Mountains of the Moon

"Two strangers made friends by a savage land. Two friends made enemies by the civilized world."

1990 2h 16m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 89

AdventureDramaHistory

Synopsis

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The story of Captain Richard Francis Burton's and Lt. John Hanning Speke's expedition to find the source of the Nile river in the name of Queen Victoria's British Empire.

“Two strangers made friends by a savage land. Two friends made enemies by the civilized world.”

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Cast

Patrick Bergin
Richard Burton
Iain Glen
John Hanning Speke
Richard E. Grant
Oliphant
Fiona Shaw
Isabel
John Savident
Lord Murchison
James Villiers
Lord Oliphant
Adrian Rawlins
Edward
Peter Vaughan
Lord Houghton

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Bob Rafelson
Writers: William Harrison, Bob Rafelson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 22% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Bob Rafelson, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Small. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Thom Noble shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Patrick Bergin and Iain Glen and Richard E. Grant carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Two strangers made friends by a savage land. Two friends made enemies by the civilized world.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Bob Rafelson directs. Roger Deakins behind the camera. Michael Small scores. Thom Noble cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 22% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
236 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, United Kingdom.
4Directed by Bob Rafelson, shot by Roger Deakins. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Michael Small. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Thom Noble shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Patrick Bergin and Iain Glen and Richard E. Grant carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Two strangers made friends by a savage land. Two friends made enemies by the civilized world.".
9IMDB entry: tt0100196 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 89 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "based on novel or book", "africa", "river", "expedition".