Taras Bulba (1962 film)

Taras Bulba is a film loosely based on Nikolai Gogol's novel of the same name. The main actors are Yul Brynner in the role of the title character, a Cossack from the Ukrainian steppes, and Tony Curtis as his son Andrei. It was directed by J. Lee Thompson. Although it is inspired by Gogol's work, it is very different from it in its plot and themes and is closer to the pro-Russian version of the novel, published in 1842, than to the first edition of 1835.

Plot

The film opens with a battle between the Turks and the Poles; they are about to be defeated until the arrival of Cossack troops turns their imminent defeat into victory. However, the Poles betray the Cossacks and attack them after the battle; thus they become masters of Ukraine. Taras Bulba, one of the Cossack officers, returns to his home now under Polish rule.

Years later, Taras sends his two sons; Andrei (Tony Curtis) and Ostap (Perry Lopez) to the Kiev Academy to study, there Andrei, the eldest son, falls in love with a Polish princess Natalia Dubrov (played by Christine Kaufmann) to the anger of the Poles, who consider him the Cossacks like savages and harass the brothers. Finally, they flee from kyiv and return to the paternal home. Natalia is sent by her father to Dubno as punishment for falling in love with a Cossack.

At that time the Poles ask the Cossacks to take up arms to help them in the Polish-Swedish war. When Andrei refuses, they accuse him of being a coward; serious offense for a Cossack, which can only be refuted by a test of courage. Andrei and his accuser ride until they reach an abyss that they must bridge; the slanderer falls to his death, proving that God himself is on Andrei's side. Tarás reflects on the words of his son and draws up a plan to betray the Poles and liberate Ukraine.

Taras takes command of the Cossacks and leads them towards Dubno, where the Poles wait for them to join them. Instead of doing so, they attack the Polish army, forcing them to take refuge in the city. Then the Cossacks start the siege. Hunger and disease rage in the city and Andrei finds out that the young woman he loves is there, so he decides to go in secret to rescue her from her. He is captured along with her lover, who is sentenced to be burned at the stake for her relationship with a Cossack. Andrei, to save her, agrees to lead a group of Poles on a cattle raid to bring them back to the starving city.

Meanwhile, tired of the siege, numerous Cossacks leave the camp and return to their homes. The raiders discover the weakness of the Cossack troops and the Polish commander orders his entire army in a massive attack. Taras Bulba finds his son fighting on the enemy side and kills her for his betrayal. He then joins the general retreat of his men to the edge of a ravine, where the Cossacks who had abandoned the field regroup and attack the Poles, driving them towards the river that runs at the foot of the cliff.

The film ends with the victorious entry of the Cossacks into Dubno which is now "a Cossack city.

Cast

• Yul Brynner - Taras Bulba
• Tony Curtis - Andrei Bulba
• Perry López - Ostap Bulba
• Christine Kaufmann - Natalia
• Sam Wanamaker - Filipenko
• Brad Dexter - Shilo
• Guy Rolfe - Prince Grigori

Filming

The film was produced by Harold Hetch and featured several Oscar nominees or winners including British director J. Lee Thompson (nominated for The Guns of Navarrone), screenwriter Karl Tunberg (nominated for Ben Hur), director director Joseph MacDonald (Dance of the Damned) and German composer Franz Waxman (winner for Twilight of the Gods and A Place in the Sun).

It also featured Yul Brynner and Tony Curtis as "unlikely father and son" Cossacks and Christine Kaufmann a 17-year-old Austrian actress.

The action takes place in Ukraine; the film was filmed in California (United States) and Salta (Argentina).

Filming went well until the affair between Tony Curtis, then married to Janet Leigh, and Christine Kaufmann was made public. The scandal caused several weeks of delays in the recording of the film, shooting up the budget to seven million dollars. Tony Curtis would end up divorcing shortly after marrying Christine.

Reception

The film was poorly received by the public, resisting the tragic ending, losing United Artists three million dollars.

DVD release

On March 25, 2008, it was released on DVD for Regions 1 and 2.