Product Details

• Format: Color, Full Screen, Import, NTSC
• Subtitles: English, Chinese
• Region: All Regions
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000B6GE30
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,940 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
PLOT SUMMARY: A "Romeo and Juliet" story that takes place in 18th century Ukraine. Taras (Yul Brenner) has settled into comfortable farm life after years of adventures and swashbuckling with his cossack companions. Though not wealthy, he is able to send his son Andrei (Tony Curtis) away to a Polish school. At this time the Poles are overlords of Ukraine and the origin of the cossacks is struggle of the Ukrainian serfs to free themselves and their land of Polish domination. Toward this end Taras hopes that his son will be educated in the ways of the enemy. Instead, Andrei falls in love with the daughter of a Polish nobleman, setting the stage for a clash between love, family honor, and a struggle for national identity. [IMDB]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love the movie - Hate the DVD transfer, November 2, 2005

By	J. Bryce (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The other reviewers have already written about the movie - which gets my 4 stars. My comments here deal with the 1-star DVD transfer quality of the Kung Kuao "Best Movie Collection" edition from Taipei ... the one that lists YEL Brynner (sic) as the star of the film. First appearances are deceiving. This has nicely produced sleeve and disc artwork (despite the typos) but things go downhill when the disc goes into the player. The picture quality has deteriorated and it bears all the hallmarks of a second or third generation dub from tape. The menus are amateurish. It looks like it's been lifted from a TV broadcast or from a second-rate projection (track-marks across the screen from high contrast areas, weak colour and clearly visible texture and flaws in the projection screen). It's certainly watchable but a very far cry from the sort of quality we've all come to expect from DVD and DVD prices. It does run the full, uncut 122 minutes so if you're a collector and fan of the film then I'd recommend it to round out your catalogue. Copies are still to be had on e-Bay. If you're a videofile looking for a mint print then this one isn't for you. My old MGM VHS copy is far superior in both picture and sound but at least the DVD version provides a more stable copy that is less prone to damage. Be prepared to be disappointed. Roll on the studio-quality DVD release from MGM so we can really enjoy this great epic the way it deserves to be seen.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Low quality DVD, February 20, 2006

By	I. Sahba "Ivan" (NC, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While the movie is good, thanks to Yul Brynner, this DVD is very bad. It looks like it was transfered from a worn out VHS tape to DVD. My old VHs version of it plays better than this DVD. The jacket has a few mis spelling names! Yul is Yel and other typos. I am almost sure that it is not released by MGM.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could Have Been More, October 8, 2005

By	John A Lee III "jal3" (San Antonio, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is not a bad historical drama but it could have been so much more. In a production that strives to be a "big event", it falls short. Even so, it does have a little entertainment value.

The story is of the warrior Cossacks of the Russian steps. They are acknowledged to be the finest cavalry in the world. The Poles seek their help and the Cossacks bring victory, only to be betrayed. The Poles turn on the Cossacks and take their land to create a buffer with Russia. As a result, the Cossacks go into hiding for a time. They emerge when the danger seems past and the Polish universities are opened to the Cossacks. Taras Bulba sends his sons to school to learn all they can in the hope of eventually being able to defeat the Poles. Naturally, a love story and divided loyalties intervene.

Yul Brynner plays the title role of the Cossack leader, Taras Bulba. His is the outstanding performance of the film. His exaggerated, larger than life gestures make the character into something more than a wooden figure.

Tony Curtis plays the son. Some people seem to be distressed because his New York accent detracts from the character. I did not find this any more distracting than the notion that ancient Romans all spoke with British accents. Curtis does a credible but not stellar job.

I ordered the DVD through Amazon. I was surprised at what I got. It is apparently a pirated Chinese copy. It has Chinese subtitles and the quality of the recording is poor. Still, it was watchable.