Mountains of the Moon
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bob Rafelson
Screenplay by	William Harrison Bob Rafelson
Based on	Burton and Speke by William Harrison
Produced by	Daniel Melnick Mario Kassar
Starring	Patrick Bergin Iain Glen
Cinematography	Roger Deakins
Edited by	Thom Noble
Music by	Michael Small
Production company	Carolco Pictures
Distributed by	Tri-Star Pictures
Release date	February 23, 1990 (1990-02-23)
Running time	136 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$18 million[1]
Box office	$4 million[2]

Mountains of the Moon is a 1990 American biographical film depicting the 1857–1858 journey of Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke in their expedition to Central Africa, which culminated in Speke's discovery of the source of the Nile River and led to a bitter rivalry between the two men. The film stars Patrick Bergin as Burton and Iain Glen as Speke. Delroy Lindo appears as an African whom the explorers meet.

The film was directed by Bob Rafelson based on the 1982 novel Burton and Speke by William Harrison.

Cast

• Patrick Bergin as Richard Francis Burton
• Iain Glen as John Hanning Speke
• Richard E. Grant as Laurence Oliphant
• Fiona Shaw as Isabel Arundell
• John Savident as Lord Murchison
• James Villiers as Lord Oliphant
• Adrian Rawlins as Edward
• Peter Vaughan as Lord Houghton
• Delroy Lindo as Mabruki
• Paul Onsongo as Sidi Bombay
• Bheki Tonto Ngema as King Ngola
• Martin Okello as Veldu
• Bernard Hill as David Livingstone
• Matthew Marsh as William
• Richard Caldicot as Lord John Russell
• Christopher Fulford as Herne
• Garry Cooper as Stroyan
• Roshan Seth as Ben Amir
• Anna Massey as Mrs. Arundell
• Omar Sharif as Sultan (unbilled)
• Kenneth W Caravan Speke Estate Farmhand (unbilled)

Music

The original music was composed by Michael Small, who incorporated genuine traditional African music into a traditional orchestral palette. The soundtrack album was released on Polydor Records, but is long out of print. There are two major themes, one for Burton and the other for Africa. There is also a love theme for Burton's relationship to his wife Isabel Burton (portrayed in the movie by Fiona Shaw).

Availability

The film was released in a pan and scan VHS edition from a widescreen laserdisc and is currently available as both a pan and scan and widescreen DVD.

Reception

Peter Travers described Mountains as "an epic of sweep and intimacy",^[3] and Siskel & Ebert gave it two thumbs up.^[4] Ebert wrote, "It's the kind of movie that sends you away from the screen filled with curiosity to know more about this man Burton."^[5] In Newsweek, critic Jack Kroll wrote, "The exploits of Sir Richard Francis Burton make Lawrence of Arabia look like a tourist."^[6] Mountains of the Moon holds a rating of 65% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 17 reviews.^[7]