This 16th C. period piece is NEITHER the 1956 John-Wayne-as-Gengus-Khan...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq1K0Y-I6vg
...or 1962 Tony Curtis/Yul Brynner flick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm-mEBqeDog
Lordy how I hate the "golden age of Hollywood" carp.
THIS 1999 Russian-made historic action adventure film known there as Taras Bulba and released on DVD here in 2011 as The Conqueror, is one of those films that comes up nowadays if you are interested in the period. Its focus is on the honorable defense of the underdog Mother-Russia-loving Cossacks looking for a fight against, well, anybody including flocks of wing-ed invading aristocratic Polish cavalry.
There are three scenes where the nationalistic propaganda of the Russian state is so blatant as to be head-shaking, but you'll just think it's a little silly, over the top, and repetitive. The anti-Semitic thread however? Holy cow! I think it tries to redeem itself in the end but is unsuccessful, odd, and uncomfortably Joseph Goebbelsian.
The nod towards period authentic arms and armor, with guns including a requiem, can be appreciated and it is worth the time and a little money to see if you're not too busy. There is enough combat and mayhem to suit any man's man and maybe just enough romance to suit any woman's woman.
With English subtitles (how I watched it -- I like to hear the actual performances) and dubbed in English too, it gets about 3-1/2 stars usually. And any movie with a supporting actor named Ljubomiras Lautsyavichjus... deserves to be seen just for that. LOL
I give it one flask up and one down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsj9z8_Ovmg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq1K0Y-I6vg
...or 1962 Tony Curtis/Yul Brynner flick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm-mEBqeDog
Lordy how I hate the "golden age of Hollywood" carp.
THIS 1999 Russian-made historic action adventure film known there as Taras Bulba and released on DVD here in 2011 as The Conqueror, is one of those films that comes up nowadays if you are interested in the period. Its focus is on the honorable defense of the underdog Mother-Russia-loving Cossacks looking for a fight against, well, anybody including flocks of wing-ed invading aristocratic Polish cavalry.
There are three scenes where the nationalistic propaganda of the Russian state is so blatant as to be head-shaking, but you'll just think it's a little silly, over the top, and repetitive. The anti-Semitic thread however? Holy cow! I think it tries to redeem itself in the end but is unsuccessful, odd, and uncomfortably Joseph Goebbelsian.
The nod towards period authentic arms and armor, with guns including a requiem, can be appreciated and it is worth the time and a little money to see if you're not too busy. There is enough combat and mayhem to suit any man's man and maybe just enough romance to suit any woman's woman.
With English subtitles (how I watched it -- I like to hear the actual performances) and dubbed in English too, it gets about 3-1/2 stars usually. And any movie with a supporting actor named Ljubomiras Lautsyavichjus... deserves to be seen just for that. LOL
I give it one flask up and one down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsj9z8_Ovmg
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