loading loading...

The Mission Details

1986 Certificate PG
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 5751 members

A visually stunning epic, THE MISSION recounts the true story of two men--a man of the sword (Robert De Niro) and a man of the cloth (Jeremy Irons)--both Jesuit missionaries who defied the colonial forces of mighty Spain and Portugal to save an Indian tribe from slavery in mid-18th-century South America. Mendoza (De Niro) is a .. Read more

Starring Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn
Director Roland Joffe
Genres Drama

Sign up The Mission DVD

Buy From: £6.93

loading loading...

The Mission cover art

The Mission

A visually stunning epic, THE MISSION recounts the true story of two men--a man of the sword (Robert De Niro) and a man of the cloth (Jeremy Irons)--both Jesuit missionaries who defied the colonial forces of mighty Spain and Portugal to save an Indian tribe from slavery in mid-18th-century South America. Mendoza (De Niro) is a slave trader and colonial imperialist who murdered his own brother (Aidan Quinn) and seeks penance for his sins by becomining a missionary at Father Gabriel's (Irons) mountaintop mission; Gabriel is a devout and idealistic man who extols nonviolence and peaceful interaction with the natives and colonialists. Despite their differences, the two men must unite to save the mission when Spain, Portugal, and the Catholic church begin negotiating their boundaries in the area--negotiations that will affect both the freedom of the natives and the well-being of the Jesuit missionaries who have set up safe havens for them. Director Roland Joffe's sweeping masterpiece is a haunting account of the unjust treatment of the Guarani Indians of South America and the men who fought desperately, in very different ways, to save them. The film features a mezmerizing musical score by Ennio Morricone that weaves a stunning combination of church choirs and native Indian panpipes into the lush images of the Brazilian rainforest.

Starring Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn, Ronald Pickup, Cherie Lunghi
Director Roland Joffe
Studio WARNER HOME VIDEO
Run time DVD: 2 hrs
Certificate Certificate PG
Genres Drama
Language DVD: English
Released DVD: 02 Jun 2003
Production year: 1986
Format DVD

The Mission (1986)

Sign up The Mission DVD

Or you can rent each disc individually:

  • Critics' reviews (5) of The Mission

    View all
  • 3 stars out of 5

    Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, but accorded a mixed critical reception, this is a studied, elegant and, ultimately, very moving historical drama set in 18th-century South America. There's no denying the longueurs in Robert Bolt's script, a certain flabbiness in Roland Joffé's direction and a distinctly detached performance from a curiously cast Robert De Niro. However, Jeremy Irons more than makes amends with a performance of great sincerity as the head of a Jesuit mission under threat from the greed of Iberian slavers and the whim of Ray McAnally's cardinal. Chris Menges's Oscar-winning photography is glorious and Ennio Morricone's haunting score sends shivers down the spine.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006

  • "...THE MISSION is haunting spectacle, it is serious and passionate....It provides Jeremy Irons with a chance for his purest and most searing film performance..."

    • Los Angeles Times
    • Posted 11 Mar 2005

  • Most helpful member's review of The Mission

    View all
  • 10 out of 10 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    A classic film

    Why did this film not win instant fame? Look at the ingredients. Millions of dollars invested. A galaxy of stars, including De Niro, Leeson, MacNally and many more. First division producers and technicians in Lord Puttnam and others. A musical score by Morricone which he regarded as his finest cinematic achievement. UN world heritage scenery. A serious story. So what went wrong? Not the movie. It is cinema of the highest order. Perhaps, because the movie used a true historical incident to illustrate that the Catholic Church places its own survival above all all other values, including abhorrence of slavery, and does so knowingly (see Ray Macnally's final speech). Was the film seen by too many as an uncomfortable parallel with the Church's role concerning Hitler fascism and the holocaust - even today a no-go area for movie makers. See 'Mission' and make up you own mind.

      • A customer from Wirral, England
      • Posted 27 Feb 2006 17:24

  • Most recent members' review of The Mission

    View all
  • 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    Absolutlely Brilliant

    One of the best movies of all time.Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson and Robert DeNiro gave excellent performance in this story based on fact.A very very upsetting film about how barbaric we 'Whites' where to the south american indians.

    Magnificent soundtrack.

      • Hayling from Hayling Island
      • Posted 06 Apr 2006 05:44

  • More like this

    View all
    Showing 1 to 4 of 20

    loading

Find cinemas


Rating breakdown

5,751 Member ratings
  • 100
692
  • 90
583
  • 80
1,222
  • 70
1,147
  • 60
980
  • 50
484
  • 40
265
  • 30
169
  • 20
139
  • 10
70

Related user collection

Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop

    • The Mission

    • The Mission
    • DVD: £6.93
      Free Delivery
    • RRP £9.79 (you save: 29%)
      • A visually stunning epic, THE MISSION recounts the true story of two men--a man of the sword (Robert De Niro) and a man of the cloth (Jeremy Irons)--both Jesuit missionaries who defied the colonial ...