Dealing with controversial figures of history is a sensitive matter. Usually the result is something incredibly profound and moving (Rod Steiger as Napoleon; Bruno Ganz as Hitler; Brad Pitt as Jesse James) or a portrayal that lacks any depth or substance, spiralling not into inaccuracy, but rather into dullness. Tadanobu Asano's Genghis Khan is a creation that unfortunately fits into the latter category. By the end of Sergei Bodrov's epic saga, one has learnt little about the famous Mongolian warlord, making not only for an unrewarding experience dominated purely by visuals, but also an incredibly flat history lesson that does nothing to deconstruct his myth. Genghis ...  Read the complete review

Young Temudgin is the son of the Mongol Khan (leader) and as he is now 10 he sets of with his Father to pick his bride. Temudgin upsets his father by picking his bride from a different tribe so peace cannot be made. Temudgin falls insistently in love with Bort and says he will return when he is 15 to marry her. Temudgin is about to have his world turned upside down when his father gets murdered and the second in commend of the tribe start rioting and taking over, as Temudgin is rightfully the new Khan he is told that when he becomes a man he will be killed as Mongols do not kill children. Temudgin now has to leave his mother and set out on his own to the ...  Read the complete review

If I said this film was about the early years of the warrior Temudjin, the chances are you'd reply "who?" On the other hand, if I told you Temudjin is better known to the world as Genghis Khan, conqueror of half the known world in the 12th century, you'd understand a little better. It's just a shame that even when they realize what Mongol is about, most won't go to see it - either because it's not on at their local cinema, or they prefer something more "Hollywoodised". Throw in the fact that Mongol is subtitled and that will put even more people off. Which is their loss, because Mongol is a riveting film, as gripping and ...  Read the complete review

Ghengis Khan has always been a sort of mystical figure in my mind since I first heard of him. A chief of a tribe of nomadic horsemen in the heart of the mongolian steppe? A blood brother with another rising power in the dessert? A unification of the mongols under his leadership? And of course, the eventual conqueror of most of the asian-eurpean landmass? Absolutely fascinating. So when I first heard of this movie, I was more than interested. Unfortunately, I was skint at the time and my friends didn't share my enthusiasm for the "Khan of Khans". So I only watched it after it came out on DVD, hoping for a night in with a good ...  Read the complete review

(This review can also be found in my blog, http://www.alphatucana.co.uk/blog/alphatucana.php ) Mongol: The Rise to Power of Genghis Khan (2007) by Russian director Sergey Bodrov aims to tell the true story of how Genghis Khan came from almost nowhere (he was the son of a minor tribal chief) to found what would become the largest contiguous empire in history - and, more importantly, why he did it. Well, I'll leave the viewer to decide whether or not the Great Khan was a murderous psychopath. The film certainly doesn't paint him this way. Instead, it is compatible with what is known of his history. At the time (around 1200), that part of Asia was a ...  Read the complete review