The Discovery of Brazil
About The Discovery of Brazil
On March 9, 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral, played by Álvaro Costa, sails from Lisbon. A map follows the fleet past the Canaries and Cape Verde; on the night after São Nicolau, Vasco de Ataíde's ship is lost. Between April 21 and 22 the lookouts sight Monte Pascoal. Two men from shore are brought aboard to meet Cabral, the crews refill the water casks with local help, and the film stages the first Mass to match Victor Meirelles's painting. Pero Vaz de Caminha's letter, spoken by Manoel Rocha, carries the narration.
Cast & crew
More about The Discovery of Brazil
Humberto Mauro directed in 1936 with government backing through the Instituto Nacional de Cinema Educativo and with production from the Instituto do Cacau da Bahia, whose president was Ignácio Tosta Filho. The story is by Afonso de Taunay. Bandeira Duarte and Mauro wrote the screenplay from Pero Vaz de Caminha's letter. Edgar Roquette-Pinto and Taunay checked the history. The Portuguese Wikipedia dates the release to 1937.
Themes
Background
The Instituto Nacional de Cinema Educativo, under the Ministry of Education, backed the film as a classroom history picture.
Look
Humberto Mauro, Alberto Botelho, Alberto Campiglia, and Manoel Ribeiro shot the shipboard scenes and the Mass, lined up to echo Meirelles.
Music
Heitor Villa-Lobos composed the score. A large orchestra and the teachers' choir of the Federal District recorded it.
Preservation
A print survives. Copies in circulation trace to the Cinemateca Brasileira.
Notes
- João de Deus plays Aires Correia. Alfredo Silva plays Friar Henrique de Coimbra. Armando Duval plays both Nicolau Coelho and Bartolomeu Dias.
- Alberto Botelho edited. He also shared the photography with Mauro, Alberto Campiglia, and Manoel Ribeiro.
- The film represented Brazil at the Venice Film Festival in 1938.
- Villa-Lobos's music for the picture later circulated as the concert work Descobrimento do Brasil.
- The first-Mass tableau is staged from Victor Meirelles's canvas A primeira missa no Brasil.
Scenes
- Ataíde's ship disappears the night after São Nicolau.
- Two men from the shore are taken aboard to see Cabral.
- The first Mass is arranged like the Meirelles painting.
Influenced by
- Pero Vaz de Caminha's letter
- Victor Meirelles's A primeira missa no Brasil
Also available
- Cinemateca Brasileira
