Il fascino pericoloso dell'Estremo Oriente

2 Nominations: Academy Awards (Oscar): Best Music, Score Substantially Original - Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture Score 

TARAS, IL MAGNIFICO

(Taras Bulba)

1962, regia di J. Lee Thompson

Scheda: Nazione: USA-Jugoslavia - Produzione: Avala Film, Harold Hecht Productions - Distribuzione: Dear, United Artists - Soggetto: dal racconto Taras Bulba di Nikolaj Gogol - Sceneggiatura: Waldo Salt, Karl Tunberg - Fotografia: Joseph MacDonald - Montaggio: Folmar Blangsted, Gene Milford, William Reynolds, Eda Warren - Scenografie: William F. Calvert - Costumi: Norma Koch - Musiche: Franz Waxman - Effetti speciali: Howard A. Anderson , Butler-Glouner, Russell Lawson, Barney Wolff, Fred Wolff - Formato: Panavision DeLuxe - Durata: 122'.

Cast: Tony Curtis, Yul Brynner, Sam Wanamaker, Brad Dexter, Guy Rolfe, Perry Lopez, George Macready, Ilka Windish, Vladimir Sokoloff, Vladimir Irman, Daniel Ocko, Abraham Sofaer, Mickey Finn, Richard Rust, Ron Weyand, Christine Kaufmann.

Trama e commenti: kataweb.it - film.spettacolo.virgilio.it: «Siamo nel XVI secolo: i polacchi, minacciati dai turchi, vengono salvati dal cosacco Taras Bulba, ma poi le sorti della guerra si capovolgono. Taras si salva e, lontano dalla terra dei suoi avi, aspetta il momento della rivincita. Dovrà anche uccidere uno dei suoi figli, Andrej, che ha disertato per raggiungere la fanciulla che ama. Il romanzo di Gogol' in una visualizzazione appena discreta, con parecchie ingenuità. Nel cast Brynner in uno dei suoi ruoli più celebri, e Tony che riesce ad essere un cosacco credibile».

Plot Summary, Synopsis, Review: IMDb - entertainment.msn.com - tvguide.com: «This is a poor adaptation of Gogol's classic novel, featuring Yul Brynner as the legendary cossack leader Taras Bulba. Betrayed by the Polish army circa 1550, Brynner and his men are forced to flee across the Russian steppes. Later, Brynner raises two sons who follow in their father's footsteps. Curtis, however, falls in love with Polish noblewoman Kaufmann, a romance that leads to a violent confrontation between father and son. Taras Bulba seemed doomed to fail from the start. First, producer Harold Hecht wanted to cut costs, so he filmed this tale of 16th-century cossacks in Argentina. The local gauchos, who played the hundreds of soldiers, did more fighting to get on camera than they did on-screen. Moreover, Curtis was again the victim of poor casting, his character becoming ludicrous due to his heavy Brooklyn accent. To make matters worse, the actor's personal life went awry when he fell for his costar, 17-year-old Kaufmann, causing his wife, Janet Leigh, to go home--a repentant Curtis giving chase and causing some delays. Veteran hack director J. Lee Thompson brings his typically bland style to the affair; while the battle scenes are less than spectacular, his handling of the actors is even worse. The only bright spot here is Franz Waxman's Oscar-nominated musical score, which builds up a thematic scheme as the various cossack tribes ride and come together for the climactic battle».

Approfondimenti: Movie Review

Conosciuto anche con il titolo: Kosakken Taras Bulba.

su

Home Storiamedievale

Cinema e Medioevo-Indice

Indice film