Rent Mountains of the Moon (1990)

Brilliant, Classic, pre-Woke Telling of the Story of Speke & Burton in Africa - Mountains of the Moon review by PV

OK so some inaccuracies in this film - Sir Richard Burton was NOT Irish. I suspect he has made so to pander to the US market but that is SO wrong,. He was born in Cornwall. He has some Anglo-Irish ancestry through his military father (born in Ireland when it was British). Burton grew up in Richmond, England and Italy.

Also, Speke - whom Burton hated - has a bushy beard in real life. Also Burton hated Speke and was instrumental in spreading rumours about him in his later life when Burton was ambassador in Damascus, Syria, not just Brazil - he died in Trieste. His impressive grave is at Mortlake London. Sir Richard Burton was a remarkable man - spoke over 20 languages. A great British hero. He has no public statue just a bust in a Cardiff museum, That is a disgrace BUT now in our age of woke, no chance he or any other white man will get one (only women/BAME get em these days). Now that's racism/sexism folks!

That notwithstanding, much here is true and authentic, incl Burton's injuries and scars,. in a Somaliland expedition (Somaliland is the British hook to the north of Somalia and later was peaceful compared to the Italian Somalia)

The African tribes are superbly authentic in all their slave-trading horror - good to see slavery done by native Africans, as most happened that way and Arabs were slave trading in Africa 1000 years before Europeans (the Portuguese first) went there for slaves. Britain was only there just over a century from late 17th C. The facts the once-British USA is the superpower and makes most movies is why there is so myuch Brit-bashing perhaps, FAR more slavery re Spain, Portugal, the Arabs, native Africans - ssee Brazil, 40% black.

Also notice the whiteface of African tribes, especially the brutal final one - which is I suppose in modern-day Zimbabwe. as with the great film ZULU (1964) the native tribes took part in filming, No actors they.

Watch with RHODES the 1996 TV series with Martin Shaw.

Ignore all modern Woke african films like the risible Woman King (no mention of slavery in a supposed biopic of a female African slave trader) or the joke that is Black Panther.

4.5 stars rounded up. Remember, Sir Richard Burton was NOT Irish. Born in Cornwall - an Englishman!