IMDb RATING
7.1/10
4.3K
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.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.
- Awards
- 1 win
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe term 'Mountains of the Moon', refers to the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda, which are located northwest of Lake Victoria, 185 miles west of Kampala, between Lake Edward and Lake Albert.
- GoofsIn 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.)
- Quotes
Arab chief in Cairo: In this wilderness you will find only Allah's terrible whimsy.
- Crazy creditsThis motion picture's opening title card reads: "East African Coast 1854".
Featured review
Too bad no-one seems to know this nice movie.
I have to admit that, before it was shown on television a few weeks ago, I had never heard of the movie. When I see how many people wrote a review or voted for this movie on IMDb, I guess I'm not the only one. It's clear to me that this is a movie that has never had any attention. Not from the public, the cinema's nor the festivals. Even journalist didn't pay much attention to it. Does that mean this movie isn't worth seeing? Certainly not, although the subject probably isn't very attractive to the mainstream audience.
The movie tells the story of Burton and Speke, two friends and explorers who tried to find the source of the Nile in the middle of the nineteenth century. Burton was more of an anthropologist who wanted to learn more about the indigenous tribes which they encountered on their journeys, while Speke was more interested in the discovery of the source itself. Once they were back home they become enemies, because Speke tells everybody who wants to hear it that he alone discovered the source of the Nile, namely Lake Victoria.
There are different things that I liked about this movie. The acting was very good, the costumes were nice, but what I really liked were the images from the African landscapes, the animals, the people... Seeing the images from England just made me look forward to the next scenes in Africa. It never felt right to see these two explorers in England, you're always left with the feeling that they belong in Africa. I guess that is where the strength of this movie lies ... It makes you feel exactly the way these men felt. I reward this little masterpiece with an 8/10.
The movie tells the story of Burton and Speke, two friends and explorers who tried to find the source of the Nile in the middle of the nineteenth century. Burton was more of an anthropologist who wanted to learn more about the indigenous tribes which they encountered on their journeys, while Speke was more interested in the discovery of the source itself. Once they were back home they become enemies, because Speke tells everybody who wants to hear it that he alone discovered the source of the Nile, namely Lake Victoria.
There are different things that I liked about this movie. The acting was very good, the costumes were nice, but what I really liked were the images from the African landscapes, the animals, the people... Seeing the images from England just made me look forward to the next scenes in Africa. It never felt right to see these two explorers in England, you're always left with the feeling that they belong in Africa. I guess that is where the strength of this movie lies ... It makes you feel exactly the way these men felt. I reward this little masterpiece with an 8/10.
helpful•274
- philip_vanderveken
- Oct 8, 2004
- How long is Mountains of the Moon?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $19,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,011,793
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $66,683
- Feb 25, 1990
- Gross worldwide
- $4,011,793
- Runtime2 hours 16 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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