and covers so much ground. It is a rich and rewarding piece of storytelling with a great sense of the Victorian age when the location of the source of the Nile was considered the greatest of all unknowns. To the best of my knowledge the film is also historially accurate. Now if only we could expect the release of the equally superb 1972 docu-drama series "The Search For The Nile" it would make the perfect companion to this great film.
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