Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) on Netflix
PG-1319922hAdventureBiographyDrama
Genoese navigator Christopher Columbus wants to sail west to the Indies. Refused by Portugal, he seeks ships from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, and faces Tomas de Torquemada.
- Netflix1.3/5
- IMDb4.5/103,405 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes7%
Trailer
Plot summary
Christopher Columbus, a navigator from Genoa, believes a route to the Indies lies to the west, across open ocean, rather than along the established courses to the east. He first asks Portugal for backing and is turned down. He carries the proposal to the Spanish court, where King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella weigh it, and where Tomas de Torquemada, who heads the Spanish Inquisition, questions him. The Emirate of Granada has fallen to the Spanish crown. Isabella gives her blessing and the financing, and Columbus sets out with three ships into seas that the maps of his own day do not describe.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Director Ridley Scott had considered making a Columbus film for the Salkinds, but made the rival 1492: Conquest of Paradise instead. The Salkinds sued him, alleging he stole their ideas, and sought $40 million in damages plus a ruling barring his film.
- Marlon Brando was paid $5 million for the film and asked that his name be taken off the credits, but the producers kept it in anyway.
- The film's first director, George P. Cosmatos, left over "creative differences" and later sued the producers for millions, settling out of court; John Glen replaced him shortly before shooting began.
- After Cosmatos left as director, actors Timothy Dalton and Isabella Rossellini quit as well, and Dalton sued the producers for breach of contract and fraud, saying they gave no bank guarantee for his $2.5 million salary.
- During production the $42 million budget was being cut and the producers considered turning the film into a TV miniseries instead of a theatrical release, until Ilya Salkind secured a $50 million budget.
- In September 1994 producer Ilya Salkind, his wife and the film's executive producer Jane Chaplin sued his father and co-producer, Alexander Salkind, along with co-producer Bob Simmonds and other creditors, for $10 million.
