Film Review
In spite of its luxurious photography, enormous budget and all-star cast, this shameless
super-production fails to live up to its monolithic aspirations. From the start,
the film is overly pre-occupied with impressing its spectators with extravagant sets and
stunning panoramic views.
Although these have some artistic merit, this is not enough
to sustain the audience's attention and it is the film's lack of content and
wooden characterisation which rob it of any true greatness. The film's
only saving grace is captivating performance from Antony Quinn as the wise emperor Kubklai
Khan.
The story of the film itself is probably as fascinating as the adventures of the young
Venetian hero it relates. It was originally conceived by Raoul Lévy as the
ultimate historical epic, with the title
L'Échiquier de Dieu (
God's
Chessboard). To direct the film, Lévy recruited Christian-Jaque, who
already had several highly successful historic dramas under his belt, including
Fanfan la Tulipe (1952)
and
La Tulipe noire (1964). The
original cast included Alain Delon, an actor much sought after for his good looks and popularity, and
experienced character actors Michel Simon and Bernard Blier.
Almost from the start, the project seemed doomed. The initial preparation for the
film, which included tours of India, Afghanistan and Iran, ran up a budget of tens of
millions of French francs. Lévy's vision was clearly too ambitious to realise,
including a charge of two hundred elephants and a gigantic game of chess with full-size
figures. When the film ran into financial difficulties during the first month of
filming, Christian-Jaque pulled out of the project, along with his lead actors.
Lévy's persevered in spite of these difficulties and managed to secure further
funding for what was described as French cinema's equivalent of the Algeria situation
(i.e. pouring money into a lost cause). Denys de La Patellière was
hired to direct the film, and the young German actor Horst Buchholz (famous for playing
Chico in
The Magnificent Seven (1960)) was
cast in the role of Marco Polo. With tighter budgetary constraints, the film was completed, but fell
way short of Lévy's expectations.
Even with its international distribution, the film failed to recoup its staggering cost,
which ran into hundreds of millions of French francs. The film was poorly received at
the box office and was an enormous flop. It is speculated that the film's
failure may have contributed to Lévy's suicide in 1966.
© James Travers 2000
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Denys de La Patellière film:
Le Tonnerre de Dieu (1965)
Film Synopsis
In the 13th century, Marco Polo's dreams of adventure in distant lands look
set to become reality when his father, a once great merchant now fallen on
hard times, delivers a letter to Pope Gregory. The missive comes direct
from the court of the Chinese emperor Kublai Khan, who seeks a peaceful accord
between the Orient and the Christian world. Blessed with charm, compassion
and tenacity, Marco is seen to be the ideal ambassador to undertake the long
journey from Venice to the Far East and establish a mutually beneficial rapport
with the mighty Khan.
The gruelling journey across many unfamiliar lands lasts three and a half
years. Along the way, Marco and his caravan encounter many hazards,
including attacks from cut-throat bandits, before finally reaching their
destination in Peking. Polo's arrival coincides with a Mongol plot
to usurp the emperor and replace him with his son Nazam, a fierce Mongol
warrior who has no intention of making peace with other nations. By
exercising his cunning and courage, the young Marco succeeds in thwarting
Nazam's evil ambitions, and in doing so he earns the gratitude and respect
of a great emperor...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.