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

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:

Another rare movie where star Yul Brynner (in a few 'time lapsing' brief scenes) has a full head of hair.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Cossacks never entered the city of Dubnoe. They were chased by the Poles that came to the town's aid.

Quotes:

Abbot: Remove your cassock and prostate yourself.

Movie Connections:

Version of Tarass Boulba (1936)

Amazing such a subject made by Hollywood!

That this classic novel by Gogol about the legendary Ukrainian cossack hero could have been made into a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster, and that this was done at the very height of the cold war seems unbelievable today.

While the film is dated a bit by the kitschy love story involving Tony Curtis' character, Yul Brynner is perfect in his role which seems one of those he was born to play.

A colourful and spectacular historical epic in the best of the then-dying old Hollywood tradition, this is probably the only exposure that the American public at large has to Ukrainian history, and in this alone it is a valuable work. But the film manages to succeed on the entertainment level as well, and I recommend it to all fans of the good ol' Hollywood studio historical drama.