Mountains of the Moon (film)

Mountains of the Moon
Directed by	Bob Rafelson
Produced by	Daniel Melnick
Screenplay by	William Harrison Bob Rafelson
Based on	Burton and Speke 1982 novel by William Harrison
Starring	Patrick Bergin Iain Glen
Music by	Michael Small
Cinematography	Roger Deakins
Edited by	Thom Noble
Production company	Carolco Pictures
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures
Release date	February 23, 1990
Running time	136 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$4,011,793

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.

Exploratory adventures of 1857, Sir Richard Burton (Patrick Bergin) and John Hanning Speke (Iain Glen), try to discover the true source of the Nile river.

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).

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.