Taras Bulba (film)
Encyclopedia
Taras Bulba is a 1962 film
loosely based on Nikolai Gogol
's short novel, Taras Bulba
, starring Yul Brynner
in the title role, and Tony Curtis
as his son, Andrei, leaders of a Cossack
clan on the Ukrainian
steppe
s. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson
. The story line of the film is considerably different from that of Gogol's novel, although it is closer to the 1842 (pro-Russian Imperial) edition than the original version (pro-Ukrainian) version (1832).
Several years later, Taras sends his two sons, Andrei and Ostap (Perry Lopez) to the academy at Kiev, to obtain a Polish education. There, the eldest son, Andrei, falls in love with a Polish princess Natalia Dubrov (played by Christine Kaufmann
), to the ire of the locals, who treat the Cossack brothers like scum of the earth. Ultimately, the brothers are forced to flee Kiev, returning to their father’s house on the Ukrainian steppes.
There, word comes that the Poles want the Cossacks to raise an army to help them in a new war with the Turks. When Andrei objects, he is accused of being a coward. This is a serious offense that can only be resolved by a test of courage. Andrei and his accuser ride and jump their horses over a chasm until God chooses which one is right by having the accuser fall to his death. Taras embraces Andrei’s lead and plans to betray the Poles and take back Ukraine.
Assuming command of the Cossacks, Taras leads them to Dubno, where the Poles are expecting him to join them. Instead, the Cossacks attack the Polish army and drive it back into the city. The Cossacks then lay siege to the city. Hunger and disease set in and Andrei, fearing for the life of his Polish lover, sneaks into the city in an attempt to rescue her. He is captured and she is condemned to be burned at the stake for the crime of loving a Cossack. To save her, Andrei agrees to lead a raiding party to bring cattle into the starving city.
Meanwhile, the Cossacks have grown bored with the inactivity of the siege and a large number of them have departed for home. When the Polish commander realizes the weakness of the Cossacks against the raiding force, he orders his whole army to attack. Taras Bulba encounters his son on the field of battle and kills him for his betrayal before joining the general retreat to the edge of a cliff. There, the Cossacks who left the siege to go home, rejoin the battle and large numbers of men and horses, both Cossack and Polish, are pushed over the edge to their deaths in the river below.
The movie ends with the Cossacks victorious and entering Dubno. Andrei is to be buried there, as “it is now a Cossack city” and presumably, the Cossacks will not treat the Poles as badly as they were treated by them.
US
, Salta
, Argentina
and Yugoslavia
.
1962 in film
The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
loosely based on Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
's short novel, Taras Bulba
Taras Bulba
Taras Bulba is a romanticized historical novel by Nikolai Gogol. It tells the story of an old Zaporozhian Cossack, Taras Bulba, and his two sons, Andriy and Ostap. Taras’ sons studied at the Kiev Academy and return home...
, starring Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
in the title role, and Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
as his son, Andrei, leaders of a Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
clan on the Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
s. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson
J. Lee Thompson
John Lee Thompson , better known as J. Lee Thompson, was an English film director, active in England and Hollywood.- Early years :...
. The story line of the film is considerably different from that of Gogol's novel, although it is closer to the 1842 (pro-Russian Imperial) edition than the original version (pro-Ukrainian) version (1832).
Storyline
The film opens with a battle raging between the Turks and the Poles. The Poles are losing until the Cossacks arrive to save the day. However, it turns out that the Poles were merely holding back so that they could treacherously attack the Cossacks after they won the battle for them. As a result, the Poles become masters of Ukraine and the Cossacks are subjugated. Taras Bulba, one of the Cossack officers, returns home to raise his family but now it is under Polish dominion.Several years later, Taras sends his two sons, Andrei and Ostap (Perry Lopez) to the academy at Kiev, to obtain a Polish education. There, the eldest son, Andrei, falls in love with a Polish princess Natalia Dubrov (played by Christine Kaufmann
Christine Kaufmann
Christine Maria Kaufmann is a German actress. In 1961 she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actress, the only German to be so honoured....
), to the ire of the locals, who treat the Cossack brothers like scum of the earth. Ultimately, the brothers are forced to flee Kiev, returning to their father’s house on the Ukrainian steppes.
There, word comes that the Poles want the Cossacks to raise an army to help them in a new war with the Turks. When Andrei objects, he is accused of being a coward. This is a serious offense that can only be resolved by a test of courage. Andrei and his accuser ride and jump their horses over a chasm until God chooses which one is right by having the accuser fall to his death. Taras embraces Andrei’s lead and plans to betray the Poles and take back Ukraine.
Assuming command of the Cossacks, Taras leads them to Dubno, where the Poles are expecting him to join them. Instead, the Cossacks attack the Polish army and drive it back into the city. The Cossacks then lay siege to the city. Hunger and disease set in and Andrei, fearing for the life of his Polish lover, sneaks into the city in an attempt to rescue her. He is captured and she is condemned to be burned at the stake for the crime of loving a Cossack. To save her, Andrei agrees to lead a raiding party to bring cattle into the starving city.
Meanwhile, the Cossacks have grown bored with the inactivity of the siege and a large number of them have departed for home. When the Polish commander realizes the weakness of the Cossacks against the raiding force, he orders his whole army to attack. Taras Bulba encounters his son on the field of battle and kills him for his betrayal before joining the general retreat to the edge of a cliff. There, the Cossacks who left the siege to go home, rejoin the battle and large numbers of men and horses, both Cossack and Polish, are pushed over the edge to their deaths in the river below.
The movie ends with the Cossacks victorious and entering Dubno. Andrei is to be buried there, as “it is now a Cossack city” and presumably, the Cossacks will not treat the Poles as badly as they were treated by them.
Release details
On 25 March 2008 this film was released on DVD in Regions 1 and 2. This is the first release on DVD.Location
Although the story is set in the Eastern European steppes, the film was entirely shot in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Salta
Salta
Salta is a city in northwestern Argentina and the capital city of the Salta Province. Along with its metropolitan area, it has a population of 464,678 inhabitants as of the , making it Argentina's eighth largest city.-Overview:...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.