Genghis Khan (1965)

During the 13th century the shy Mongol boy Temujin becomes the fearless leader Genghis Khan who unites all Mongol tribes and conquers most of Asia, Europe and the Middle-East.

Director:

Henry Levin

Writers:

Clarke Reynolds (screenplay), Beverley Cross (screenplay)

Stars:

Stephen Boyd, Omar Sharif, James Mason

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen Boyd	...	Jamuga
Omar Sharif	...	Genghis Khan / Temujin-Genghis Khan
James Mason	...	Kam Ling
Eli Wallach	...	The Shah Of Khwarezm
Françoise Dorléac	...	Bortei (as Francoise Dorleac)
Telly Savalas	...	Shan
Robert Morley	...	The Emperor Of China
Michael Hordern	...	Geen
Yvonne Mitchell	...	Katke
Woody Strode	...	Sengal
Kenneth Cope	...	Subodai
Roger Croucher	...	Kassar
Don Borisenko	...	Jebai
Patrick Holt	...	Kuchluk
Susanne Hsiao	...	Chin Yu (as Suzanne Hsaio)

Storyline

Mostly fictionalized account of the life of Ghenghis Khan, the Mongol warlord whose 13th century armies conquered much of the known world. Named Temujin, he was taken prisoner by the rival warlord Jamuga and as punishment was forced to wear a large round wooden stock that severely restricted his movements. With the help of two supporters, the wise-man Geen and the strongman Sengal he manages to escape. He now begins his quest to unify all of the Mongol tribes. He faces great success but his old nemesis Jemuga keeps appearing at various times in his life leader to a final battle between the two.

---

Plot Keywords:

pregnancy by rape | 13th century | mongol | khan | leader | 

---

Taglines:

Conqueror Of The World's Mightiest Empire!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History | War

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK West Germany Yugoslavia USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 June 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dzingis-Kan

Filming Locations:

Yugoslavia

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,332, 22 February 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,892, 22 February 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Irving Allen Productions, Central Cinema Company Film (CCC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Released in 70MM and also advertised as having 6-track stereophonic sound in Sydney's long gone Barclay Cinema.

---

Goofs

The Shah offers Jamuga both his daughters, but in Islam a man cannot marry a woman and her close relative at the same time, plus a Muslim woman cannot marry a pagan.

---

Quotes

Geen: [about the Caravan Road] The Shah of Khwarezm imposed a truce. All have sworn to it. All observe it. No warrior is permitted to carry arms here.
Temujin, later Genghis Khan: Good, then we can take our pick without fighting!
Shan: You do not understand, Temujin. A truce was signed!
Temujin, later Genghis Khan: I did not sign it, the slaves did not sign it.
Geen: But...!
Temujin, later Genghis Khan: [Interrupts] Will there be women among the slaves?
Geen: Yes, lord...
Temujin, later Genghis Khan: Good. My men have horses and weapons, but no women. How long do you think they will stay without women?
[At Shan]
Temujin, later Genghis Khan: How long will you?
[...]

---

Alternate Versions

All UK releases are cut by 1 min 3 secs. The cinema version was cut for nudity and later video releases also included additional edits for horse-falls and to a rape scene.

---

Connections

Referenced in Joe Dirt 2: Beautiful Loser (2015)

User Reviews

Epic story about Temujin , the greatest conqueror , with impressive scenarios , breathtaking battles and including all-star-cast

It stars Omar Shariff as Mongol Temujin who becomes the fearless leader Genghis Khan and unites all Mongol tribes and conquers most of Asia . This Genghis Khan¨ (1965) professional though regularly directed by Henry Levin boasts a good cast as Stephen Boyd , Françoise Dorléac , Telly Savalas , James Mason , Robert Morley , Eli Wallach , Yvonne Mitchell , Michael Hordern , Woody Strode , among others . In this film , there is epic , mammoth spectacle , hokey historical events , a love story , camp dialog to spare , wonderful landscapes and results to be a failed as well a little boring film , at times . Set during the 13th century in which the brutal warrior Mongol chief Temujin conquers most of Asia , Europe and the Middle-East . Temujin was taken prisoner by the rival warlord , the ruthless leader Jamuga and as punishment was forced to wear a large round wooden stock that severely restricted his movements , but with the help of Bortei he manages to getaway . As the fearless Temujin (recently deceased Omar Shariff) battles armies led by Jamuga (Stephen Boyd) and for the love of a princess Bortei (Francoise Dorleac , though Claire Bloom was attached to this project at one point) . He overcomes all of his hardships to become one of the greatest conquerors the world has ever known and now starts his quest to unify all of the Mongol tribes . Genghis gets big hits , but his old nemesis keeps appearing at various times in his life leader to a final fight between the two . As Genghis Khan, ruthless leader of the Mongols and sovereign over the vastest empire ever ruled by a single man, was both god and devil , not just in the Middle Ages , but for centuries to come . Temujin with the help of his underlings (Telly Savalas along with his brother George Savalas , Michael Hordern , Yvonne Mitchell , Woody Strode) becomes the emperor of Mongols , the great Gengis Khan . Temujin conquers the Chinese empire and overthrows the Emperor of China (Robert Morley). He subsequently takes on the Shah of Khwarezm (Eli Wallach) who is backed by his eternal enemy , the brutal and revenger Jamuga . Finally , Temujin conquers Khawrezn , India , Persia , Bokara and Samarkanda . Only once in the furied history of adventure and conquest...did one man rule so vast an empire .

This expensive epic film in familiar drawling fashion contains clichéd barbarian dialogue , noisy action , great production design , monumental battles and a cast of thousands . It results to be a little embarrassing film with some unintentionally hilarious images about Chinese scenarios and failed at box office . Colorful cinematography in 70mm blow-up version by the British , Geoffrey Unsworth , being mostly shot in marvelous exteriors ; although the movie takes place in Asia, the film was shot in Yugoslavia . Rousing as well as evocative musical score by Dusan Radic who also composed another historical film : ¨The long ships¨. This sweeping oriental drama was backed by the great producer Irving Allen , being lavishly financed , in fact , at the time , 1965 , surpassed anything ever filmed before .

The motion picture was middlingly directed by Henry Levin . Ex-actor , director Henry Levin was a previous stage player who had a prolific and long career as filmmaker entering the directing in 1943 about every genre over the next 36 years . His heyday was in the 1960s , when he turned out several bright and frothy sex comedies, notably ¨Belles on their toes , Come fly with me , Honeymoon hotel¨ , his greatest films were on the adventure genre as ¨¨ The wonderful world of Brothers Grimm¨ , ¨The bandit of Sherwood Forest¨ , ¨The return of Monte Cristo¨ and ¨Journey to the center of the earth¨ . Although Levin's forte was light comedies, one of his most interesting films was a dark, brooding western ¨Lonely man¨ (1957) and ¨Desperados¨ , both of them with Jack Palance . He finished his career piloting made-for-television movies, and died on the final day of shooting ¨Scout's Honor¨ (1980) (TV) . Other films dealing with this historical figure , ¨Genghis Khan¨ , are the followings : 1956 version titled ¨The conqueror¨ directed by former movie star Dick Powell and financially supported by eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes and lousily directed by Dick Powell starred by John Wayne , Susan Hayward , Pedro Armendáriz , Agnes Moorehead , John Hoyt , Ted De Corsia ; ¨Gengis Khan¨ (2005) by Edward Bazalgette and the best : ¨Mongol¨(2007) by Sergey Bodrov .