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Movies / On DVD / Mongol
Mongol

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Mongol (2008)

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Reviews Counted:25

Fresh:23

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.3/10

Consensus: The sweeping Mongol mixes romance, family drama, and enough flesh-ripping battle scenes to make sense of Ghenghis Khan's legendary stature.

Australian Rating: TBC

Runtime: 2 hrs 4 mins

Genre: Dramas

Australian Theatrical Release:
Jun 19, 2008 Wide

US Box Office: $5,621,596

Synopsis: Award-winning Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov (Prisoner of the Mountains) illuminates the life and legend of Genghis Khan in his stunning historical epic, Mongol. Based on leading scholarly... Award-winning Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov (Prisoner of the Mountains) illuminates the life and legend of Genghis Khan in his stunning historical epic, Mongol. Based on leading scholarly accounts and written by Bodrov and Arif Aliyev, Mongol delves into the dramatic and harrowing early years of the ruler who was born as Temudgin in 1162. As it follows Temudgin from his perilous childhood to the battle that sealed his destiny, the film paints a multidimensional portrait of the future conqueror, revealing him not as the evil brute of hoary stereotype, but as an inspiring, fearless and visionary leader. Mongol shows us the making of an extraordinary man, and the foundation on which so much of his greatness rested: his relationship with his wife, Borte, his lifelong love and most trusted advisor.

Filmed in the very lands that gave birth to Genghis Khan, Mongol transports us back to a distant and exotic period in world history; to a nomad's landscape of endless space, climatic extremes and ever-present danger. In a performance of powerful stillness and subtlety, celebrated young Japanese actor Asano Tadanobu (Zatoichi, Last Life in the Universe) captures the inner fire that enabled a hunted boy to become a legendary conqueror. Asano's achievement is matched by those of his co-stars, including the radiant newcomer Khulan Chuluun as Temudgin's courageous, spirited wife Borte, and the Chinese actor Honglei Sun (The Road Home) as the Mongol chieftain Jamukha, Temudgin's dearest friend and deadliest enemy. Masterfully blending action and emotion against some of the most arresting terrain on earth, Bodrov delivers an exciting and awe-inspiring tale of survival and triumph, and a love story for the ages. --© Picturehouse
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Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Honglei Sun, Khulan Chuluun, Odnyam Odsuren

Starring: Tadanobu Asano, Honglei Sun, Khulan Chuluun, Odnyam Odsuren, Aliy A, Ba Sen, Amadu Mamadakov, Ba Yin, He Qi, Sun Ben Hou, Ji Ri Mu Tu

Director: Sergei Bodrov

Director: Sergei Bodrov
Screenwriter: Arif Aliyev, Sergei Bodrov
Producer: Sergey Selyanov, Sergei Bodrov, Anton Melnik
Composer: Tuomas Kantelinen
Studio: Picturehouse

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Reviews for Mongol

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1 - 16 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Genghis Khan's lost decade fuels a handsome fantasy.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
07/10/08
Sandra Hall
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
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Temudgin is so single-minded that Asano has trouble suggesting much about his inner life.

Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
06/20/08
Jake Wilson
Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
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Even the most intense human drama is somehow reduced by the landscape.

Full Review Source: The Australian | comment Comment
06/20/08
Evan Williams
Evan Williams
The Australian
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The visuals and performances make it worth it, but this is a wilfully oblique bit of warrior hagiography.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine Australasia | comment Comment
06/20/08
Michael Adams
Michael Adams
Empire Magazine Australasia
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Russian director Sergei Bodrov has made a magnificent epic which evokes some of the greats of the past, including Lawrence of Arabia.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
06/13/08
David Stratton
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
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You might wonder how Bodrov could fail to make every minute of Genghis Khan's extraordinary life near edge-of-the-seat involving, but there are some dull stretches before the pace picks up again.

Full Review Source: Courier Mail (Australia) | comment Comment
06/13/08
Des Partridge
Des Partridge
Courier Mail (Australia)
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'Vast landscapes, savage battles, sparring blood brothers and a poignant love story form the essence of Sergei Bodrov's spectacular epic, among whose achievements are its extraordinary sense of place and time.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
06/12/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
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The action sequences here are first-rate, the performances are uniformly excellent, the cinematography as good as I’ve seen in any film this year.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
06/23/08
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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A ferocious film, blood-soaked, pausing occasionally for passionate romance and more frequently for torture. As a visual spectacle, it is all but overwhelming, putting to shame some of the recent historical epics from Hollywood.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 2 Comments
06/20/08
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The result is a wallow in old movie pleasures, full of battles, flying dust, thousands of men on horseback, beautiful women, treachery, slaughter, really cool hats and even more slaughter.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
06/19/08
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post
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While the historical accuracy may be dodgy, Mongol is a sweeping and quasi-mythical epic that recalls Lawrence of Arabia.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
06/13/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
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I don't know the Mongolian word for panache, but Mongol's got plenty of it. The battle scenes are as notable for their clarity as their intensity; we can follow the strategies, get a sense of who's losing and who's winning.

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment Comment
06/06/08
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
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Having Bodrov, who directed the excellent The Prisoner of the Mountains, in charge here is an advantage. Though there is only so much any director can do with characters who are next door to mythic, Bodrov can do more than most, and it helps.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
06/06/08
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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Mongol is a big, ponderous epic, its beautifully composed landscape shots punctuated by thundering hooves and bloody, slow-motion battle sequences.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
06/05/08
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
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With its breathtaking landscapes, bloody battles, bitter betrayals and an aching love story, Mongol is a sumptuously crafted epic

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/08
Will Lawrence
Will Lawrence
Empire Magazine
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Japanese indie idol Asano smolders as maverick Temudgin [Khan].

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/19/07
Alissa Simon
Alissa Simon
Variety
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1 - 16 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Mongol

January 08, 2009: Broadcast Film Critics Name Critics' Choice Winners
The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards were given on January 8, 2009, to honor the finest achievements in 2008 filmmaking. A list of nominees follows below, with winners in bold: More...

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