"I will kiss the devil before my son wears a Polish collar!" declares Cossack warrior Taras Bulba, thus laying down the fundamental conflict of this epic film, based on the classic book by Russian novelist Nikolai Gogol. After the Polish army and the Cossacks defeat the Turks, the Poles betray their fierce collaborators in order to claim the Cossacks' ancestral home, the Steppes. Scattered, the Cossacks bide their time, and Bulba (Yul Brynner) sends his son Andrei (Tony Curtis) to a Polish college to learn the secrets of their culture. Though Andrei faces cruelty and prejudice, he falls in love with a Polish noblewoman, Natalia (Christine Kaufmann, a lovely German actress in one of her few English-language roles). Andrei, torn by love and loyalty to his people, risks everything in a desperate attempt to win Christine, even if it pits him against his own father. Taras Bulba is far from a great film--there are some laughable special effects, the battle scenes are confused and sluggish, and Curtis never quite loses his Bronx accent. Despite that, Curtis' star power comes through, and Yul Brynner tears up the screen with his amazing physical presence and emotional intensity; the man was truly a unique and compelling actor, who found only a few roles that suited him--this was one. By the end, Gogol's muscular plot catches you in its grip. The hypnotically gripping final scenes overcome all the cheesiness that came before. --Bret Fetzer
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Poor quality DVD:
Rousing moving, but they seem to have copied it from a VCR that was watched 50 times too many. Yul Brenner is a marvel in this movie, even with poor quality color and definition.
Taras Bulba DVD Review:
Taras Bulba is a pretentious film with poor dialogue and phony characters. The only decent thing about this film is Franz Waxman's musical score.
A good story used as source for a ridiculous film, which even the best of acting could not have saved:
I have read Nikolai Gogol's "Taras Bulba" and found the film with Tony Curtis and Yul Brynner to be a tasteless, cheap parody. The film does not provide a historical background or even attempt to explain the socio-political realities of 17th century Ukraine, but uses the opportunity to heave opprobium on the Poles, who are treated with some understanding and respect in the novel by Gogol. The film includes situations that may add effect to the film, but are not part of the book - such as Bulba hacking off... more info
Better than I remember it:
Saw "Taras Bulba" a couple of times upon its initial release, and remember a.)a tv documentary about the making of the film and b.)a photo-story book, which was loaded with black and white frame blow-ups and captions. All in all, it's a lot of fun to watch. Utterly cliche-ridden and unshamedly so, the action is carried by the dynamic presence of Yul Brynner and Franz Waxman's brilliant score, which make even the obligatory
exotic-dancers-around-the-camp-fire scenes tolerable. And, of course,... more info
