The Mission [Special Edition]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Featuring a majestic score by Ennio Morricone and lush Oscar-winning cinematography by Chris Menges, Roland Joffe's The Mission examines the events surrounding the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, when Spain ceded part of South America to Portugal, and turns this episode into an allegory for the mid-'80s struggles of Latin America. Two European forces are on hand to win the South American natives over to imperialist ways. The plunderers want to extract riches and slaves from the New World. The missionaries, on the other hand, want to convert the Indians to Christianity and win over their souls. Mendoza (Robert De Niro) is an exploiter dabbling in the slave trade. But after he kills his brother Felipe (Aidan Quinn) in a fit of rage, he seeks redemption and calls upon the missionaries to assist him. After repeatedly climbing a cliff with a heavy weight as penance, Mendoza finds redemption and becomes a devout missionary at a settlement run by Gabriel (Jeremy Irons). The missionaries want to promote a new society in which the natives will live together in peace with the Spanish and the Portuguese. But this concept frightens the royal governors, who would rather enslave the natives than encourage peaceful coexistence between the Europeans and the Indians. They order the mission to be burned to the ground. But this event causes a rift between Gabriel, who wants to pray and pursue peaceful resistance, and Mendoza, who wants to take up arms and fight the Europeans. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 2
• Subtitle: Eng/Fre/Spa
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • cc
  • Disc 1: Full-length commentary by director Roland Joffe, all-new digital transfer soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, interactive menus, cast/director/writer film highlights, theatrical trailer, scene access, languages: English and Francais, subtitles: English, Francais, and Espanol
  • Disc 2: Bonus documentary: "Omnibus," which visits the film's South American location shoot and examines the heartrending lives of the Waunana Indians who portrayed the film's Guarani tribespeople

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Cinematography - 1986 (Chris Menges)
•     Nominated Best Art Direction - 1986 (Jack Stephens, Stuart Craig)
•     Nominated Best Costume Design - 1986 (Enrico Sabbatini)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1986 (Roland Joffé)
•     Nominated Best Editing - 1986 (Jim Clark)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1986 (Fernando Ghia, David Puttnam)
•     Nominated Best Score - 1986 (Ennio Morricone)

• American Society of Cinematographers

•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1986 (Chris Menges)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Cinematography - 1986 (Chris Menges)
•     Won Best Costume Design - 1986 (Enrico Sabbatini)
•     Won Best Supporting Actor - 1986 (Ray McAnally)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1986 (Roland Joffé)
•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1986 (Robert Bolt)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1986
•     Nominated Best Production Design - 1986 (Stuart Craig)
•     Nominated Best Score - 1986 (Ennio Morricone)
•     Nominated Editing Award - 1986 (Jim Clark)
•     Nominated Sound Award - 1986
•     Nominated Visual Effects Award - 1986

• Cannes Film Festival

•     Won Grand Technical Prize - 1986
•     Won Palme d'Or - 1986

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Won Best Score - 1986 (Ennio Morricone)
•     Won Best Screenplay - 1986 (Robert Bolt)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1986 (Roland Joffé)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comed - 1986 (Jeremy Irons)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Drama - 1986

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Cinematography - 1985 (Chris Menges)

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1986

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Robert De Niro - Mendoza
       Jeremy Irons - Gabriel
       Ray McAnally - Altamirano
       Liam Neeson - Fielding
       Aidan Quinn - Felipe
       Ronald Pickup - Hontar
       Monirak Sisowath - Ibaye
       Asuncion Ontiveros - Indian chief
       Cherie Lunghi - Carlotta
       Rev. Daniel Berrigan - Sebastian
       Tony Lawn - Father Provincial
       Rafael Camerano - Spanish commander
       Maria Teresa Ripoll - Carlotta's Maid
       Alvaro Guerrero - Jesuit
       Sigifredo Ismare - Witch Doctor
       Silvestre Chiripua - Indian
       Chuck Low - Cabeza
       Alejandrino Moya - Chief's Lieutenant
       Luis Carlos Gonzalez - Boy Singer
       Philip Bosco
       Susie Figgis
       Carlos Duplat - Portuguese Commander
       Rolf Gray - Young Jesuit
       Juliet Taylor
       Joe Daly - Nobleman
       Bercelio Moya - Indian Boy

• Director:

  Roland Joffé

• Producer:

  David Puttnam, Fernando Ghia

• Screenwriter:

  Robert Bolt

• Cinematographer:

  Chris Menges

• Composer (Music Score):

  Ennio Morricone

• Editor:

  Jim Clark

• Production Designer:

  Stuart Craig, Jack Stephens

• Art Director:

  Norman Dorme, John King, George Richardson

• Associate Producer:

  Iain Smith

• Set Designer:

  Jack Stephens

• Costume Designer:

  Enrico Sabbatini

• Makeup:

  Tommie Manderson

• Special Effects:

  Peter Hutchinson

• Camera Operator:

  Michael Roberts

• Stunts:

  Vic Armstrong

REVIEW:

• Although this 1986 Roland Joffe film won high praise, the acclaim was by no means universal. Not a few reviewers criticized it for depicting Christianized natives in 18th Century South America as little more than talking mannequins a la the old Tarzan movies. Many of these same reviewers also maintained that the script and scope of the film restricted the ability of Jeremy Irons (Father Gabriel) and Robert DeNiro (a reformed slave trader named Mendoza) to develop their celluloid alter egos beyond mere symbols of character types. However, almost every critic lauded the glorious cinematography of Chris Menges, who captured the naked beauty of a pristine wilderness -- and the raw brutality of a violent conflict between the noble and the ignoble. To its credit the film raises important questions for people of every age: Do educated, civilized and god-fearing people have a right, or even a duty, to enlighten the uninitiated? Or is it better to heed the words of poet Thomas Gray: "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise"? In the battle scene near the end, perceived heroes and villains alike fall before the fury of bullets and arrows, but it is the innocent native children caught in the crossfire who command the audience's attention. Joffe does quite well in this scene -- and leaves filmgoers with something of substance to think about. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi