Mountains of the Moon movie storyline. In the Nineteenth Century, the British writer, geographer and explorer Captain Richard Francis Burton meets the Lieutenant John Hanning Speke during a dangerous journey in Africa and after being saved by Speke, they become friends. Soon they team-up to seek the source of the Nile River sponsored by the Royal Geographic Society. Meanwhile Burton meets his fan Isabel Arundell and they get married to each other.
Burton and Speke travel for many months through Africa where they face brutal tribes, diseases, hunger and many other dangers together. Speke finds a lake that he believes it is the source of Nile river but Burton disagrees and believes they need more scientific research to be sure. When they separately return to London, the ambitious publisher Larry Oliphant stirs up a quarrel between the two friends and Speke travels alone to Africa trying to prove his findings. Will their friendship end?
Mountains of the Moon is a 1990 Rankcolor theatrical film depicting the 1857–58 journey of Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke in their expedition to Central Africa – the project that culminated in Speke’s discovery of the source of the Nile River. The expedition led to a bitter rivalry between the two men. The film stars Patrick Bergin as Burton and Iain Glen as Speke. Delroy Lindo made an early film appearance as an African native the adventurers meet.
The film was directed by Bob Rafelson, for whom this was something of a dream project. It was based on the novel Burton and Speke by William Harrison. The narrative concentrates on the relationship between the two very different men. A first-time epic for Rafelson, it opened to positive reviews.
Mountains of the Moon (1990)
Directed by: Bob Rafelson
Starring: Patrick Bergin, Iain Glen, Richard E. Grant, Fiona Shaw, John Savident, James Villiers, Adrian Rawlins, Peter Vaughan, Delroy Lindo, Bernard Hill
Screenplay by: William Harrison
Production Design by: Norman Reynolds
Cinematography by: Roger Deakins
Film Editing by: Thom Noble
Costume Design by: Jenny Beavan, John Bright
Set Decoration by: Harry Cordwell
Art Direction by: Maurice Fowler, Fred Hole
Music by: Michael Small
Distributed by: TriStar Pictures
Release Date: February 23, 1990
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