VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Claudio Carvalho In the Nineteenth Century, the British writer, geographer and explorer Captain Richard Francis Burton (Patrick Bergin) meets the Lieutenant John Hanning Speke (Iain Glen) 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 (Fiona Shaw) 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 (Richard E. Grant) 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 fascinating adventure with a story of friendship based on a historic event, the journey of Captain Richard Francis Burton and Lieutenant John Hanning Speke to the African Great Lakes. The plot may be not accurate but the film is engaging and the landscapes are breathtaking. The viewer does not feel the 136 minutes running time. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Montanhas da Lua" ("Mountains of the Moon")

timdugmore I don't think I see, anywhere, in comments about the historical accuracy of this movie, the glaring error: Sir Richard Francis Burton was most certainly NOT Irish and would not have spoken in an Irish accent. For me this really undermines things. Why do all the work and effort, just to get something so elementary wrong from the go-get? Of course, since my initial interest in this great character is from Mark Hodder's epic "Burton and Swinburne" adventures, in which Burton inhabits a steam-punked Victorian world of genetically modified people, clockwork men and so much more, I have little claim for accuracy maybe. Except to say since this film purports to give an account of the man, misidentifying his very nationality seems like shoddy work. OH MY-Now Oliphant just stated Speke is English and Burton is not....WHAT is going on here?!Not good enough, sorry.

Dave from Ottawa This is an unusual historical film in that it focuses as much on the personal histories of the men involved (Sir Richard Burton and Lt. Speke), before and after their expedition, as it does on the momentous work they had undertaken, specifically the search for the source of the Nile. Along the way, they explored and mapped much of previously uncharted Africa while enduring disease, bad weather and desertions and thievery by their superstitious and unreliable porters.Great wide screen cinematography gives us lushly gorgeous vistas of Victorian-era Africa - convincingly unspoiled by modernity - while the close-ups show the intimate details of the journey in all of their hardship and horror. The result is a sweeping, yet personal adventure and a memorable viewing experience.

Longjohnbob I love this film though it is not at all historically accurate. Still, it is a wonderful adventure story. In 19th century Britan, geographers knew very little about Africa least of all the source of the Nile River that flowed through Egypt. Sir Richard Burton and Albert Speke undertook two expeditions to find the source of the river, risking life and limb as they combat hostile tribesmen, disease, depression, and a fierce climate. Eventually their friendship comes to an end. The scene of the escaped slave being mercy-killed by Burton never occurred; that is Hollywood. Burton also did not translate the ASrabian Knights or the Karma Sutra till many years later after his career as an African explorer ended. The film also does not delve very much into why British society was so opposed to Burton. His marriage to Isabel was a Catholic marriage--she was from a prominent Catholic family and there had been anti Catholic riots at the time of this movie--in fact they did not meet in England. Her family had fled because of the riots. I only wish Burtons real story would someday make it into film.