James Hitchcock "Taras Bulba" dates from the early sixties, at the height of the popularity of the epic film. Most of the epics of the fifties and sixties were based on either Classical antiquity or the Bible, but occasionally Hollywood could turn to subject matter less familiar to Western audiences, in this case to a novel by the Ukrainian writer Nikolai Gogol. (Gogol was born in the Ukraine, although he wrote in Russian). The story is set in the seventeenth century, at a time when the Ukraine was under Polish domination. The title character, Taras Bulba, is the leader of a Cossack clan on the steppes. The Cossacks are Polish subjects, and an important source of manpower for the Polish Army, but are humiliated and treated as little more than barbarians by their overlords. The film deals with the relationship between Taras and his sons, Andrei and Ostap. He sends the two young men to the university in Kiev, at this time a Polish city, to obtain an education, but they learn little except how deeply the Poles despise them. Andrei does, however, fall in love with Natalia, an aristocratic Polish lady, and in future Andrei's loyalties are split between his father's cause and his feelings for Natalia. These divided loyalties will come to the fore when a Cossack army besieges the Polish-held fortress of Dubno and Andrei learns that Natalia is present inside the city. The storyline is a complicated, and occasionally confusing, one, and although both Yul Brynner as Taras and Tony Curtis as Andrei play their roles with aplomb, in neither case is this really their greatest performance. The Austrian-born Christine Kaufmann as Natalia looks stunning, but does not display any great charisma and it is clear why she did not become a major star in the English-language cinema, although she was well-known in Germany and Austria. (She did, however, go on to become the second Mrs Tony Curtis, following his divorce from Janet Leigh). The film was directed by the British-born J. Lee Thompson. During his British period of the fifties, Thompson mostly worked in black-and-white and specialised in small-scale social-realist dramas, films noirs and war films like "Woman in a Dressing Gown", "Yield to the Night", "Tiger Bay" and "Ice-Cold in Alex". Moving to Hollywood seems to have given him the chance to work on a larger canvas; his next film after this one was to be "Kings of the Sun", another large-scale epic also starring Brynner.The main attraction of the film today lies in its visual appeal and in its action sequences. The Ukrainian steppes seemed like the ideal setting for sweeping photography and shots of massed cavalry thundering across the plains, although at the height of the Cold War the film could not actually be shot there. Instead, the Argentine pampas stood in for the Ukraine. The action scenes are well staged, notably the opening and closing battles and the scene when Andrei and a man who has accused him of cowardice have to jump across a chasm on horseback until one of them falls in. "Taras Bulba" may the sort of film they don't make any more, and we may be none the worse off for that fact, but we can still enjoy watching it when there is nothing else to do on a wet weekend. 6/10 Some goofs. The King of Poland is referred to as "His Imperial Majesty". No Polish King ever used this title, which would only be used by an Emperor. In the film the Polish flag is a gold eagle on a green field. In reality the Polish eagle has always been white on a red field.

swanningaround I love this movie. The theme song called the Wishing Star by Waxman caps it all off. I think it one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written. The mass cavalry charges set in Argentina will never be repeated again. Similar scene are shown in the Soviet films War and Peace and Waterloo, both made around 1968. Christine Kaufmann is very beautiful and her later husband, Tony Curtis also as beautiful. Yul Brynner of course plays these sorts of parts with Aplomb. The only other actor I could think of is Kirk Douglas. Then again, they were always similar in these epic roles, weren't they. They just don't make movies like this any more.

Spikeopath Taras Bulba is directed by J. Lee Thompson and adapted to the screen by Waldo Salt and Karl Tunberg from a story by Nikolai Gogol. It stars Yul Brynner, Tony Curtis, Christine Kaufmann and Perry Lopez. Out of United Artists, it's a DeLuxe/Eastman Color/Panavision production, with the music scored by Franz Waxman and cinematography by Joseph MacDonald.Loosely based on Gogol's short novel, story tells of a Cossack uprising against the Polish forces who have taken control of the Ukraine. At the centre of the Cossack army is the leader Taras (Brynner) and his two sons, Andrei (Curtis) and Ostap (Lopez). But when Andrei falls in love with a Polish princess called Natalia (Kaufmann), it sets the wheels in motion for the Bulba family to crack from within; just as the Polish come calling asking for the Cossacks help to defeat the Turkish.While not as epic as the film, the troubled back story of the production is big enough to lend one to understand why Taras Bulba is not the grandiose picture the story deserves. Main problem comes with casting, particularly that of Curtis as the elder Bulba son. It should have been Burt Lancaster, who walked, so in came Curtis and a decision was made to put him front and centre of the picture. Thus rendering Brynner's title character to playing second fiddle, so much so they really should have called the film Andrei Bulba instead. On his day Curtis could act, but he's out of place here playing a Cossack with brain and brawn. Then there was the small matter of Curtis' marriage to Janet Leigh falling apart, with Leigh visiting the set, falling ill and no doubt noticing the sparks flying between Curtis and his delectable co-star, Kaufmann. Curtis would say it wasn't the final straw, but with him going on to marry Kaufman shortly after his divorce, it's hard not to think that it sealed the deal!He's not helped by the writers, though, who allow the love story sub-plot between Andrei and Natalia to form the core of the plot. They too, Messrs Salt & Tunberg, were brought in after historical novelist Howard Fast (Spartacus) refused to tone down the screenplay. He wanted to include what was an important part of the Cossack/Pole war, that of the Cossacks anti-Semitic attack on Polish Jews. The makers balked and Salt & Tunberg came in and delivered the Andrei overkill and some rather cheese laden dialogue. Brynner was crushed, his biography (written by his son Rock) reveals that it was a role and film he cared for more than any other, he had grand plans for the portrayal but the makers didn't share his view. A shame because what we do get of Brynner is wonderfully exuberant, muscular and (correctly) scene stealing.However, when Taras Bulba as a film is good, it's real good, and thankfully it's never dull, even if it's it a bit more jovial in the mid section than it is meant to be. Thompson was a fine director of action and suspense, and he gets to flex his muscles here to great effect. Casting aside the cheap shots of dummies and wooden horses being hurled about a couple of times, the sight of thousands of men on horseback swarming across the Steppes (actual location used was Argentina) is spectacular. The battles are fierce, violent and gripping, while the scenes in the Cossacks camps are joyous as men drink, sing, test their manhood by doing things like dangling over a bear pit, it's all very robust and Vikingesque, but entertainingly so. There's even some dashing sword play, while quality suspense is eked out during a challenge to the death over a seemingly bottomless gorge.Joseph MacDonald's Panavision photography neatly brings the wide vistas to life, aided by the use of Eastman Color which gives off a nice period hue. Waxman delivers a blunderbuss score that's seasoned with Russian vitality, while the costume department deserves a mention for their efforts, particularly for the Polish army who look dandy men of steel. Yes it's a film of flaws and bad decisions, but the good does outweigh the bad in this instance, and how nice it is to have the chance to see a little known part of "bloody" history up there on the screen. 7/10

kosmasp ... even as a Coassack! Seriously though Mr. Brynner can play everything, as far as I'm concerned, and that in a very convincing manner, too! But although the film is called "Taras Bulba", it's actually son Bulba, who's playing the main character here (portrayed by Tony Curtis).I had the opportunity to watch the movie in a (blow-up) 70mm copy. Unfortunately the colors had faded away, but it still looked great. The battle scenes are especially good. But it's the nature of the movie that I liked, the depiction of a small group of "rebels" that tried to go a different way (if you see the movie, you'll know what I mean). There's a great quote from "Bulba Sr." (Brynner) about having faith in poles, just awesome!