Taras Bulba (1962)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Nikolai Gogol (novel)
Waldo Salt (writer)

Release Date:

19 December 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

A Love Story of Flesh And Fire!

Plot:

A "Romeo and Juliet" story that takes place in the late 16c. Ukraine. Taras has settled into comfortable...

Plot Keywords:

Cossack | Ukraine | Battle | The Turks | Betrayal

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Tony Curtis	...	Andrei Bulba
Yul Brynner	...	Taras Bulba
Sam Wanamaker	...	Filipenko
Brad Dexter	...	Shilo
Guy Rolfe	...	Prince Grigory
Perry Lopez	...	Ostap Bulba
George Macready	...	Governor
Ilka Windish	...	Sofia Bulba
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Old Stepan
Vladimir Irman	...	Grisha Kubenko
Daniel Ocko	...	Ivan Mykola
Abraham Sofaer	...	Abbot
Mickey Finn	...	Korzh
Richard Rust	...	Capt. Alex
Ron Weyand	...	Tymoshevsky

Also Known As:

Taras Bulba (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Kosakken Taras Bulba (Denmark) [da]
Taras Bulba (Finland) [fi]
Taras Bulba (France) [fr]
Taras Bulba (Spain) [es]
Taras Bulba (Brazil) [pt]
Taras il magnifico (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

122 min | 124 min (TCM print)

Country:

Yugoslavia | USA

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:U | West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:Approved (PCA #20294) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Disney Ranch, Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company:

Avala Film

Trivia:

Tony Curtis met Austrian actress Christine Kaufmann on the set of this film and later married her.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The cossacks' "scalp-lock" is not on the back but the front! Only the old cossack is the one that has it correctly. Also Yul Brynner's scalp-lock is very unnatural. It looks like a pony tail and it has too much hair for being only the remaining hair from shaving the rest of the head.

Quotes:

Natalia Dubrov: I love you, Andrei, I will always love you. You know that. I love you. But I can't let you fight against your own people. I can't do it. You're a Cossack, Andrei.
Andrei Bulba: I'm a man before I'm a Cossack.
Natalia Dubrov: Don't let them use me.
[they kiss]

Movie Connections:

Version of The Rebel Son (1938)

Great battle scenes, totally predictable script about Cossack fight for independence.

A Romeo and Juliet plot wherein Tony Curtis falls in love with a Polish princess on first sight. He later betrays father, brother, friends, and his homeland, because he had one date with the princess. Well, O.K. From the first moment that we see the princess we know exactly where we are going. Needless to say the most important thing in the fathers life is driving the Poles from 16th Century Ukraine. And here the son betrays all, and runs off with a polish princess. Yul Bryner is Taras Bulba , a pure warrior Cossack. He loves his Steppes, his sons, his friends, his horse, his sword, and his wife. In that order. Of course Yul overacts but given what he is supposed to be, well who can blame him. And after all who else could have played this part.But really,Tony Curtis as a 16th century Cossck. Well O.K.,but with the perfect hairdo, perfect teeth, and perfect blue eyes......it just doesnt seem as if Tony has spent much time mowing his front lawn, let alone invading, raping, and pillaging much of Eastern Europe. The battle scenes are wonderful, and we get the full effect of cavalry battles. They are really quite rousing. They however are the only things that save this film. As such I give this film a SEVEN.