Marco the Magnificent (1965)

Young Marco Polo travels to China to help Kublai Khan fight against rebels, headed by his own son, with a new invention: gunpowder.

Directors:

Denys de La Patellière, Raoul Lévy

Writers:

Noël Howard, Raoul Lévy (as Raoul J. Lévy)

Stars:

Horst Buchholz, Anthony Quinn, Akim Tamiroff

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Horst Buchholz	...	Marco Polo
Anthony Quinn	...	Kublai Khan, Mongol Emperor of China
Akim Tamiroff	...	The Old Man of the Mountain
Elsa Martinelli	...	The Woman with the Whip
Robert Hossein	...	Prince Nayam, Mongol Rebel Leader
Grégoire Aslan	...	Achmed Abdullah
Omar Sharif	...	Sheik Alla Hou, 'The Desert Wind'
Orson Welles	...	Akerman, Marco's Tutor
Massimo Girotti	...	Nicolo, Marco's Father
Folco Lulli	...	Spinello, Venetian Merchant
Guido Alberti	...	Pope Gregory X
Lynne Sue Moon	...	Princess Gogatine (as Lee Sue Moon)
Bruno Cremer	...	Guillaume de Tripoli, a Knight Templar
Jacques Monod	...	Nicolo de Vicenza, a Knight Templar
Mica Orlovic	...	Matteo, Marco's Uncle

Storyline

Il giovane Marco Polo, dopo le raccomandazioni ed i saggi consigli dell'anziano Akerman, parte alla volta della Cina per aiutare Kublai Khan nella lotta contro i ribelli, capeggiati dal proprio figlio, con una nuova invenzione : la polvere da sparo.

---

Plot Keywords:

marco polo | kublai khan | travel | rebel | gunpowder | 

---

Taglines:

West is where he finds the Cave of Assassins...listens to the bell that drives men mad...feels the whip girl's lash. But East is where he defeats armies...conquers women...runs into moving belly dancers...and plays with inscrutable beauties that are hotter than gun powder!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Biography

---

Details

Country:

Italy France Afghanistan Egypt Yugoslavia

Language:

French Italian

Release Date:

1965 (Yugoslavia)

Also Known As:

Marco the Magnificent

Filming Locations:

Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avala Film, Cine Custodia Film AG Zuerich, ITTAC

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was started in 1962 by Christian-Jaque with Alain Delon, Dorothy Dandridge, Michel Simon and Bernard Blier. The filming was interrupted due to inadequate funding and was started again in 1963.

---

Quotes

Achmed Abdullah: My gift cannot share your couch, my dear friend, but I know how much you love animals.
[he gestures towards a tiger]
Achmed Abdullah: . Does she please you?
The Old Man of the Mountain: Ohhh... a well-matched exchange, worthy of two old friends who trust each other.
Achmed Abdullah: It is difficult to fully trust a friend whose face one never sees. I would consider it a friendly act if you removed your golden mask.
The Old Man of the Mountain: It is a friendly act that I do not remove it. All who see my face - die!
Achmed Abdullah: But your assassins
[gesturing towards them]
Achmed Abdullah: all see your face.
The Old Man of the Mountain: And all ...
[...]

---

Connections

Referenced in Les échos du cinéma: Episode #1.20 (1961)

User Reviews

visually very appealing but ultimately disappointing

Cinematographer Armand Thirard (les Diaboliques, le Salaire de la peur) does a fabulous job with beautiful environmental shots, but unfortunately everything else in this movie is crap. This movie is terrible, but somehow visually reminiscent of Kwaidan (Kobayashi, 1964), which is one of the greatest fairy-tale films in the world, largely because of the sceneries and the lighting. 'Marco' could have been magnificent if there was another protagonist and another director. It is a pretentious and dumb movie with (2-minute performance) box-office attraction Orson Welles who wore a silly costume: don't bother to see it plz. Maybe nice for kids though as a supposed adventure movie. And to see Anthony Quinn in an unexpected role: I had to search the credits to find which part he played. I would be grateful if someone did a remake of these promising tales.