Taras Bulba

Way under rated. Seen Taras Bulba when it was released in 1962 in Bay Shore, New York. Brand New Movie Theater, at time largest indoor screen in Country. I was 12 and by myself, theater was empty. This movie touched me like no other would, I was Andrei in this movie. I was a changed boy when the movie was over. In later years I bought this on Laser Discs, Good Picture, Great Sound, changing discs ruins the movie, plus it seemed slowed down at times & looked fake. Bought DVD next, China Release, real bad. Well I no longer felt the same about this movie, Including like most reviews Tony Curtis was wrong choice for Andrei. I have to believe though in 1962 most people Loved Tony Curtis & did not care. Worst part of script to me was Andre wounded. Back & Forth, Wound Serious, to acting like nothing wrong. Another serious wound in Battle. Couple days later He Feels Great and fights Taras again. They show him with no shirt on & not a mark on his body. Couple days ago I ordered the Blu-ray, because of what has happened to The Time Machine with Rod Taylor. I kept the movies on Wish List, planning on buying both if price came down. Time machine has been discontinued, now selling $49.00 - 129.00. I could see it happening to Taras, so I ordered it, not sure I would even enjoy it anymore. Surprised Me, much better than expected, and truly enjoyed it. The story itself is awesome. The Scope, the mass of actors & horses. the colors. No One Could Replace Yul Brenner. The Love between Tony & Christine at the time was real in & off the screen. Your Home Land being stolen & then taken back. The power Love Can Be, for True Love ,for Land, for a way of Life. Buy The Blu-ray

I have been waiting SO LONG for this to happen! One of my all time favorite films is finally coming out in a format that will hopefully give it the justice that it so richly deserves!I remember being a very young and deeply impressionable boy, staying up past my bedtime and watching this wonderful movie on our old black and white TV. How I loved it! I think the honor and love depicted in the movie affected me the most. Of course the adventurous story was great! Even as a child I always thought that a better actor than Tony Curtis would have been better in his crucial role. I thought the same for his role in another of my all time favorites, the Vikings. But he was very very popular at that time. I mean look at his part in probably one of my top 5 films of all time as well. Spartacus! He was getting so very many of the real plum jobs at that time.I broke down and paid a small fortune for a crappy Japanese DVD copy a few years back. I originally had been lucky enough to find a VHS copy of it. But now, finally on Blu-Ray where it deserves!I can't wait for September!

A rather loose adaptation of Russian Nikolai Gogol's novel of the same title. It primarily deals with the late 16th century conflict between feudal catholic Poland and non-catholic, freedom-loving, Cossacks over control of part of present Ukraine. The other plot thread deals with the fatal obsession of Andriy: son of Cossack leader Taras Bulba, over a young Polish princess, causing him to commit treason to hopefully save her from starvation or the plague inside the Polish citadel of Dubno, besieged by a Cossack army lead by his father. Today, Ukraine is again much in the news from an attempt by Russia to annex it or render it a vassal state.I find it quite odd that Tony Curtis, as Taras's amorous traitorous son, Andriy, is given top billing over Yul Brynner, who plays the title character and apparent hero.. Strangely, unlike Brynner and many others, no attempt is made to make Tony or his cast brother look like a typical Cossack, or anything other than their usual off-screen selves. At 37, Tony evidently is playing 15 or so years younger, as a student at the Polish Academy, in Kiev, which makes him seem a much more acceptable love interest for the teen Polish Princess Natalia. He and his brother are ostracized as apparently the only Cossacks attending the academy. While being punished for romancing Natalia, he somehow manages to grab a rapier and, in an informal duel with Natalia's brother, kills him, after which he and his broth decide they should quickly return home. One would think that misdeed would end the princess's love interest in him, should they meet again. But, later, we discover: not so!Brynner was quite disappointed in the final product, in which many of his favorite scenes had been deleted. Brynner was only 6 years older than Tony, but gets away with playing his father, because of Tony's still youthful looks.............Meanwhile, 16yo German actress Cristine Kaufmann, as Princess Natalia, is the female lead. Like the previous Linda Darnell and Joan Leslie, for example, she had always been precocious. Thus, studios weren't hesitant to pair them romantically with a man in his late 30s or early 40s, especially if he were still young-looking, like Tony. Well, on screen, as well as off screen, it was clearly a case of love at first sight. Thus, after completing filming, Tony took her to the US, to become his 2nd wife when she was considered legally 'of age'.Overall, the screenplay is quite intriguing, including forbidden love, treachery by groups and by individuals, personal tragedies, battle scenes, and final victory by Taras and the Cossacks, in contrast to the tragic ending in Gogol's novel.Filmed in Argentina, utilizing hundreds of gauchos, mostly as cavalry, the cost went way over budget. There are a number of chaotic battles, as close-order hand-to-hand fighting tends to be. Expectedly, the Cossacks lacked body armor, while the Poles generally had such. Rather primitive firearms of the times, sabers, and lances were used, as well as castle-born cannons. The initial battle scenes have the combined Poles and Cossacks fighting the expansionist Turks. Unfortunately, this scene is too brief and largely staged in semi-darkness, to make much of an impression. However, the Poles then treacherously attack the Cossacks, who bore the brunt of the battle against the Turks. As a result, the Poles take over more of Ukraine from the Cossacks.............The final battle between the Poles and Cossacks occurs near a precipitous, over a river. Many cavalry are crowded near the edge, and are pushed over to fall into the river or its bank...........In a rather similar scene, previously, Taras had ordered a contest between Andryi and one who accused him of cowardice. This involved their horse jumping over a very narrow gorge, until one failed to complete the jump, and fell into the deep gorge.A criticism is that too many scenes either in the open or inside were shot in semi-darkness, making it impossible to tell what is going on. This especially applies to Andriy's sneaking into the Polish citadel during the Cossack siege, and the attempts to capture him, and his finding Natalia, who had serendipitously relocated from Kiev to the Dubno citadel. I found this whole episode unlikely and unconvincing. In fact, I find it highly unlikely that she would be so attracted to a Cossack, especially one who had killed her brother, that she would risk her life for their romance. In fact, she very nearly is burned at the stake, assumed to be a witch, for this dalliance! ..........Some reviewers believe Tony was miscast as a Cossack. I don't agree. His primary role was to be the romantic lead, while Brynner was the dramatic lead. Tony may not have been as beefy as ideal for a Cossack, and wasn't really made up to look like a Cossack, but Arnold Swartzeneger and Sylvester Stallone were too young then, and Burt Lancaster had rejected the role. Evidently, an extraordinarily good-looking man is what most attracted the princess, be he Pole or Cossack. Tony fit this bill perfectly. This was necessary to overcome the inconvenient fact that he was a Cossack.

Finally, the much-loved version of Gogol's Taras Bulba has come to DVD. This grand, large-scale production manages to entertain with great action sequences while moving the viewer by telling the story of founded in love.Taras Bulba, played by Brynner, is a great Cossack leader who fights with the Polish who continue to take more and more Cossack territory. His young son, Andrei, played by Curtis, is the only thing he loves as much as he does his people and his country. But when Curtis falls in love with a Polish girl, and sides with the Polish, he sets the stage for conflict and tragedy.Bulba loves his son, his people, his way of life, and his country. Andrei loves his father, but also loves the Polish girl. In the midst of a great adventure story, Taras Bulba manages to be a story about love, and the great sacrifices and challenges love causes us to make.This is a great movie, and very much deserving of a high-quality DVD release.