''Christopher Columbus'' is a television

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

broadcast in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1985. In six hours, the series told the story of the life of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

, with

Gabriel Byrne Gabriel James Byrne (born 12 May 1950) is an Irish actor. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards. Byrne was awarded the Irish Film and Television Academy L ...

starring as the explorer.

Production

The series was a co-production between

Radiotelevisione Italiana (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Italy), Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial ...

and

Lorimar Television Lorimar Television, formerly Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Lorimar Distribution, was an American production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969

, with other European partners. Columbus expert

Paolo Emilio Taviani Paolo Emilio Taviani (6 November 1912 – 18 June 2001) was an Italian political leader, economist, and historian of the career of Christopher Columbus. He was a partisan leader in Liguria, a Gold Medal of the Italian resistance movement, then a ...

worked as a historical consultant. Shooting took place in Malta, Spain and the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

over a period of 26 weeks, with six months of

post-production Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...

in London. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported the series' total cost as $15 million.

Cast

* Rossano Brazzi as

Diogo Ortiz de Villegas Don Diogo Ortiz de Vilhegas, in Spanish Diego Ortiz de Calzadilla or Villegas (died 1519), was a Castilian priest, theologian and astronomer at the service of the Portuguese monarchs. Ortiz was born in Calzadilla around 1457. He came to Portug ...

Virna Lisi Virna Lisa Pieralisi (; 8 November 1936 – 18 December 2014), known as just Virna Lisi, was an Italian actress. Her international film appearances included ''How to Murder Your Wife'' (1965), ''Not with My Wife, You Don't!'' (1966), ''The Secre ...

as Dona Moniz Perestrello *

Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor, known for his upper-middle class, macho image and his heavy-drinking, "hellraiser" lifestyle. His screen career spanned over 40 years, between 1955 and 1999. At the ...

Martin Pinzon Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Mart ...

Raf Vallone Raffaele Vallone (17 February 1916 – 31 October 2002) was an Italian actor and footballer. One of the top male Italian stars of the 1950s and 1960s, he first became known for his association with the neorealist movement, and found success in ...

Joseph Vecinho Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow (; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish and French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

John II of Portugal John II (; ; 3 May 1455 – 25 October 1495), called the Perfect Prince (), was King of Portugal from 1481 until his death in 1495, and also for a brief time in 1477. He is known for reestablishing the power of the Portuguese monarchy, reinvigo ...

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach ( ; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...

Hernando de Talavera Hernando de Talavera, Hieronymites, O.S.H. (c. 1430 – 14 May 1507) was a Spanish clergyman and councilor to Queen Isabel of Castile. He began his career as a monk of the Hieronymites, Order of Saint Jerome, was appointed the queen's confess ...

Nicol Williamson Thomas Nicol Williamson (14 September 1936 – 16 December 2011) was a British actor. He was once described by playwright John Osborne as "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando". He was also described by Samuel Beckett as "touched by genius" an ...

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, ...

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

Michel Auclair Michel Auclair (born Vladimir Vujović, sr-cyr, Владимир Вујовић; 14 September 1922 – 7 January 1988) was an actor of Serbian and French ancestry, known best for his roles in French cinema. Auclair was born to a Serbian fat ...

Luis de Santángel Luis de Santángel (died 1498) was a third-generation ''converso'' in Spain during the late fifteenth century. Santángel worked as ''escribano de ración'' to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I of Spain which left him in charge of the Roya ...

* William Berger as

Francisco de Bobadilla Francisco de Bobadilla (c. 1448 – 11 July 1502) was an official under the Crown of Castile and a knight of the Order of Calatrava. He was also the nephew of Beatriz de Bobadilla, marchioness and of Peñalosa, a patron of Christopher Columbus ...

Keith Buckley Keith Buckley (born November 19, 1979) is an American singer, best known as the vocalist and lyricist of Many Eyes, the now defunct metalcore band Every Time I Die and the heavy metal supergroup The Damned Things. He is also a published aut ...

as De Torres * Mark Buffery as

Bartholomew Columbus Bartholomew Columbus (; ; ; ; – 12 August 1514) was a Genoese explorer and the younger brother of Christopher Columbus. Biography Born in Genoa in the 1461, Bartholomew became a mapmaker in Lisbon, the principal center of cartography of the ...

* Anne Canovas as Beatriz Enriquez *

Elpidia Carrillo Elpidia Carrillo (born August 16, 1961) is a Mexican actress and director. Her career includes roles in both film and television. Internationally she is best known for supporting roles in ''Predator'', '' Bread and Roses,'' '' Nine Lives'' and ' ...

as Coana *

Massimo Girotti Massimo Girotti (18 May 1918 – 5 January 2003) was an Italian film actor whose career spanned seven decades. Biography Born in Mogliano, in the province of Macerata, Girotti developed his athletic physique by swimming and playing polo. While ...

Duke of Medinaceli Duke of Medinaceli () is an hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee. The Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, created the title and awarded it on 31 October 1479 to Luis ...

Larry Lamb Lawrence Douglas Lamb (born 1 October 1947) is an English actor and radio presenter. He played Archie Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', Mick Shipman in the BBC comedy series ''Gavin & Stacey'' and Ted Case in the final series of ...

as Don Castillo *

Stefano Madia Stefano Madia (31 December 1954 – 16 December 2004) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in twelve films between 1978 and 1993. At the 1979 Cannes Film Festival he won the award for Best Supporting Actor, for Vittorio Gassman's film '' D ...

as Federico * Audrey Matson as Dona Felipa Perestrello *

Murray Melvin Murray Melvin (10 August 1932 – 14 April 2023) was an English actor. A member of Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop company, he originated the part of Geoffrey in Shelagh Delaney's play '' A Taste of Honey'', reprising the role in Tony Richa ...

as Padre Linares * Jack Watson as Padre Marchena *

Patrick Bauchau Patrick Nicolas Jean Sixte Ghislain Bauchau (born 6 December 1938) is a Belgian actor best known for his roles in the films ''A View to a Kill'', '' The Rapture'' and '' Panic Room'', as well as the TV shows '' The Pretender'' and ''House''. ...

as Don Rodrigo * Salvatore Borgese as Juan * Scott Coffey as Vallejo * Cyrus Elias as Alaminos * Francesco Lattuada as De Triana * Iris Peynado as Selina *

Erik Schumann Erik Schumann (15 February 1925 – 9 February 2007) was a German actor. He appeared in 100 films and television shows between 1942 and 1997. He was most successful during the 1950s and 1960s, when he played leading roles in several German f ...

as Benguela * Gregory Snegoff as Francisco Pinzon * Hal Yamanouchi as Guacanabo

Reception

John J. O'Connor, reviewing for ''The New York Times'', praised the series' period look and Byrne's performance in the title role, though he felt that the first half was stronger dramatically than the second.

Awards

The series was nominated for two

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

, for best art direction and costume design for a miniseries.

References

External links

* 1985 films 1985 television films 1980s American television miniseries 1980s Italian television miniseries Italian biographical drama films Italian drama television films American biographical series American drama television films French drama television films West German films German drama television films Das Erste original programming Films directed by Alberto Lattuada Films scored by Riz Ortolani CBS films RAI original programming Television series set in the 15th century Films set in the 1490s Films based on non-fiction books Cultural depictions of Christopher Columbus Fiction about Christopher Columbus' first voyage Depictions of Isabella I of Castile on television Cultural depictions of Ferdinand II of Aragon 1980s Italian films American biographical drama films French biographical drama films German biographical drama films Cultural depictions of John II of Portugal {{US-tv-drama-film-stub