In the beginning of the Seventeenth Century, along the English colonization of North America, Captain John Smith leaves the Jamestown fort to explore another area and trade with the Indians, but he is captured. The princess Pocahontas asks her father to spare Captain Smith's life and they fall in love for each other. When he returns to the colony, he becomes the president of Jamestown and finds people starving, but Pocahontas brings supplies, saves them and falls in disgrace with her people. When the Indians realize that the English will not leave their country, they attack and after a bloody battle, the English trade Pocahontas and lodge her in the fort to protect their families, and Captain Smith loses his position because he does not agree with the arrangement. With the return of Captain Newport, Captain Smith is promoted and sent back to England, and he asks a friend to tell Pocahontas that he drowned along the trip. Pocahontas is civilized and baptized by the English and John Rolfe proposes and marries her. Many years later, she hears that Captain Smith is alive, and she has to decide if she keeps her marriage or follows her heart.

Shot almost entirely with available light. Only the scenes shot in the Hampton Court Palace interiors were supplemented with artificial light coming through the windows.

John Smith:
He who does not work, shall not eat!

Crew or equipment visible: After the Powhatans flee their village as the settlers burn the huts, two smoke canisters can be seen to the right of the shot as the camera moves over an empty field.

Written by Richard Wagner
Performed by Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Courtesy of SONY BMG Masterworks
By Arrangement with SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT