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Taras Bulba
Taras Bulba
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	J. Lee Thompson
Screenplay by	Waldo Salt; Karl Tunberg
Based on	Taras Bulba; by Nikolai Gogol
Produced by	Harold Hecht
Starring	Tony Curtis; Yul Brynner
Cinematography	Joe MacDonald
Edited by	Folmar Blangsted; Gene Milford; William Reynolds; Eda Warren
Music by	Franz Waxman
Production; companies	Harold Hecht Productions; Curtleigh Productions; Avala Film;
Distributed by	United Artists
Release dates	December 19, 1962 (Chicago); December 25, 1962 (New York City); December 26, 1962 (Los Angeles);
Running time	122 minutes; 124 minutes; (TCM print)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$6 million
Box office	$3,400,000 (rentals)

Taras Bulba is a 1962 American historical adventure drama film based on Nikolai Gogol's novel Taras Bulba, starring Tony Curtis and Yul Brynner. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson.

Plot

In the 16th century, Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and elsewhere in eastern Europe are divided into small sections and principalities that fight each other or against one enemy: in this case, the Ottoman Empire. A battle rages between the Turks and the Poles. The Poles are losing until the Cossacks arrive to save the day. However, it turns out that the Poles are merely holding back in order to treacherously attack the Cossacks after they win the battle for them. As a result, the Poles become masters of Ukraine and the Cossacks are subjugated. Taras Bulba, one of the Cossack colonels, returns home to raise his family but now it is under Polish dominion. Taras and the other Cossacks of the Cossack Brotherhood burn their farms and take to the hills and forests rather than submit to the Poles.

Two decades later, Taras sends his two sons, Andriy and Ostap to the academy at Kiev, to obtain a Polish education. There, the elder son, Andriy, falls in love with a Polish princess, Natalia Dubrov, to the ire of the locals, who treat the Cossack brothers like scum of the earth. Ultimately, the brothers are forced to flee Kiev, returning to their father’s house on the Ukrainian steppes.

There, word comes that the Poles want the Cossacks to raise an army to help them in a new war. When Andriy objects to fighting for the Poles, he is accused of being a coward. This is a serious offense that can only be resolved by a test of courage. Andriy and his accuser ride and jump their horses over a chasm until God chooses which one is right by having the accuser fall to his death. Taras embraces Andriy’s lead. He plans to betray the Poles and take back Ukraine.

Ivan Mykola, Hetman of the Cossack Brotherhood, summons the Brotherhood to fight in the Baltic region under Polish command. Taras Bulba balks, saying the time has come to avenge the Polish treachery of twenty years before. The Hetman says he has sworn the Brotherhood will follow him to the Baltic. Taras says they will not go and calls on the Brethren to decide whom they will follow. They choose Taras. The deposed Hetman says he cannot follow, and is ridden down by the Brotherhood as Taras takes the Holy Banner of St. Michael and with it, command.

Now the Hetman of the Cossack Brotherhood, Taras leads them to Dubno, where the Poles are expecting the Cossacks to join them. Instead, the Cossacks attack the Polish army and drive it back into the city. The Cossacks then lay siege to the city. Hunger and disease set in. Andriy, fearing for the life of his Polish lover, sneaks into the city in an attempt to rescue her. He is captured and she is condemned to be burned at the stake for the crime of loving a Cossack. To save her, Andriy agrees to lead a raiding party to bring cattle into the starving city.

Meanwhile, the Cossacks have grown bored with the inactivity of the siege and a large number of them have departed for home. When the Polish commander realizes the weakness of the Cossacks against the raiding party, he orders his whole army to attack. Taras Bulba encounters his son on the field of battle and kills him for his betrayal before joining the general retreat to the edge of a cliff at a river gorge. There, the Cossacks who left the siege to go home rejoin the battle and large numbers of men and horses, both Cossack and Polish, are pushed over the edge to their deaths in the river below.

The Cossacks are victorious and enter Dubno. Andriy is to be buried there, as “... it is now a Cossack city.” By the words of Hetman Taras Bulba, the Cossacks will not treat the Poles as badly as they were treated by them: "We will not ravage. We will not pillage. We will burn out the plague, and open the supply wagons, and feed the people of our city."

Cast

Tony Curtis as Andriy Bulba
Yul Brynner as Taras Bulba
Christine Kaufmann as Natalia Dubrov
Sam Wanamaker as Filipenko
Brad Dexter as Shilo
Guy Rolfe as Prince Grigory
Perry Lopez as Ostap Bulba
George Macready as Governor
Ilka Windish as Sofia Bulba
Vladimir Sokoloff as Old Stepan
Vladimir Irman as Grisha Kubenko
Daniel Ocko as Ivan Mykola
Abraham Sofaer as Abbot
Mickey Finn as Korzh
Richard Rust as Capt. Alex
Ron Weyand as Tymoshevsky
Vitina Marcus as Gypsy princess

Production

Development

The film was a long-time dream project for director Robert Aldrich who worked on it for five years. He said they did "four or five" scripts of the novel, the last of which was "sensational".^[3] In January 1959 it was announced the film would be made in Yugoslavia as a co-production between Aldrich & Associates and Avala Films of Yugoslavia. The budget was to be $3 million and Anthony Quinn would play the lead. David Chantler wrote the script.^[4] It would be the first American-Yugoslavian co-production.^[5] Financing fell through at the last minute and the film was cancelled in March.^[6] Aldrich still wanted to make it but fell into financial trouble and ended up selling the script. In May 1959 it was announced Joseph Kaufman had purchased the script and associated research materials from Aldrich for $100,000.^[7]

Aldrich claimed Kaufman was acting as a front for producer Harold Hecht,^[3] who had been long associated with more social realist dramas starring Burt Lancaster. After deciding to do some projects without Lancaster, Hecht began working on several films including this adaptation of Gogol's story. The work attracted him because "it was color, flamboyancy, but most of all, a strong personal story, difficult to come by in spectacle."^[8]

Casting

In February 1961 Hecht signed Tony Curtis, simultaneously negotiating a co-production deal with the actor's film production company, Curtleigh Productions.^[9]^[10] In July Yul Brynner's casting was announced.^[11] The same month he signed on director J. Lee Thompson, who had just completed Cape Fear.^[12] "The spectacle will come second," said Thompson. "The important things are the storyline, credibility and the characterizations."^[13] After looking at locations in ten countries, it was decided to film in Argentina.^[8]

The female lead would be played by German-Austrian actress Christine Kaufmann who had starred in Town Without Pity. She signed a two-year six-film contract with Hecht.^[14] The same month Van Heflin said he would be starring in a rival Taras Bulba movie to be shot in Europe.^[15] Susan Hampshire was meant to play a role but reportedly pulled out when her personal relationship with Thompson ended.^[16]

Filming

Filming began in Argentina on 10 October 1961. The unit was based in the town of Salta.^[17] The filming on location in Argentina continued until the end of the year before the production returned to Hollywood. Filming wrapped in late February.^[8]

Thompson called Brynner "an open air actor who needs a big expanse, a big tour de force. He is a marvelous Taras and a fine actor, but should never play comedy." The director also admired Curtis saying "he has really fought and is so eager and he has never stopped working. His is a very romantic part but not as flashy as Yul's."^[18]

Music

The score was composed by Franz Waxman, and film composer Bernard Hermann considered it one of the best scores ever written.^{[citation needed]} The music has been nominated in:

35th Academy Awards (April 8, 1963) - nominated for an Oscar in Music Score — Substantially Original (lost to Maurice Jarre and his work on Lawrence of Arabia)

Release

The film was budgeted at $3.8 million but went $2.2 million over. After poor sales at the box office, it ended up costing United Artists about $4.5 million.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Tino Balio, United Artists: The Company That Changed the Film Industry, University of Wisconsin Press, 1987 p. 155.
^ "Top Rental Features of 1963", Variety, 8 January 1964, pg 71.
^ ^a ^b Ringel, Harry (Summer 1974). "Up to Date with Robert Aldrich". Sight and Sound. Vol. 43, no. 3. p. 166.
^ "QUINN APPROVES ROLE AS COSSACK: Committed to 'Taras Bulba,'". New York Times. 23 January 1959. p. 18.
^ ROBERT F. HAWKINSROME (8 February 1959). "SCREENED ALONG THE TIBER". New York Times. p. X7.
^ "M-G-M PLANS FILM OF 'BUTTERFIELD 8'". New York Times. 11 March 1959. p. 41.
^ Scott, John L. (4 May 1959). "35 Independents Toil for Columbia: Briskin Announces 'Young Men'; Williams in Films 40 Years". Los Angeles Times. p. C17.
^ ^a ^b ^c Scheuer, Philip K. (25 February 1962). "Hecht Musters Army, Shoots 'Epic'". Los Angeles Times. p. A3.
^ Hopper, Hedda (25 February 1961). "Author of 'Olympians' Writes a Musical Version". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 13.
^ "Curtis cast in new production". The Baltimore Sun. 22 September 1962. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
^ "Of Local Origin". New York Times. 14 July 1961. p. 12.
^ HOWARD THOMPSON (15 July 1961). "CINEMA 16 LISTS 30 SHORT FILMS: New Experimental Movies Are Available for Rental". New York Times. p. 11.
^ HOWARD THOMPSON (23 July 1961). "VIEW FROM A LOCAL VANTAGE POINT". New York Times. p. X5.
^ A.H. WEILER (4 Mar 1962). "BY WAY OF REPORT: Psychiatry Film Slated, Starlet, New Dramas". New York Times. p. 111.
^ HEDDA HOPPER (21 July 1961). "Looking at Hollywood: Heflin Is Off for Europe and $100,000 Acting Job". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. b13.
^ Keith Morfett (28 November 1962). "I'll wed Shirley Ann Says Director but She Says No". Daily Mail. p. 1.
^ Scheuer, Philip K. (10 Oct 1961). "Argentine 'Oscars' Awarded as Cash: 'Taras Bulba' Man Reports; European Beauties". Los Angeles Times. p. B7.
^ FILM DIRECTOR'S VELVET GLOVE HIDES TOUGH, FIRM HAND: HOPPER Hopper, Hedda. Los Angeles Times 11 Nov 1962: A4.