Mission

Theatrical Release Date: 1986 10 31 (USA)

UPC: 085392349722

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: PG   Contains:[Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language]

Summary: Featuring a majestic score by Ennio Morricone and lush Oscar-winning cinematography by Chris Menges, Roland Joff?'s The Mission examines the events surrounding the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, when Spain ceded part of South America to Portugal, and turns this episode into an allegory for the mid-'80s struggles of Latin America. Two European forces are on hand to win the South American natives over to imperialist ways. The plunderers want to extract riches and slaves from the New World. The missionaries, on the other hand, want to convert the Indians to Christianity and win over their souls. Mendoza (Robert De Niro) is an exploiter dabbling in the slave trade. But after he kills his brother Felipe (Aidan Quinn) in a fit of rage, he seeks redemption and calls upon the missionaries to assist him. After repeatedly climbing a cliff with a heavy weight as penance, Mendoza finds redemption and becomes a devout missionary at a settlement run by Gabriel (Jeremy Irons). The missionaries want to promote a new society in which the natives will live together in peace with the Spanish and the Portuguese. But this concept frightens the royal governors, who would rather enslave the natives than encourage peaceful coexistence between the Europeans and the Indians. They order the mission to be burned to the ground. But this event causes a rift between Gabriel, who wants to pray and pursue peaceful resistance, and Mendoza, who wants to take up arms and fight the Europeans. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Category: Historical Film

Awards: Best Picture – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Original Screenplay – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Score – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Cinematography – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Costume Design – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Editing Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Sound Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Visual Effects Award – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – null Best Director – null Best Screenplay – null Best Score – null Best Cinematography – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Score – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Grand Technical Prize – Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or – Cannes Film Festival Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Score – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: ccDisc 1: Full-length commentary by director Roland Joff?, all-new digital transfer soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, interactive menus, cast/director/writer film highlights, theatrical trailer, scene access, languages: English and Fran?ais, subtitles: English, Fran?ais, and Espa?ol

Disc 2: Bonus documentary: "Omnibus," which visits the film's South American location shoot and examines the heartrending lives of the Waunana Indians who portrayed the film's Guarani tribespeople

Mission

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 05/13/2003

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 125 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 -- Disc One
1. Letter to the Pope
2. Over Iguazu Falls
3. Credits
4. Father Gabriel's Climb
5. The Guarani
6. Hunting Above the Falls
7. Illicit Love
8. A Brother's Death
9. Double Dare
10. Perilous Penance
11. Epiphany
12. A New Life
13. Mendoza's Conversation
14. Father Rodrigo
15. The Cardinal Arrives
16. Meeting His Eminence
17. The Apology
18. Mission Tour
19. Cardinal's Conscience
20. San Carlos
21. Cardinal's Decree
22. Sword in Hand
23. Closing the Missions
24. Call to Arms
25. Overnight Raid
26. Advancing Troops
27. No Place in the World
28. Forces in Motion
29. Battle Joined
30. Ablaze
31. Two of Many Martyrs
32. Thus Have I Made the World
33. Coda and End Credits
Side #2 -- Disc Two
1. The Waunana Indians [4:11]
2. Transplanting A Cast [5:22]
3. Influences [2:54]
4. Community [4:02]
5. Hunters and Hunted [5:57]
6. Good Actors [4:12]
7. Redemption Scene [3:54]
8. Sovereign Rights [4:20]
9. Common Problems [4:44]
10. Society's Problems [6:03]
11. Job Dispute [6:02]
12. Social Function [3:41]
13. End Credits [1:46]

Mike Cummings

Although this 1986 Roland Joff? film won high praise, the acclaim was by no means universal. Not a few reviewers criticized it for depicting Christianized natives in 18th Century South America as little more than talking mannequins ? la the old Tarzan movies. Many of these same reviewers also maintained that the script and scope of the film restricted the ability of Jeremy Irons (Father Gabriel) and Robert DeNiro (a reformed slave trader named Mendoza) to develop their celluloid alter egos beyond mere symbols of character types. However, almost every critic lauded the glorious cinematography of Chris Menges, who captured the naked beauty of a pristine wilderness -- and the raw brutality of a violent conflict between the noble and the ignoble. To its credit the film raises important questions for people of every age: Do educated, civilized and god-fearing people have a right, or even a duty, to enlighten the uninitiated? Or is it better to heed the words of poet Thomas Gray: "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise"? In the battle scene near the end, perceived heroes and villains alike fall before the fury of bullets and arrows, but it is the innocent native children caught in the crossfire who command the audience's attention. Joff? does quite well in this scene -- and leaves filmgoers with something of substance to think about. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Alejandrino Moya  Actor 
Joe Daly  Actor 
Susie Figgis  Actor 
Luis Carlos Gonzalez  Actor 
Silvestre Chiripua  Actor 
Juliet Taylor  Actor 
Philip Bosco  Actor 
Bercelio Moya  Actor 
Carlos Duplat  Actor 
Chuck Low  Actor 
Rolf Gray  Actor 
Alvaro Guerrero  Actor 
Sigifredo Ismare  Actor 
Robert Bolt  Screenwriter 
Roland Joffé  Director 
Ennio Morricone  Composer (Music Score) 
David Puttnam  Producer 
Fernando Ghia  Producer 
Robert De Niro  Actor 
Jeremy Irons  Actor 
Ray McAnally  Actor 
Liam Neeson  Actor 
Aidan Quinn  Actor 
Ronald Pickup  Actor 
Monirak Sisowath  Actor 
Asuncion Ontiveros  Actor 
Cherie Lunghi  Actor 
Rev. Daniel Berrigan  Actor 
Tony Lawn  Actor 
Rafael Camerano  Actor 
Maria Teresa Ripoll  Actor 

Country: UK