The Mission (1986)

Director:

Roland Joffé

Writer:

Robert Bolt (original story & screenplay)

Release Date:

31 October 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History

Plot:

18th century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American Indian tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.

Plot Keywords:

Mission | Jesuit | Indian | Spanish | Portuguese

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 12 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Robert De Niro	...	Rodrigo Mendoza
Jeremy Irons	...	Father Gabriel
Ray McAnally	...	Altamirano
Aidan Quinn	...	Felipe Mendoza
Cherie Lunghi	...	Carlotta
Ronald Pickup	...	Hontar
Chuck Low	...	Cabeza
Liam Neeson	...	Fielding
Bercelio Moya	...	Indian Boy
Sigifredo Ismare	...	Witch Doctor
Asuncion Ontiveros	...	Indian Chief
Alejandrino Moya	...	Chief's Lieutenant
Daniel Berrigan	...	Sebastian
Rolf Gray	...	Young Jesuit
Álvaro Guerrero	...	Jesuit
Tony Lawn	...	Father Provincial
Joe Daly	...	Nobleman
Carlos Duplat	...	Portuguese Commander
Rafael Camerano	...	Spanish Commander
Monirak Sisowath	...	Ibaye
Silvestre Chiripua	...	Indian
Luis Carlos Gonzalez	...	Boy Singer
Maria Teresa Ripoll	...	Carlotta's Maid
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alberto Borja	...	Priest (uncredited)
Jacques Des Grottes	...	Priest (uncredited)
Enrique Lamas	...	Nobleman (uncredited)
Fred Melamed	...	Don Cabeza (voice) (uncredited)
Antonio Segovia	...	Nobleman (uncredited)
Harlan Venner	...	Secretary (uncredited)

Directed by
Roland Joffé

Writing credits
Robert Bolt		(original story & screenplay)

Produced by
Fernando Ghia	....	producer
David Puttnam	....	producer
Iain Smith	....	associate producer
Alejandro Azzano	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Felipe López Caballero	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Chris Menges

Film Editing by
Jim Clark

Casting by
Susie Figgis
Juliet Taylor

Production Design by
Stuart Craig

Art Direction by
Norman Dorme		(supervising art director)
John King
George Richardson

Costume Design by
Enrico Sabbatini

Makeup Department
Charlotte Bakker	....	wig maker
Elaine Bowerbank	....	hair stylist
Sallie Evans	....	makeup artist
Marina Forero	....	assistant hair stylist: Colombia
Magdalene Gaffney	....	makeup artist
Paula Gillespie	....	key hair stylist
Anna Mercedes Goez	....	assistant makeup artist: Colombia
María Mercedes Herrera	....	assistant makeup artist: Colombia
Geraldine Jones	....	hair stylist
Stephanie Kaye	....	hair stylist
Ken Lintott	....	makeup artist
Tommie Manderson	....	makeup supervisor
Wendy Rawson	....	hair stylist
Flore Marina Sandoval	....	assistant hair stylist: Colombia

Production Management
Máximo Berrondo	....	production manager: Argentina unit
Philip Kohler	....	location unit manager
Barrie Melrose	....	production supervisor
David Nichols	....	location unit manager
Pamela Wells	....	location unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Salvatore Basile	....	assistant director: Colombia (as Salvo Basile)
Claudia Gomez	....	assistant director: Colombia
Uberto Pasolini	....	third assistant director
Gerry Toomey	....	second assistant director
Bill Westley	....	first assistant director
Kevin Westley	....	additional second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
María Helena Álvarez	....	assistant property buyer: Colombia
Michael Bacon	....	property maker
Edgardo Benvenuto	....	painter: Argentina
Frank Berlin	....	supervising painter
Paul Bradburn	....	dressing props
Darryl Carter	....	stagehand
Jack Carter	....	construction manager
Norman Carter	....	carpenter
John Chisholm	....	stand-by propman: Argentina
John Cook	....	stagehand
Jorge Dager	....	assistant construction manager: Colombia
Trevor Dyer	....	carpenter
Luis de Feo	....	sculptor: Argentina
Ian Giladjian	....	production buyer
John Graham	....	supervising chargehand
Brian Hamer	....	painter
John Hedges	....	carpenter
Michael Hedges	....	assistant construction manager
Ron Herbert	....	carpenter
Andrew Holder	....	sculptor
Michael Howlett	....	metal worker
Thomas Hughes	....	painter
Brian Humphrey	....	supervising chargehand
Gordon Izod	....	plasterer
Derek Knowler	....	property storeman
Ken Langridge	....	stagehand
Joe Lear	....	supervising plasterer
Carlo Maggi	....	plasterer
Bernie Mayor	....	carpenter
Peter Melrose	....	scenic art director
Dave Midson	....	stand-by props (as David Midson)
Richard Morrison	....	graphic designer
Eric Nash	....	plasterer
Cleo Nethersole	....	drapes master
John Palmer	....	stand-by props
Malcolm Roberts	....	assistant construction manager
Mickey Spence	....	supervising plasterer (as Michael Spence)
Jack Stephens	....	set dresser
Ivano Todeschi	....	painter
Peter Voysey	....	sculptor
Terry Wells Jr.	....	dressing props
Terry Wells	....	property master
Vic Woods	....	painter
Keith Smith	....	stagehand (uncredited)

Sound Department
Christopher Ackland	....	sound editor (as Chris Ackland)
Allan Brereton	....	boom operator
Martin Evans	....	dialogue editor
Ian Fuller	....	dubbing editor
Nicholas James	....	sound restoration supervisor (2001 restoration)
Darryl Jordan	....	assistant sound editor
Ray Merrin	....	assistant dubbing mixer
Nick Moore	....	assistant dialogue editor
Ric O'Connor	....	assistant dubbing editor
Michael Parkinson	....	assistant sound editor
Bill Rowe	....	dubbing mixer
Trevor Rutherford	....	sound maintenance
Hernando Tejada	....	sound assistant: Columbia
Clive Winter	....	sound mixer
Lionel Strutt	....	adr mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Steve Crawley	....	special effects wireman
Peter Fern	....	special effects technician
Martin Gant	....	special effects senior technician
Peter Hutchinson	....	special effects supervisor
Peter Skehan	....	special effects technician
Andrew Smith	....	special effects technician
Marco Yepes	....	special effects assistant: Columbia unit

Stunts
Vic Armstrong	....	stunt coordinator
Jorge Casares	....	stunts
Billy Horrigan	....	stunts
Niamh McAnally	....	stunt assistant
Bronco McLoughlin	....	stunts
Miguel Pedregosa	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Felipe Aljure	....	assistant camera: Colombia
David Appleby	....	unit still photographer
John Barry	....	electrician
Peter Bloor	....	chief electrician
Paul Borg	....	electrician
Luis Bowie	....	rigger: Colombia
Tony Cridlin	....	camera grip
John Field	....	rigger
Bill Geddes	....	camera grip
Jeremy Gee	....	focus puller
Fred Harris	....	camera grip
Jeffrey Khan	....	rigger (as Jeff Kahn)
Eddie Knight	....	best boy
Agapios Louka	....	camera maintenance
Tom McDougal	....	clapper loader
Billy Merrell	....	electrician (as William Merrell)
Stewart Monteith	....	electrician
Mark Moriarty	....	clapper loader: second unit
Eamonn O'Keeffe	....	focus puller: second unit (as Eamonn O'Keefe)
William Richards	....	rigger (as Bill Richards)
Dave Ridout	....	electrician (as David Ridout)
Mike Roberts	....	camera operator
Frank Sheeky	....	electrician (as Frank Sheekey)
Dave Skinner	....	rigger (as David Skinner)
Tom Taylor	....	clapper loader
Robin Vidgeon	....	director of photography: second unit
Costas Charitou	....	opticals: Camera Effects Ltd (uncredited)
Jan Pester	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Thomas Casterline	....	wardrobe master
Silvana Cocuccione	....	seamstress
Betty Heyman	....	set costumer
Adriana Mattiozzi	....	seamstress
Anna Orazi	....	wardrobe mistress
Uliva Pizzetti	....	assistant wardrobe
Angelica Placanica	....	seamstress
Giovanni Viti	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
Adam Masters	....	cutting room trainee
Bryan Oates	....	first assistant editor
Tony Tromp	....	second assistant editor

Music Department
David Bedford	....	choral director
Dick Lewzey	....	music mixer
Ennio Morricone	....	conductor
Ennio Morricone	....	orchestrator
Maxwell Pryce	....	musical director: Barnet Schools Choir
Geoffrey Shaw	....	choral director
Greg Fulginiti	....	music engineer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Arthur Dunne	....	transportation manager
Carlos Fuentes	....	transportation assistant: Colombia
Ham Khan	....	transportation manager: Argentina

Other crew
Alicia Aghazarian	....	production secretary: Argentina
Mo Anthoine	....	climber
Bill Appleby	....	caterer
Simon Atherton	....	armorer
Pablo Azcona	....	production assistant: Argentina
Alejandro Azzano	....	production executive: Argentina
Diego Baracchini	....	unit publicist: Argentina
Joe Brown	....	supervising rock climber
Joan Bull	....	nurse
Judi Bunn	....	production coordinator
Nancu Burke	....	assistant publicist: Colombia
Paul Caldicott	....	catering supervisor
Vicenzo Cancellara	....	chief dyer
Gonzalo Catalan	....	production assistant: Argentina
Álvaro Pablo Cepeda	....	Indian administrator: Colombia
Ricardo Cifuentes	....	production assistant: Colombia
Gary Clark	....	unit doctor (as Dr. Gary Clark)
Teresa Colman	....	assistant to producer
Hazel Crombie	....	location accountant
Evaldo Eleuteri	....	production assistant: Argentina
José Luis Entín	....	legal consultant: Argentina
Gonzalo Gainza	....	unit physician: Argentina
Augusto Grassi	....	shoe man
Brian Harris	....	production accountant
David Herbert	....	unit doctor (as Dr. David Herbert)
Lil Heyman	....	unit runner (as Elizabeth Heyman)
Gilly Hodson	....	publicist
Christine Hoy	....	assistant accountant
Carolyn Jardine	....	publicist
John Kay	....	unit runner
Sylvia Keenan	....	production secretary: Argentina
Alan Kingham	....	second kitchen supervisor
Jacqueline Lemaitre Basile	....	production assistant: Colombia
Elvira de Lequerica	....	production assistant: Colombia
Felipe López Caballero	....	production executive: Colombia
Franco Martini	....	production assistant: Argentina
Frank McGill	....	chef
Hamish McInnes	....	climber
Mario Mejía	....	assistant catering supervisor: Colombia
Jorge Messutti	....	financial consultant: Argentina
Richard Morrison	....	title designer
Sylvie Nante	....	assistant publicist: Argentina
Roberto Nardini	....	fiberglass expert: Argentina
Laura Obligado	....	interpreter: Argentina
Jodie de Onis	....	production assistant: Colombia
Rex Payton	....	caterer
Pat Rambaut	....	continuity
Liliana Ramírez	....	accounting assistant: Argentina
María Ramírez	....	interpreter: Argentina
Marta Riveira	....	production assistant: Colombia
Claudia Ruiz	....	production assistant: Colombia
John Sargent	....	production accountant
Marija Sargent	....	assistant accountant
Carl Schmidt	....	armorer
Gerda Schmidt	....	nurse: Argentina
Sheila Slate	....	contact: London
Lucía Spragge	....	production assistant: Colombia
Ann Tasker	....	unit publicist (as Anne Tasker)
Judy Thomson	....	unit runner
James Townshend	....	machinist (as Jim Townshend)
Fernando Umana	....	Indian administrator: Colombia
Peter Wallace	....	acting coach: Indians
Kevin Warwick	....	machinist
David Williams	....	supervising rigger (as David Williams)
Hugh O'Donnell	....	location assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Hector Babenco	....	thanks
Tom Birmingham	....	thanks
Jorge Blanco	....	thanks
Alex Bright	....	thanks
Philip Caraman S.J.	....	thanks
Mary Costello	....	thanks
Maria Cristina De Mejia	....	thanks
Eduardo Fleming	....	thanks
John Horton	....	thanks
David Joy	....	thanks
James Lee	....	special thanks
Sanford Lieberson	....	special thanks (as Sandy Lieberson)
Miguel Ángel Lumaldo	....	thanks
Mario Mariani	....	thanks
George Martin	....	thanks
Maríaemma Mejía de Caballero	....	thanks
Federico Mirre	....	thanks
Brian Moser	....	thanks
Doris Plummer	....	thanks
Francisco Ramalho	....	thanks
Bernabe Richter	....	in memory of
John Robson	....	thanks
Mrs. Nohemí Sanín Posada	....	thanks
Clive Syddall	....	thanks
Andrew Taie	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as Warner Bros.) (presents)
• Goldcrest Films International (as Goldcrest) (presents)
• Kingsmere Productions Ltd. (as Kingsmere) (presents)
• Enigma Productions

Distributors

• AMLF (1986) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia-Cannon-Warner (1986) (UK) (theatrical)
• Neue Constantin Film (1986) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1986) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• VCM Finland (1986) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. Pictures (1986) (USA) (theatrical)
• Adyton International (2000) (Poland) (TV)
• Aquarius TV (2001) (Greece) (TV)
• EuroVideo (1999) (Germany) (DVD)
• Indies Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Karelia Food (1994) (Finland) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2001) (Finland) (TV)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1991) (USA) (TV)
• Nordisk Film Theatrical Distribution (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Nordisk Film (2001) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)
• VTC-Video (1988) (Finland) (VHS)
• Video Film Express (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1994) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Blowup  stills processing
• C.T.S. Studios  music recording studio
• Joe Dunton & Company  camera equipment provided by
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• London Philharmonic Orchestra  orchestra
• London Voices  score choir
• Mayflower Recording  adr recording
• Tayrona Entertainment Group  film production services (as R.O.E)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:14 | West Germany:12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Filmed in 1985.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the attack of the mission by the Portuguese, the monstrance held by Father Gabriel is different between shots.

Quotes:

[Mendoza is repeatedly dragging a load of armor up a cliff as penance for killing his brother]
Fielding: How long must he carry that stupid thing?
Gabriel: God knows.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lumière et compagnie (1995)

A revisit is long overdue

After hearing a quick clip from the soundtrack recently I decided to have another look at 'The Mission' which I hadn't seen for more than ten years. Interesting viewing in these days when epics abound: Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, Troy etc.

The first thing that struck me was the intelligence of the script which often seems an afterthought in today's big budget jobs. Robert Bolt weaves an intriguing web of characters; mercenary, slavetrader, starcrossed lover, papal emissary and man of faith. The passion of Robert de Niro's Mendoza beautifully contrasts the quiet firm conviction of Jeremy Irons' Gabriel. And the moral dilemma facing the Catholic Church, whether to abandon influence abroad for the sake of power at home, is ably brought to life in the tortured mind of Ray McAnally's Altamirano. This man sent from Rome by the Pope himself has the power of life and death over the Guarani Indians and the Jesuit priests who have dedicated their lives to Christian service in the deepest regions of the South American rainforest.

The film isn't perfect by any means: I would have liked better representation of at least one Guarani character but the integrity of Joffe's direction and Chris Menges' spectacular camera-work make this one film you have to see. And there's that lovely soundtrack by Ennio Morricone.

We may be more sophisticated these days in terms of technology, sound engineering and special effects but the lesson from 'The Mission' for today's directors has to be: it's the story, stupid.