Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1523 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-09-29
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: PAL, Subtitled
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 120 minutes

Synopsis
Director Sergei Bodrov's sweeping MONGOL focuses on battles physical and emotional as it follows the early ascent of the 'Great King' Genghis Khan in the 12th and 13th centuries. Born Temudgin to a kingly father, the film introduces the nine-year-old (Odnyam Odsuren) making his first fateful decision: going against his father's wishes and choosing the lesser-born Borte as his future wife. When his father is poisoned, Temudgin flees from his father's rivals. Temudgin is saved by a young prince, Jamukha, and the two become blood brothers. That bond of friendship is tested, though, when the grown Temudgin (Tadanobu Asano) wages war--against the Mongol code--to win back the captive Borte. As Temudgin asserts his own power, he must also face Jamukha in all-out battle if he is to secure the safety of his family and his own kingly destiny. Gorgeously shot on location in Kazakhstan and Inner Mongolia, MONGOL represents the first in a proposed trilogy of films that will chronicle the full impact of Genghis Khan's reign. As ambitious in scope as its subject was in life, MONGOL--a 2008 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film--offers a unique look at the influence of love and loyalty to the life and times of one of history's most enigmatic rulers.

Customer Reviews

an astonishing and unusual epic ; wonderful visually
This is an extraordinary film - you won't see another quite like it. It tells of the childhood, young manhood and coming to power of Khan Termudgin - Genghis Khan. It has, I think been a labour of love for the director, Serge Bodrov, and he has done a remarkable job. I heard a talk about it on the radio, an academic claiming that Genghis had been seen only through the eyes of those whom he conquered, and that, though indeed a great general capable of wielding power decisively to the point of ruthlessness, he was in fact forward-looking and in some ways more merciful than others of his time (the 12th. Century). Whatever the truth of the matter, this film certainly makes a case for him. He is nine when it begins, choosing a bride to whom he remains faithful through every conceivable difficulty, watching the murder of his father, enduring the hatred of adult enemies, enormous physical discomfort and several unlucky quirks of fate. The whole thing is set in amazing landscapes, in Mongolia or North China I presume, and has a visual vastness and strangeness that is very compelling. So, too, is the eerie guttural throat music of the men, and the wonderful skin and fur costumes (especially the hats). It's a love story and works on that level. It also shows how a man like Termudgin could win great power against all the odds, and he is clearly a hero in this film.There are wolves, tremendous thunderstorms, wonderful horsemanship, an apocalyptic battle, terrifying Merkits (a rival tribe who wore skins over their faces to terrify their enemies), a breath-taking recreation of the border city in Tangut Province and, when needed, a cast of thousands (though in fact a surprising amount of the film is quite intimate). There are leaps in the narrative, but strangely that seems almost a benefit, mirroring the forward bounding of the old ballad style, where you are happy to take some things as read. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I think most people would.

Near flawless film making
I just found this film a total breath of fresh air. Its obvious its made by someone who really loves and understands the subject matter, the western worlds perception of Genghis Khan has always been overly demonised, this film goes some way to address this. The cinematography is world class, you get transported to Mongolia and get a real sense of its great plains, the pacing is perfect and the dialog is beautiful.

Genghis Khan: the Early Years
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.