1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992)
Animal Action
A large variety of animals are seen primarily as background or to enhance the atmosphere. These animals include dogs, camels, mules, sheep, peacocks, snakes, and insects. Being a period film, horses of course are present in many scenes, sometimes with riders or merely as atmosphere. In one scene a magnificent white charger is ridden and struts around a ring. The Spaniards brought their horses to the new world and one nobleman is shown astride a beautiful brown horse as the horse rears and paws the ground while natives circle and pet him out of curiosity. This horse is a pampered pet. However, when men and oxen are called upon to move an enormous metal bell the nobleman is ordered to use his horse to help hoist the bell into a bell tower. With an approaching storm, horses are growing restless and rearing. In the aftermath of the typhoon the people are seen clearing away what it has left in its wake. Among the debris are the carcasses of several dead animals.
A variety of colorful, tropical birds are visible in numerous scenes. A parrot flies A to B through jungle foliage and a flock of birds fly out of the trees. In one scene a bird flies through the air, Christopher shoots at it and misses. However, when a native shoots at it with a bow and arrow, the bird is shown with an arrow through its’ body and goes down.
No representative of American Humane was present during the making of 1492 as this was a foreign production produced jointly by British, French and Spanish interests. Scenes involving animals were filmed in Spain and Costa Rica and local animal trainers were used. American Humane obtained the names and phone numbers of the trainers through the film’s United States distributor, Paramount Pictures. Because of the language barrier, we enlisted the aid of an interpreter.
Trained horses were used for any scenes that required special skills such as rearing. For the scene after the typhoon, some fake animals were used, but they also used a real dead cow. We attempted to find out the circumstances and source for the dead animal, but could get no further information. We could get no information regarding the scene where the bird is shot with an arrow.
