CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Winifred The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

hddu10 As someone who will watch pretty much anything that is filmed on location in Africa, I found this historical retelling of the 19th century Geographic Society's scramble for discovery (also related to the European "scramble for Africa) to be entertaining, condescending and compelling. The cinematography is excellent, there is no mistaking some of those locations. And once you realize this is all a glimpse of Africa from white English explorers who cannot communicate (or even understand) their surroundings, and thus are as confused and appalled as the viewer in some scenes, you can get over some of the more racist undertones...because they were racist back then. So, take this as a period piece of discovery and adventure in an age when people all over the world were discovering each other for the first time, and you will absolutely enjoy it.

SnoopyStyle It's 1854. Entitled aristocratic John Hanning Speke (Iain Glen) arrives on the East African Coast on leave from the Army. He recruits Captain Richard Francis Burton (Patrick Bergin) on a journey to find the source of the Nile. Burton is an expert on natives. They call the location Mountains of the Moon. The expedition is soon attacked by a local tribe. Burton and Speke barely escape. Back in England, Burton is organizing a new expedition with the Royal Geographical Society. Isabel Arundell is a well-read spinster and completely taken with Burton. With Speke at his side, Burton returns to Africa to lead a grand expedition following Arab slave trade routes into the interior. They rescue escaped slave Mabruki (Delroy Lindo) from the lions.It is an epic Victorian adventure. It's too bad that few saw it and it continues that few people knows about it. It is grand and a character study. The black Africans are not cartoon characters. One can compare it to Lawrence of Arabia. The cinematography is not quite as great but the story is every bit as compelling. This is an old fashion epic that is being made less and less. There is so much in this story. Surprisingly, the last half hour takes place in England. Changing tone from tense adventure in Africa to Academic back-fighting in London can be tough but the movie never stops being interesting.

grantss Interesting docu-drama. Tells the story of the expedition of Captain Richard Burton and Lt John Hanning Speke to find the source of the Nile river, in the 1850s. Tells of their trials and tribulations, and what happened once they returned to England.For the most part, the movie is a boys-own story of action and adventure, of close escapes from mortal danger, and surviving. However, Disney this is not (and thankfully so). The action scenes are quite gritty and graphically violent, which give it a great sense of realism.Settings and cinematography are great, as you would hope for a exploration-adventure movie.Last few scenes are quite moving too.

tenthousandtattoos This film is so atmospheric it makes you want to pack a rucksack, some provisions, bid the family goodbye and jump aboard a boat headed for the dark continent...welcome to Mountains of the Moon, based on the true life exploits of 1850's explorers Sir Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke.Bob Rafelson has done a fine job directing this historical epic, and it's a shame this great film is not more readily available. It begins when Michael Small's wonderful theme segues over the titles into some tribal drums and we see ships landing on an African shore. Speke (Iain Glen) has travelled to Morocco to meet Burton (Patrick Bergin), a seasoned explorer. Both men have a fascination with finding the source of the Nile River.The film jumps straight into the action, with Burton narrating their first foray together into the fold of the dark continent, the area on maps of the time that was simply a great blank expanse, labelled "Uncharted and Unexplored".Their camp is attacked in the dead of night by a hostile tribe, who kill many of Burton's party, along with most of the African porters along for the journey, and take Speke captive, while Burton flees to the ocean shore with the head porter, but not before taking a spear through the face. Speke awakes in the morning to the brutal tribe picking through the camp and torturing survivors, and after being tortured himself (in a truly disturbing scene as we realise this tribesman that is stabbing him in the thighs with a spear is not doing it to "interrogate", he is doing it purely for the fun of it) makes a knuckle-biting escape to join Burton at the seaside where ships have come to take them home.After this dramatic opening, the film settles into a nice rhythm, cutting back to some scenes in England where Burton meets Isabel Arundel (Fiona Shaw), who would become the love of his life. Fiona Shaw's performance is great, her powerful voice and demeanour a perfect match for Burton's larger than life persona and brash nature.Then it's off to Africa again, and a wonderful trek across the endless savanna to discover the source of the great river that fascinates both men, and indeed an entire nation back home.But Burton is struck ill on the journey, and it is Speke who finishes the trek, finding what he (correctly, though he didn't know it then) thought to be the source of the Nile, a great lake he named Victoria.Back in England again, the story turns to the subsequent betrayal of Burton by Speke, in claiming sole credit for the discovery, and that drove a permanent wedge between the friends.As in Burton's own words he describes his relationship with John Speke as being as close as two men can become without being lovers. That is truly shown in this film, the relationship is real, and heart-felt, by both performers in a truly amazing film. Particularly moving is when Burton is informed of his friend's death/suicide while giving a speech, and though he tries, is unable to continue speaking. It's very well acted...he doesn't break down or anything, but you can see the sadness crawl across his features like a shadow as he falters over his words.Costumes, music, photography, it's all superb, and to specify how superb it is would be redundant. It's simply better to experience it for yourself. It's immersive and rich, and for a historical epic (a genre notoriously prone to too-long, melodramatic and ultimately boring films) it moves along at a nice pace that never gets dull. The dialogue is wonderfully written, as is the film itself, adapted in part from Burton's own manuscripts.The scenes in England are all the more beautiful with the performance of Fiona Shaw. Her final words to Burton are stirring and so effortlessly believable. Another standout scene is a brief appearance by Bernard Hill as Sir David Livingstone (you'll recognise him most recently as Theodan, King of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings films).Perfect for a comfy night in on the couch, this movie has adventure, action, humour, depth of character and story, great music and photography, and a "sitting round the campfire telling stories" kind of feel that is just great. Highly recommended.