Mongol - The Rise To Power Of Genghis Khan [2008]

See Larger Image	List Price: £19.99 Our Price: £5.97 Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Odnyam Odsuren, Sun Honglei, Khulan Chuluun Directed By: Sergei Bodrov Average Customer Rating:


Audience Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Binding: DVD EAN: 5050582568332 Format: PAL Label: Universal Pictures UK Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Universal Pictures UK Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2008-09-29 Running Time: 120 Studio: Universal Pictures UK Theatrical Release Date: 2008
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Disappointed! Comment: Having read all of the excellent books written by Conn Iggulden on the subject of the great Khan I bought the DVD with high expectations especially having studied many of the very positive reviews. A great disappointment I'm afraid with the film failing in my view to even begin to demonstrate the huge vitality and leadership qualities of this most famous man. A series of boring and unconnected scenes finalizing in a short yet spectacular battle made me wonder what the point of this film was. Read the Conn Iggulden books they offer far more fact, story and excitement! Customer Rating: Summary: Fantastic!!! Comment: This is well worth a watch, dramatic settings, great story and so looking forward to the next part.......... Customer Rating: Summary: The best film I've seen in 2008 Comment: I usually watch about 3-4 films per week, many of them at the cinema. This is the best I have seen this year. Most of the people who criticised it seem to have either been looking for a bloodbath or a docu-drama. Mongol is neither, just a superbly filmed, brilliantly acted and authentic looking piece of cinema. The costumes and scenery looked fantastic. The main actors were very credible in their roles and the soundtrack was beautifully understated, bringing to life the emptiness of the Mongolian Steppe. I don't know how accurate the story is, but any story of his early life must involve a lot of speculation and artistic license as there is little known about his origins. The ending was rather abrupt, but I think some of the best films leave you wanting more (Look at the last 2 Coen Brothers releases). It has certainly made me want to learn more about Ghengis Khan, who, whether you subscribe to the revisionist view or not, is undeniably a fascinating character. Customer Rating: Summary: Mildly entertaining with a few major flaws Comment: I'm going to be a little more critical than the past few reviews. Camerawork : Fantastic (particularly the opening shot). Wonderful framing and wide landscape shots. And the sets and costumes stay true to the intended time. I am however sceptical of the cinematography as I feel a lot of the beauty in the shots has more to do with the land itself than the brilliance of the photography. This is by no means to the stunning standard of Baraka or Laurence of Arabia, both of which have the available scenery but still rely massively on the artistry of the photography. Plot : Only Swiss cheese has this many holes in it! There seemed to be a number of scenes that just tailed off without explanation. One minute he's shackled and running through the wasteland the next he's free and building an army. Another massive downer for me was the ending. It does appear that there will be a Mongol 2, which will save the ending of the first somewhat. But the problem I had was it's sudden jump ... one minute you're enduring 2 hours of epic fairytale then suddenly it's the end and a few captions are thrown at the screen explaining what went on to happen in the life of Khan. It leaves the viewer a little empty to say the least. This is a mildly enjoyable film with a large number of plot holes. So if you're looking for an intelligent, well rounded piece of cinema then look elsewhere. But if you're after an epic romp with some rather nice little action sequences then this should satisfy. Just as an extra: I read that the Mongolians hated this film. Apparently the language and accents are disturbingly terrible and even they have to watch it with subtitles to get whats going on! Customer Rating: Summary: Genghis Khan: the Early Years Comment: Mongol is the first part of a trilogy of films on the life of Genghis Khan by Russian director Sergei Bodrov. With that in mind, you shouldn't be surprised when the film ends suddenly with Genghis' rise to power, as two more films are expected in the next few years. It is also a wise decision on behalf of Bodrov to make a trilogy considering that other attempts at condensing the Khan's life into a two or three hour slot have failed so miserably in the past (Howard Hughes/John Wayne's 1956 film the Conqueror being the most notable). This first half starts with Genghis as a nine-year-old boy, then called Temujin (spelt Temudgin in the film's subtitles) as he sets off with his father to choose a bride from a rival tribe, the Merkits. Along the way he makes an unexpected choice by selecting a girl called Borte, receiving a luxurious black sable coat in return as a dowry. This choice will have a huge effect on Temujin's life, as it sets in motion a series of events that will see his father assassinated, his right as tribal leader usurped, his bride abducted, and himself captured, humiliated, and enslaved. Defying the odds, and with almost supernatural support from the Mongols' chief deity, Temujin strikes back against his betrayers in a final gigantic battle against the assembled tribes of Mongolia. With his enemies defeated, Temujin rises to become the Great King, Genghis Khan, of all the Mongols. The film does follow the basic outline of Genghis' early life, but it mostly plays fast and loose with the facts. Sometimes this works to the film's benefit, but at other times it doesn't. For instance, much of the story is simplified, as the constant struggles between the various tribes would have been to confusing for the viewer. At other times, the choices seem to be confusing. According to most sources Genghis was captured only once in his life, but several scenes in this film consist of Genghis being captured and later escaping only to be re-captured and enslaved again. This repetitive storyline does begin to grate at times, considering it isn't really necessary to further the plot or character development, and it's a strange addition considering most of these events never took place. Worst of all it seems that much of the interesting events of the Khan's rise to power are omitted so that more of these chase and capture scenes can be included. It gets to be so frequent that at times it feels like you are watching a medieval version of Prison Break. The ending also feels rushed in my opinion, as Temujin with the help of Borte, escapes from a Tangut prison, only to rush off in anger when he hears that the tribes of Mongolia have fallen into anarchy and lawlessness. The next time we see him, he has assembled a large army. No back-story is given to how he has achieved this, or how he's gone from penniless outlaw to powerful Warlord. This is the film's biggest failure in my opinion, as this should have been the back-story of the film. That said, the film makes up for this with its great acting, its bloody battles and its wonderful cinematography. Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano (famous for his samurai roles in films like Zatoichi) makes a convincing Khan. He's good at portraying the ruthless warlord who executes and carves his way through his enemies, but he also shows the human side to the man, including his deep love for Borte and his illegitimate children. Honglei Sun also throws in a brilliant performance as Jamukha, a drink sodden warrior and Genghis's blood brother. Bodrov also does a good job of portraying the Mongolian landscape, with its vast and empty steppe, his rolling hills and its flowing lakes and rivers. Overall this is a good film that has a few flaws in its storyline. It might not be completely accurate, but it does have plenty of entertaining scenes. It's also a nice change from the recent flow of Hollywood epics with their emphasis on ancient European history. Medieval Mongolia has never been so brilliantly re-created on screen before, and fans of these types of movies will enjoy it. This film isn't for everybody, and war and action fans might be disappointed if they expect nothing but bloody battles from start to finish, but there's plenty here to fascinate movie fans if they give it a chance. DVD Features: No. of disks - 1. Region: 2. Rating: 15 for strong battle violence. Sound: Mongolian language in 5.1 and 2.0. Subtitles: English only. Picture: 2:35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. Running time: 2 hours approx. Special features: Making of Mongol Documentary (Russian with English subtitles) plus Mongol trailer. Running time 38 Mins approx. More Reviews