Taras Bulba is directed by J. Lee Thompson and adapted to the screen by Waldo Salt and Karl Tunberg from a story by Nikolai Gogol. It stars Yul Brynner, Tony Curtis, Christine Kaufmann and Perry Lopez. Out of United Artists, it's a DeLuxe/Eastman Color/Panavision production, with the music scored by Franz Waxman and cinematography by Joseph MacDonald.

Loosely based on Gogol's short novel, story tells of a Cossack uprising against the Polish forces who have taken control of the Ukraine. At the centre of the Cossack army is the leader Taras (Brynner) and his two sons, Andrei (Curtis) and Ostap (Lopez). But when Andrei falls in love with a Polish princess called Natalia (Kaufmann), it sets the wheels in motion for the Bulba family to crack from within; just as the Polish come calling asking for the Cossacks' help to defeat the Turkish.

While not as epic as the film, the troubled back story of the production is big enough to lend one to understand why Taras Bulba is not the grandiose picture the story deserves. Main problem comes with casting, particularly that of Curtis as the elder Bulba son. It should have been Burt Lancaster, who walked, so in came Curtis and a decision was made to put him front and centre of the picture. Thus rendering Brynner's title character to playing second fiddle, so much so they really should have called the film Andrei Bulba instead. On his day Curtis could act, but he's out of place here playing a Cossack with brain and brawn. Then there was the small matter of Curtis' marriage to Janet Leigh falling apart, with Leigh visiting the set, falling ill and no doubt noticing the sparks flying between Curtis and his delectable co-star, Kaufmann. Curtis would say it wasn't the final straw, but with him going on to marry Kaufman shortly after his divorce, it's hard not to think that it sealed the deal!

He's not helped by the writers, though, who allow the love story sub-plot between Andrei and Natalia to form the core of the plot. They too, Messrs Salt & Tunberg, were brought in after historical novelist Howard Fast (Spartacus) refused to tone down the screenplay. He wanted to include what was an important part of the Cossack/Pole war, that of the Cossacks anti-Semitic attack on Polish Jews. The makers balked and Salt & Tunberg came in and delivered the Andrei overkill and some rather cheese laden dialogue. Brynner was crushed, his biography (written by his son Rock) reveals that it was a role and film he cared for more than any other, he had grand plans for the portrayal but the makers didn't share his view. A shame because what we do get of Brynner is wonderfully exuberant, muscular and (correctly) scene stealing.

However, when Taras Bulba as a film is good, it's real good, and thankfully it's never dull, even if it's a bit more jovial in the mid section than it is meant to be. Thompson was a fine director of action and suspense, and he gets to flex his muscles here to great effect. Casting aside the cheap shots of dummies and wooden horses being hurled about a couple of times, the sight of thousands of men on horseback swarming across the Steppes (actual location used was Argentina) is spectacular. The battles are fierce, violent and gripping, while the scenes in the Cossacks camps are joyous as men drink, sing, test their manhood by doing things like dangling over a bear pit, it's all very robust and Vikingesque, but entertainingly so. There's even some dashing sword play, while quality suspense is eked out during a challenge to the death over a seemingly bottomless gorge.

Joseph MacDonald's Panavision photography neatly brings the wide vistas to life, aided by the use of Eastman Color which gives off a nice period hue. Waxman delivers a blunderbuss score that's seasoned with Russian vitality, while the costume department deserves a mention for their efforts, particularly for the Polish army who look dandy men of steel. Yes it's a film of flaws and bad decisions, but the good does outweigh the bad in this instance, and how nice it is to have the chance to see a little known part of "bloody" history up there on the screen. 7/10

"Taras Bulba" is an epic movie about Ukrainian Cossacks and their longing for freedom while under Polish rule. Yul Brynner plays the title character, but he is clearly not the star of the movie....Tony Curtis (who plays his son, Adrei) is.

The film begins with the combined Cossack and Polish forces beating the Turks in battle. However, the Poles are duplicitous and after the battle, they attack and enslave their former allies, the Cossacks. The leader of the Cossack forces, Taras Bulba, swears to eventually regain his homeland....even if it takes many years.

Years pass. Bulba has two sons and his vision is that they become super manly-men...and with them they can take on the Poles once again. But in the meantime, he sends his two sons (now young men) to study at the university in Kiev....which is run by the Poles. All Andrei learns there is that the Cossacks are second-class and he takes a lot of beatings because of this. He also inexplicably falls in love with a Polish woman who he barely knows...and this is a major weakness in the film. This Romeo & Juliet sort of pairing made no sense...especially late in the movie when Andrei sacrifices everything for this woman he barely knows.

The movie was filmed primarily in Argentina...with Gauchos filling in for Cossacks. It's huge in scope--with armies and adventure. But at the same time, it is filled with macho posturing and tepid scenes which left me feeling a bit bored. Some of this is because you never really felt that vested in the characters. Overall, grand to look at and with a fabulous musical score, but also filled with forgettable characters and some plot elements that really never made much sense....especially at the inexplicable ending.

By the way, in a really creepy bit of casting, Curtis' love interest was played by a 16 year-old, Christine Kaufmann. As for Curtis, he was in his mid-30s and married. Two years later, Curtis married this woman after obtaining a divorce from his wife, Janet Leigh.

Saw 'Taras Bulba' because of the excellent source material, a potentially compelling story and due to liking enough of Yul Brynner's work (especially 'The King and I'). My main reason was that it was part of my Tony Curtis completest quest that happened to come about when many of his films appeared in the recommendation section.

While Curtis was not the greatest of all actors, particularly at the start of his career, he had a lot of charm and charisma and was immensely likeable. He was no stranger to great performances too, especially 'Some Like It Hot', 'Sweet Smell of Success' and a few of his darker dramatic roles that showed his acting chops being stretched. 'Taras Bulba' has been described often as a so bad it's good film, from personal opinion it is not that bad but it's hugely problematic and not particularly a good film, all involved have done much better work than this and it doesn't do the title character justice. This is judging it on its own terms, it's best not going into full detail about it being even worse in its treatment of the source material, which is not just bare bones but it would have been enough to make Gogol weep.

'Taras Bulba' does have strengths. The locations are impressive as is some of the sweeping photography. Franz Waxman's score is rousing and sumptuous in typical Waxman fashion, fitting with the film beautifully and giving the epic quality that one wishes was matched everywhere else.

A few of the battle sequences are well staged with some intensity and fire. It starts off reasonably promisingly. Brynner comes off best of the performances, he should have had more to do and there is some inevitable going overboard but he gives it his all and is magnetic to watch.

Unfortunately, he gives the only good performance in the film. Curtis looks ridiculously out of place, looks completely lost and gets lost amidst everything else too, he had grown significantly as an actor at this point so one doesn't expect a performance that is actually worse than any of his early film roles. Christine Kaufmann is even blander window dressing with not much chemistry between Curtis. The rest of the cast don't really stand out.

Neither does the direction, which is only workmanlike at best and doesn't show much style or inspiration. The toe-curlingly bad script, with lots of cheese enough to fill a burger and awkwardness that makes marionettes more comfortable, nearly single-handedly undoes the film. Particularly in the tepid and soppy romantic subplot that drags the film badly and one of the main reasons for the lack of momentum, while the characters are little more than stereotypes (even the titular character feels underwritten). The whole atmosphere feels bland and too small-scale, evident in that some of the production values do look cheap with especially the props, costumes and the truly cardboard looking art direction. The climactic battle lacks impact and looks under-budgeted and other parts come over as ridiculous. Studio interference is obvious.

Overall, not that bad but not particularly good. Worth a one-time watch but not much more than that. 5/10 Bethany Cox