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STUDIO: New Line Home Cinema
MSRP: $27.98
RATED: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 125 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Digital Copy
The Pitch
Don’t fuck with Khan.
The Humans
Tadanobu Asano, Khulan Chuluun, Ji Ri Mu Tu, Amarbold Tuvshinbayar and Aliya
The Nutshell
Genghis Khan is one of the most important historical figures in existence. The problem is that a lot of his deeds were brought to common knowledge by oral history. Oral history is plagued with legends, tall tales and various degrees of bullshit. Kazakh and German filmmakers teamed up to present this film as the first in a proposed trilogy. While I’m not sure that they’re going to make the other two films, they had a tremendous opening with this film.
It’s nice to have goals.
The Lowdown
Mongol is
a look at the rise of Temudjin. As a young boy, his father was killed and he watched as his tribe was destroyed. We watch as rival chiefs fuck with the kid and torture him. He goes through prisons, gangs and other means of Hell before discovering his true identity. Then, it’s all Crom this and Crom that. Oh wait, that’s Conan the Barbarian.
Fat kid gets it rough.
If you’re looking for accuracy, you’re not going to find it. Most films are able to use the basic staples of Khan’s history. He brought the Mongols together, started an empire and killed people. Everything else is subjective and leads to a lot of speculation. There wasn’t much speculation in Mongol, as they decided to just go for the rise to power angle.
Tadanobu Asano is a revelation as Temudjin. He delivers the intensity and quiet brooding that the role requires. He also makes you believe that a little guy like himself can be pumped into the bellicose Genghis Khan. I wasn’t familiar with Asano’s work outside his role in Ichi the Killer. But, he steps up his game and shows the potential for cross-over into Hollywood.
Look, kids…IT’S A POLYGRAPH!
The film is a great entry point into World Cinema for regular people. There’s no scenes of long-drawn out subtitles and the action is on par with the greatest epics. You don’t need a great understanding of Mongol history, as the film plays fast and loose with Khan’s rise to power. What matters is that it is big and boisterous. A prestige picture that aims to please everyone.
The Littlest Monk always loved to glare into the Rancor Pit.
The Package
Mongol comes
to DVD with a digital copy. The A/V Quality is pretty sharp for a foreign flick. The audio really performed across the 5.1 soundstage during the big battle sequences. While the supplementals are weak to the point of non-existence, there’s always the killer A/V. Rent it first, before deciding on a purchase.
That’s about all 1192 had going for it.