Rating: 
Summary: An enlightening work of biography and the lure of Africa
Review: "Mountains of the Moon" starts out on the Indian Ocean coast of either Kenya or Tanzania. Later expedition scenes take place around Lake Turkana in Kenya's remote "Northern Frontier District." While on a three-month "camel safari" in 1988, I met the location scouting crew near the lake. The movie touches on the vastness of Africa, and features Samburu, Masai and Turkanan tribesmen. Bergin developes his character in Burton as a tough adventurer with a sensitive humanity for non-European peoples in this film. Bergin places Burton's intentions as explorer and geographer into the motives of a modern "comparative" cultural anthropologist. His companion, John Spekes, represents our modern dullness to the rich communal values of African tribesmen that exist even now in the 20th Century. Both actors compliment the relationship between Burton and Spekes who operate under continual duress while on safari. Burton, as naturalist, desires to leave only footprints; Spekes is preoccupied with shooting all that moves. The love relationship for Bergin's character by Shaw portrays a believable admiration that is truly virtuous. The romance in this film survives the real strains of separation and intrigue. Anyone who has been "on safari" somewhere in the world will identify with this relationship. The action is believable and balanced for the whole story to emerge on its own.
Rating:
Summary: An enlightening work of biography and the lure of Africa
Review: "Mountains of the Moon" starts out on the Indian Ocean coast of either Kenya or Tanzania. Later expedition scenes take place around Lake Turkana in Kenya's remote "Northern Frontier District." While on a three-month "camel safari" in 1988, I met the location scouting crew near the lake. The movie touches on the vastness of Africa, and features Samburu, Masai and Turkanan tribesmen. Bergin developes his character in Burton as a tough adventurer with a sensitive humanity for non-European peoples in this film. Bergin places Burton's intentions as explorer and geographer into the motives of a modern "comparative" cultural anthropologist. His companion, John Spekes, represents our modern dullness to the rich communal values of African tribesmen that exist even now in the 20th Century. Both actors compliment the relationship between Burton and Spekes who operate under continual duress while on safari. Burton, as naturalist, desires to leave only footprints; Spekes is preoccupied with shooting all that moves. The love relationship for Bergin's character by Shaw portrays a believable admiration that is truly virtuous. The romance in this film survives the real strains of separation and intrigue. Anyone who has been "on safari" somewhere in the world will identify with this relationship. The action is believable and balanced for the whole story to emerge on its own.
Rating: 
Summary: The Reason this wonderful disappeared...
Review: ...is because it was caught in a legal proceeding involving the bankrupt distributer, Carolco Pictures. Much like Orion Pictures and "Postcards from the Edge," it sat on the shelf for nearly a year before finally getting a limited release. Truly one of the best films of the last 30 years, it's a shame more people haven't had a chance to see it on a big screen. I bet it's one of the films in the future that is a classic--much like Gone With The Wind, only BETTER!
Rating: 
Summary: Wasn't worth the hype
Review: A great movie if you like to see grime and only grime. For me, it is a disjointed movie. The story wasn't melded enough. The characters did not connect with each other enough to create the drama. The sex scenes are so bad that they look like afterthoughts. Poor editing. I see why ordinary mortals like me would not go ga-ga over this.
Rating:
Summary: A captivating story of the search for the source of the Nile
Review: Although the theme of the story is the search for the source of the Nile, this film is more about friendship. The characters are extremely believeable and well acted. Although it may not be a technically perfect film, it is very entertaining. If you like either drama or adventure, this film is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Patience well rewarded
Review: I came to this film knowing almost nothing about Burton, Speke, or the search for the Nile; in fact I only picked it up because I heard Roger Rees was in it (he's great as always, by the way, but he only has a two-minute part at the end). However, I came away entranced and fascinated by the subject, and more especially, by the characters. Although the film is a little slow moving for ignorant types like myself, it merely requires patience for the first 20 minutes or so, before the powerful storytelling and acting overcomes any pacing problems. Patrick Bergin creates a truly memorable character, and Fiona Shaw is wonderfully...Victorian, only not. A character of true intelligence and humour, yet undeniably a product of her time. My favourite though, is Iain Glen as John Hanning Speke, who did the whole tortured/ambitious/second-fiddle-and-hating-it/sexually frustrated part very convincingly. His relationship with Burton is intense enough to unify the film as it sprawls accross two completely different continents (how civilized Africa seems next to London) and keep us caring right up to the final frames (and the belated but welcome appearance of R. Rees)!
Rating:
Summary: If you like the movie, read the book...
Review: I would have liked this movie better, had I not read the book first (how many times have you heard someone say that). The movie and cinematography are excellent; acting and sound are great, too. The script does it's best to condense the book as best it can in under two hours, however, it does twist the truth a bit to fit the timeframe. If you have seen and this liked the movie, go read the book "Burton and Speke" or "Mountains of the Moon" (the book was under two titles) by William Harrison; you will not be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: How dare a white man say he discovered Africa?
Review: Is what Sir Richard Francis Burton (Patric Begin) tells his wife Isabell (Fiona Shaw ) after she rushes in to their London home exclaiming: " Newspapers! Mr. Speke again! " At which point one of the most intelligent and best written love scenes ensues---in one of the most intelligent and best written films of all time---as Isabell demands that the hitherto heroic Burton--who has given in to drink and despair, publically confront his former friend, John Speke (Ian Glen) who is damning him in the press, and fight to vindicate his good name. Irony of Ironies! In the Victorian age, Burton, for all his dashing bravery was considered less 'respectable' than Speke. Burton had been the first European to enter Mecca, disguised as an Arab (he was fluent in 23 languages), a swordsman who published manuals on the use of the saber in combat, and translated The Kama Sutra and The Arabian Nights into English. He had a reputation for wildness in an age of conformity. Speke, of the other hand, was a British officer, a member of a prominent family, and a discreet homosexual. The irony continues. This is perhaps the best foreign film that ever bombed at the American box office. Why? 1. The heterosexual ends happily, the homosexual does not. Furthermore another homosexual, Larry (Richard Grant) plays the part of 'Iago' lying and separating the two friends into bitter rivals. Worse still, unlike, say, "Kiss of the Spider Woman " Speke, does not get his sexual fantasies fulfilled. That part of his love for Burton goes unrequited. 2. Africans in the 19th century are not represented as 'Noble Savages ' living in egalitarian harmony with each other. Rousseau would have been disappointed. 3. Outside the aforementioned outburst "How dare a white man.say he discovered Africa! Africans discovered Africa! " There is no apology for British colonialism. In fact, it's rather unimportant to the main focus of the film. 4. There were no STARS, that brought in an audience, only great actors. ( One shudders at the thought of a Hollywood remake with Tom Hanks and Tim Burton in the leads and Whoopi Goldberg delivering an impassioned speech at The Royal Geographical Society. ) This film is a glorious, true life, adventure story about the discovery of the source of the Nile. Yes, it is an "epic" , wonderfully photographed. David Lean would have loved it. Especially since the plot is driven by the characters, not the outside world, exotic as the surroundings may be. There is a tone of melancholia, a bittersweetness that prevails throughout. It is a tragedy about the friendship of Speke and Burton. The first gay as a breeze, the second a raving heterosexual but both, (without any excuses to audiences trained to expect that only 'ordinary folks' are believable ) presented for what they were: Heroes. Indeed if the word 'hero' did not apply to Speke and Burton, it would have no meaning. I lost track of how many time they saved each other's lives. A brilliant, subtle and touching film.
Rating:
Summary: How dare a white man say he discovered Africa?
Review: Is what Sir Richard Francis Burton (Patric Begin) tells his wife Isabell (Fiona Shaw ) after she rushes in to their London home exclaiming: " Newspapers! Mr. Speke again! " At which point one of the most intelligent and best written love scenes ensues---in one of the most intelligent and best written films of all time---as Isabell demands that the hitherto heroic Burton--who has given in to drink and despair, publically confront his former friend, John Speke (Ian Glen) who is damning him in the press, and fight to vindicate his good name. Irony of Ironies! In the Victorian age, Burton, for all his dashing bravery was considered less 'respectable' than Speke. Burton had been the first European to enter Mecca, disguised as an Arab (he was fluent in 23 languages), a swordsman who published manuals on the use of the saber in combat, and translated The Kama Sutra and The Arabian Nights into English. He had a reputation for wildness in an age of conformity. Speke, of the other hand, was a British officer, a member of a prominent family, and a discreet homosexual. The irony continues. This is perhaps the best foreign film that ever bombed at the American box office. Why? 1. The heterosexual ends happily, the homosexual does not. Furthermore another homosexual, Larry (Richard Grant) plays the part of 'Iago' lying and separating the two friends into bitter rivals. Worse still, unlike, say, "Kiss of the Spider Woman " Speke, does not get his sexual fantasies fulfilled. That part of his love for Burton goes unrequited. 2. Africans in the 19th century are not represented as 'Noble Savages ' living in egalitarian harmony with each other. Rousseau would have been disappointed. 3. Outside the aforementioned outburst "How dare a white man.say he discovered Africa! Africans discovered Africa! " There is no apology for British colonialism. In fact, it's rather unimportant to the main focus of the film. 4. There were no STARS, that brought in an audience, only great actors. ( One shudders at the thought of a Hollywood remake with Tom Hanks and Tim Burton in the leads and Whoopi Goldberg delivering an impassioned speech at The Royal Geographical Society. ) This film is a glorious, true life, adventure story about the discovery of the source of the Nile. Yes, it is an "epic" , wonderfully photographed. David Lean would have loved it. Especially since the plot is driven by the characters, not the outside world, exotic as the surroundings may be. There is a tone of melancholia, a bittersweetness that prevails throughout. It is a tragedy about the friendship of Speke and Burton. The first gay as a breeze, the second a raving heterosexual but both, (without any excuses to audiences trained to expect that only 'ordinary folks' are believable ) presented for what they were: Heroes. Indeed if the word 'hero' did not apply to Speke and Burton, it would have no meaning. I lost track of how many time they saved each other's lives. A brilliant, subtle and touching film.
Rating:
Summary: European quest for source of Nile
Review: It is interesting to consider that just a century (give or take a decade) before people in airplanes and spaceships were looking down on East Africa, the source of the Nile was as unknown as it had been in Caesar's lifetime. The discovery of the source of the Nile was one of the last prizes for European explorers during the 19th century, and that is the starting point for this film, which chronicles the expeditions of Richard Burton and John Speke, their friendship and eventual falling-out over the debate as to whether the source had been discovered. I very much enjoyed "Mountains of the Moon", and could have happily watched a longer version, but I also have to admit that this movie doesn't succeed as much as I hoped it would. It is a well made movie, beautifully filmed on location in Africa. The script is intelligent and seems (to me) to be historically accurate to the extent that is possible in a two-hour film. The acting and music are fine. But somehow all of the ingredients don't come together into a fully successful film. I had the idea that I enjoyed the film because I already knew a lot about the subject, but someone without that knowledge might have a more difficult time with it. Overall this is a very good effort, and much credit has to be given for making a film about an African historical subject. Recommended, but especially for anyone who has already read a book or two about Burton, Speke, and East Africa.
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