Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Duke in the Gobi!, January 30, 2002
Contrary to the critics in general and the reviewers here in
particular, The Conqueror is actually a pretty good film, if you're
a John Wayne fan, or just enjoy Hollywood spectaculars as they
were made back in the '50s. Wayne was not as miscast as one
might think. He certainly had the strength of character and screen
presence to play Temujin/Genghis Khan and he looked good in the
oriental mustache and the Mongol warrior garb. The dialog here is
no dumber than in any other Hollywood historical saga of that
time (or of this time, either, for that matter. Remember Russell
Crowe in Gladiator: "At my signal, unleash Hell!"?) Movie lore has it that The Conqueror was filmed on location in
Utah either on or near an atomic test site, and that many of the cast
and crew later died from radiation-induced cancers. It may be
true, or it may be just mythology. There were no nuclear test sites
in Utah, but the shooting location could have been near the
Nevada test site. Director Powell and cast members Wayne,
Hayward, Moorehead, and John Hoyt did die from cancer, but of
different types and years apart. Many others died from other
causes. Pedro Armendariz committed suicide. Thomas Gomez
died from an auto accident. Lee Van Cleef died of a heart attack.
And some lived to a ripe old age. Leo Gordon, for instance,
passed away just last year, at the age of78, after a brief illness.
Gordon was a scriptwriter as well as an actor, and wrote two
classic Roger Corman movies: The Terror, and The Wasp
Woman. The Conqueror also had the distinction of having a Playboy
Playmate, Pat Lawler (Miss August 1955) in a bit part. Ms.
Lawler appeared in the sci-fi comedy Invasion of the Saucer Men
in 1957, and that seems to be the extent of her film career.. To sum up: The Conqueror is not as bad as reported. It's not
nearly as bad as, say, Big Jim McLain, The Fighting
Kentuckian, or Jet Pilot. And it's not nearly as good as, say, The
Quiet Man, Sands of lwo Jima, or True Grit. It's in the middle.
like, say, Hatari, Circus World, or The Shootist. This DVD edition offers just the movie, a scene index, and
subtitles. The image quality is good, but the sound varies a
bit--some of the dialog seems rather distant and tinny. But at this
price it's a bargain, so don't miss out!
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Made for MST3k..., September 25, 2000
This film is a tragedy in more ways than one. The Duke, God bless
him, is totally out of place in the role of Kahn. From all reports, he
really threw himself into the role because he thought he could pull it
off and wanted to do a good job. Unfortunately, all of the Duke's
mighty powers were not enough to make this picture gel. Not only is
the picture laughable, but it was shot on part of an atomic testing
range. Some of the radioactive soil was transported back to Hollywood
for the soundstage shots, which didn't help matters. Many of the cast
and crew succumbed to cancer in later years, including the Duke
himself. Many of my fellow reviewers have noted the laughable lines,
but there is one that has so far gone unmentioned, which has always
stuck with me: "[After her] all other women are like the second
pressing of the grape!" ...or something to that effect. It's
hard to believe this is on DVD when there are so many other, more
worthy films that could be transferred to the medium.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
THE DUKE IN AN EXPERIMENTAL PHASE?, October 18, 2005
This review is for the "GoodTimes" Edition.
The Conqueror" is probably the strangest mainstream film I can recall ever seeing. It is a grand production and there is NO reason to avoid seeing this film. Nevertheless, I do have some strong opinions about the film.
Today when actors take on projects that are out-of-character and don't go well, like DeNiro in "Rocky and Bullwinkle", we say they were experimenting in the role. On that basis, John Wayne's foray into experimentation definitely hit its peak when he starred as Genghis Khan in "The Conqueror". Of course, John Wayne is the quintessential "GOOD GUY" and "GENGHIS KHAN" played like a "Good Guy" is like "Santa Claus" playing a serial killer. Yucky at the very least, impossible to do well is more like it.
John Wayne, or let's suspend disbelief now by just referring to him henceforth as Genghis. Okay, Genghis definitely came to work on this film and no one could say in their right mind that he didn't give his all in this try-to-be epic during this, his prime of acting power mid-1950s. Genghis was trying to be like the real Genghis, but he looked and sounded like John Wayne. Yes, the trapping of being too popular, too good-natured and too well-known definitely affected Genghis in both the making of and the audiences' reception of "The Conqueror".
I was okay with everything right up until he slapped Susan Hayward several times [wife of Genghis according to Genghis] and ordered that several of his "loyal" men who were drunk on guard duty be hanged. Whether this type of violence was fitting seemed not to matter as I forgot we were watching Genghis at work and just saw John Wayne acting very unbelievably. That's it. That's what is wrong with the movie. It is VERY HARD TO BELIEVE!
It's not the stilted, ridiculous dialogue. Even the best historical films have some of that, recall "Ben Hur". It's not the American actors like William Conrad and Agnes Moorehead passing for Asians along with the Duke [I mean Genghis]. It's not that Susan Hayward's make-up and appearance was much too modern, or that the brief, seductive dance by former Playboy Bunny Sylvia Lewis at the palace of Wang Khan [Thomas Gomez] was a bit too much, especially for 1956. It's not that Susan Hayward's father, a tribal leader, was drunk for the entire film and seemed far too crude to have Susan Hayward in her most polished state as his daughter or to lead a tribe. It's not the complete lack of regard for human life that permeates the entire film and the underlying cruelty and treachery that is implicitly and often all too explicity welded into every scene.
No, it is not any one of the aforementioned issues, but all of them together that is just too much for any film to overcome. Having said that, this movie is worth watching as it is a big and rather bizarre sprawling spectacle very much in the Howard Hughes [more is better] style of filmmaking. There is no cutting corners on this film.
THE DVD: Whereas the film was lavishly produced, this "GOOD-TIMES" DVD is a "single-layer" transfer and has no features, but it does play surprisingly well for a "Goodtimes" product and this widescreen 2.35:1 looks much better than the video did. Though it claims to be in "Dolby Surround" I could not hear that, but the sound was satisfactory. It is in English only, but English or Spanish subtitles are available if needed.
Somehow this spartan edition DVD sells for over $30., and the only other available DVD starts at about $50. which makes this a questionable purchase. Many city libraries do have this eclectic classic available for circulation.
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