First you have John 'Duke' Wayne who WANTED to play world-conqueror Genghis Khan...Then Egyptian matinee idol Omar Sharif is cast as Genghis Khan???
The ONLY screen actor who was born to play the greatest conqueror in history--YUL BRYNNER--was never cast as Genghis Khan...Why??
After watching Mr. Brynner as Gogol's TARAS BULBA, the Cossack, he would have been the very personification of the 'Scourge of God'.
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You need to do your homework...Yul Brynner was not Siberian. He was born in Vladisvostock. Being a Jew(allegedly from his mother's side) is not an ethnicity. Mr. Brynner's paternal grandmother was half-Mongolian; his paternal grandfather was Swiss. This from his son Rock Brynner's biography on his late father. Judaism is a religion not a race or nationality. Besides all European Jews were Ashkenazi[Scythians or Khazar] originally. It was their state religion from year 740 A.D. And Omar Sharif was of Lebanese descent...Has not an ounce of French in him FYI...
Besides, Omar Sharif was a classic ladies man...a matinee idol. It is preposterous to have him play an illiterate warrior from the steppes who represented raw masculinity. Think again...
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'Makes life simpler and sacrifices very little in the way of accuracy...?'
Should I laugh now or wait till it becomes funny?
It's because of the colossal fallacy of "Jews" being a "race" of people that the world has the sociopolitical/geopolitical mess called the 'State of Israel'.
And how would Ashkenazis say next year in Khazaria when nearly half of them were expelled from their native land of SCYTHIA/KHAZARIA/UKRAINE almost a millennium ago by the Christian Kievan Rus; while the other half of them fled their homeland to escape the Mongol hordes a couple centuries later?
From an exegetical reference to the Hebrew Bible--Tanakh[i.e. Old Testament] :
Ashkenaz, son of Gomer, son of Japheth, son of Noah; he supposedly was the progenitor of all Europeans. This means that Ashkenazi "Jews" are NON-SEMITIC. They aren't the descendants of Noah's son Shem[i.e. Shemites]. Arabs & Near Easterners are Semites as they are the descendants of Shem; anti-Semitic really means anti-Arab & anti-Near Easterner[i.e. Saracen]. The name 'Ashkenaz' arose from a misprint in Hebrew for "Ashkuz", by reading a nun for a vav. Ashkuz and Ishkuz were names used for the Scythians, who first appear in Assyrian records in the late 8th century in the Caucasus region, and at times occupied vast areas of Europe and Asia.
Besides, I'm not at all interested in any further discussion on "Jewish" history or geopolitics here in this message board...Genghis Khan wasn't "Jewish" even though his conquest of Russia served as the final catalyst for the Khazarian/Scythian[i.e. Ashkenazi "Jewish"] diaspora to Europe...
The subject was that Yul Brynner was born to play Genghis Khan more so than any Hollywood affiliated actor in FILM HISTORY. There are some parts certain actors are totally miscast in...For instance John Wayne as GK. I mean come on...Dr. Yuri Zhivago as GK? That was my whole point...They might as well have cast Yves Montand or Gabriele Ferzetti as GK. By the way, did you ever see TARAS BULBA? If you did, then you'll definitely know what I'm talking about...
Besides some actors might have the propensity to create myths about themselves while others might just downright lie about themselves. I mean they're "actors" after all. It wouldn't surprise me if the late Mr. Brynner or Mr. Sharif[real name Michel Shalhoub; he was Coptic Christian before "converting" to Islam after marrying Egyptian actress Faten Hamama] also told tall tales about themselves. If Mr. Sharif stated in any interview that he is of French descent, than he's either kidding around[as you suggested] or outright lying. Sharif's Lebanese[Phoenician] ancestry accounts for his French first name. There are many PURE Lebanese, who without having any French blood, have been given French first names at birth[from French cultural influence in Lebanon], but that is only among Christian Lebanese. Generally, this is not so among Muslim or even most Yahudi[Jewish] Lebanese.
Brynner still looked Caucasian. Omar was not Lebanese....His name is of that origin, but his family is Egyptian. His great grandparents had a Lebanese or Syrian connection. As for Genghis Khan, the film industry would never cast an Asian in a lead role of a big budget motion picture, not even in today's world.
sharePlease allow me to educate you on "Omar Sharif". << He was born Michel Dimitri Chalhoub in Alexandria, Egypt to a Melkite Catholic family of Lebanese descent. His father, Joseph Chalhoub, a precious woods merchant originally from Zahlé, Lebanon, moved to the port city of Alexandria in the early 20th century, where Sharif was later born. >> After marrying Egyptian Muslim actress Faten Hamama, he converted to Islam; they had a son named Tarek Sharif.
As for Brynner. He was apparently thought to look oriental enough to play the King of Siam (i.e., Thailand), so he wasn't that Caucasian-looking. Brynner's signature role throughout his life was portraying King Mongkut of Thailand, in both screen and stage.
You should educate yourself and hear him say it, instead of taking information from Wikipedia. He said it in interviews that the only Syrian Lebanese connection were his great grandparents who left Damascus in the 19th century. They moved to Egypt and others went to Zahle. He claimed that he does not even know the difference between Syrians and Lebanese as they are the same, only Lebanon was the place for Arab Christians. His entire family was from Egypt.
Yeah and Omar Sharif was cast as an Indian and an Asian. There was no political correctness at the time and no one cared. No one would cast an actor with those features as an Asian.
Wrong. He is of Lebanese descent. The entire Near Eastern world familiar with Sharif knows this. And what interviews was he supposed to have said what you stated...Please provide the links to them. And every Near Easterner knows that Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan were historically and culturally ALWAYS part of Syria since the most ancient times (even pre-Hurrian civilization). The Arab Christian population exists in Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon...Not just Lebanon.
shareEverybody knows he is Egyptian. He never was of Lebanese descent. His great-grandparents were from Damascus. There is no such thing as Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine. These are Western inventions. The land is called Levant. The Syrians and the Lebanese are one and the same. Yes, but Lebanon was intended to be the Arab Christian country.
The link is here,but it is in Arabic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6O4ZJsiNE4
It's at the 8 minute mark that she asks him why do people call him Lebanese when he is Syrian. He responds by saying that a branch of the family is in Zahle, but that Syria and Lebanon are one and the same. He says that his great grandparents were from Damascus and they moved to Egypt. He says his grandparents and parents are born in Egypt and Egyptian.
Correction. "Levant" is a Western invention. And you have not paid any attention to what I have stated. Syria is the land and Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine are provinces of Syria. They always have been. Don't give me any lesson in Near Eastern demographics. "Palestine" is mentioned in the ancient Musri hieroglyphs as "Peleset" and evem Aristotle mentions it by NAME as a district (i.e., province) of Syria.
<< The term Levant first appeared in medieval French. It literally means "the rising," referring to the land where the sun rises. If you're in France, in the western Mediterranean, that would make sense as a way to describe the eastern Mediterranean.
Levant was also used in English from at least 1497. It's kind of archaic, but still used by scholars in English, though more widely in French. >> Not from WP, btw.
Thanks for providing the link to the Sharif interview.
And getting back on topic. Omar Sharif...A matinee idol cast as Genghis Khan -- A Mongol warlord from the Steppe ! This is preporsterous. Francoise Dorleac (a French-woman) is Bortai...Stephen Boyd (An Irishman) is Jamuga...So who was the better Genghis Khan? John Wayne or Omar Sharif?
My point is that these countries are invented and the people are the same. The people in the Levant or Sham region, are a mix of Arabs, Assyrians, Phoenicians and some Egyptian. They are the same, whether they are Muslim or Christian.
I knew what Sharif had said and I never knew why everybody was calling him Lebanese, when he was an Egyptian with some Syrian ancestry.
Now regarding the role of Genghis Khan, I'm not saying that Omar was the right choice. He wasn't. What I am saying is Hollywood will never cast an Asian person in a big role. They need Caucasian features to sell a movie so they got Omar and John. It is simple. I think Omar played him chill. Omar was the playboy movie star, while John Wayne was the all American movie star. A proper film about Genghis Khan should be done, but they won't, unless they take a fantastic approach, like they did with the 300, with the effects and physics defying fight scenes. The only guy who I think would cast an Asian in the lead would be Mel Gibson and he would give us a great film.
In principle and essence, we are making the SAME point. Again, thanks for the YouTube link.
I won't even discuss <300> here. Total propagandist Hollywoodized trash...The content, I mean...With all its visual, cinematic brilliance intact.
I disagree with Mel Gibson as a director. His take on historical subjects is also typical Hollywood BS. <Braveheart> was a travesty to the legacy of Robert the Bruce and greatly angered most Scottish folk. Wallace wasn't half the Scottish hero that Robert was.
I doubt there are any actors today who could play Genghis Khan like a Yul Brynner, if he had been cast to play him. Brynner played a convincing Mongkut...He would have been an even more convincing Temujin/Genghis Khan.
Correction. "Levant" is a Western invention. And you have not paid any attention to what I have stated. Syria is the land and Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine are provinces of Syria. They always have been. Don't give me any lesson in Near Eastern demographics. "Palestine" is mentioned in the ancient Musri hieroglyphs as "Peleset" and even Aristotle mentions it by NAME as a district (i.e., province) of Syria.
<< The term Levant first appeared in medieval French. It literally means "the rising," referring to the land where the sun rises. If you're in France, in the western Mediterranean, that would make sense as a way to describe the eastern Mediterranean.
Levant was also used in English from at least 1497. It's kind of archaic, but still used by scholars in English, though more widely in French. >> Not from WP, btw.
Thanks for providing the link to the Sharif interview.
And getting back on topic. Omar Sharif...A matinee idol cast as Genghis Khan -- A Mongol warlord from the Steppe ! This is preporsterous. Francoise Dorleac (a French-woman) is Bortai...Stephen Boyd (An Irishman) is Jamuga...So who was the better Genghis Khan? John Wayne or Omar Sharif?
Tadanobu Asano who plays Genghis Khan in Mongol is Japanese not Mongol.
shareI think Omar Sharif was the very least of its problems. Check out Robert Morley's Chinese Emperor. Or what about James Mason's LOL voice? And as to Kenneth Cope - give me strength!
shareWell, I wouldn't say that Mr. Sharif was the LEAST of GK's problems as he was the title character...But what you have observed is right on target. A bunch of Brits who couldn't shake enough of the limey within them when playing Mongols; as evident in Mr. Mason's voice characterization which evokes some bizarre, undiscovered anthropomorphic culture. The ever-riveting Stephen Boyd's intensity makes up for his all too Hibernian presence on the steppes of this flick. As odd as it might sound, but Edward G. Robinson could have been cast as the Emperor of China. He was quite a cultured man in real life and it would have allowed him some versatility in his later acting career. Mr. Robinson used to always complain that his fellow Warners player Paul Muni got all the versatile parts[eg. Juarez, Zola, Pasteur, etc.]. Playing an Emperor of China was as versatile a role as any...
sharewhere's your imagination...
I was 9 when I saw this flick with my dad, I was glued to the screen on a Sunday afternoon when my dad took me, thinking I would be a typical
pain in the butt kid for a movie I'd have no interest in.
But watching the opening scene, where Shariff, who actually plays the Father of Temujin first, later as the older Temujin, gets pulled apart by harnessed horses was powerfully driving and left little to the imagination of how the flick will go.
I had to tell dad to "shooosh" a few times...
well. I was taken by the cast...especially Dorleac, incredibly beautiful. And Jewish Eli Wallach as a Muslim king..well, proves he can be ANYBODY...
I too was amazed by British accents for Chinese and Mongolians but, it didn't faze me a bit, even now 45 years later...the movie's charm with it's misfit
cast is still a wonderfully done piece of fanatacy worthy as GOOD entertainment.
Historical significance be damned...
Portrayal of Genghis Kahn with respect for women and family had some truth...it is true
that Temujin loved Bortei and never,ever touched another woman..ever.
But they hooked up at 12 and 14 years old..
anyway...don't let the misfit cast bother you...they were and some still are
all-stars! Mason,Morley,Savalas,Sharif,Boyd...amazing talent
for shame Catherine Denouve's older sister(Dorleac) died in a car carsh at 25
She'd have been a massive star...maybe even play the part with King Kong .
You know it is impossible to erase a childhood memory as the first impression is the most powerful...
As for Genghis Khan[Warrior Chieftain] or Temujin[Ironsmith], he most certainly had plenty of women in his life...It has been stated that one-fifth of every male has GK's DNA strand throughout the Asian Continent...
They should have named a condom after him...
Savalas was perfect. I just would have like to see Yul Brynner cast in that role rather than matinee idol Omar Sharif (of whom I was once a huge fan)...
Ms. Dorleac was a delicious actress, I first saw her in L'Homme De Rio with Belomondo as a kid. Philippe De Broca's all-time classic...She strongly resembled her sis Catherine...Except Francoise was warm and bubbly, whereas Ms. Deneuve always seemed cold & aloof...
If a guy had the choice of which of the two sisters he would like to spend the night with, most would probably choose Ms. Francoise over Catherine...
Boyd was another favorite, being one of the most intense screen presence ever...If given the right role, he had the propensity to eat the other fellow actors alive.
I have no criticism of these established, respected actors but just their use in this particular film...
I agree that Yul Brynner could have done a great job, but then he was a great actor.
It's interesting that someone brought up TARAS BULBA, in which we have Tony Curtis as a Cossack. No, he does not say, "Yonda is de yurt of my foddah."
The whole idea that the actor needs to have the same ethnicity as the role makes no sense. How many times did Anthony Quinn play an Italian? And he's best known for ZORBA THE GREEK. (Anthony Quinn was Mexican.)
It's a question of getting the right actor for the role.
Also, direction has a lot to do with it. James Mason might have been more acceptable with better makeup, and without the "ah so, you speak my language" characterization.
We report, you decide; but we decide what to report.
It was I who actually brought up Nikolai Gogol's TARAS BULBA. And yes IF an actor had the same ethnicity as the role in which he/she is playing MAKES ALL THE SENSE IN THE WORLD...Come on. Let's use common sense here.
Red-headed Susan Hayward as Bortai from THE CONQUEROR? Or John Wayne as Genghis Khan?? Or hypothetically, how about Morgan Freeman as Abraham Lincoln??
Of course from the actor's perspective, it may make all the sense in the world to be cast as a different ethnicity, because it is a challenge for an actor...Because it is interesting and fascinating, etc...It is what so many actors crave, but certainly not all of them. John Wayne, for example, was basically interested in playing John Wayne, the screen persona.
There are pros and cons to such a concept...Peter Sellers in THE PARTY and that other film in which he played an East Indian doctor, co-starring Sophia Loren. Yes, Sellers was brilliant and convincing.
For instance, it would have been interesting to see George Chakiris in the Alan Bates role in Kazantzakis' ZORBA THE GREEK. But it would be difficult to see if Telly Savalas cast as ZORBA could have pulled it off. But then actors get stereotyped all the time and in so many cases, are not given the opportunity to show their full talent.
Who would have thought Roy Scheider could have pulled of being Bob Fosse's onscreen alter ego in ALL THAT JAZZ...?
Just saw this for the first time since '65 and I had a great time. Mason and Morley HAD to be doing their roles tongue-in-cheek, they were so gloriously awful.
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."
So here it is two years later, I'm watching this thing and there is a beautiful woman in a long white nightie with Omar and she is IDENTICAL to Patty Boyd Harrison, famous model and wife to tha rockers of the 60's. Long 60's bangs turned under just SO, highlights in her long Blonde mongol hair.... Jeez. all she needs is a miniskirt goatskin tunic and white go go boots.
Just saw this for the first time since '65 and I had a great time. Mason and Morley HAD to be doing their roles tongue-in-cheek, they were so gloriously awful.
Mason, IMO, seemed so much worse than Morley only because the latter had done so many comedic roles during his career - he didn't seem that out of place in comparison. Mason, OTOH, was never as bad as he was in this movie. In fact, it's the only bad performance I can think of that he ever gave.
No blah, blah, blah!
Ms. Dorleac was a delicious actress, I first saw her in L'Homme De Rio with Belomondo as a kid. Philippe De Broca's all-time classic...She strongly resembled her sis Catherine...Except Francoise was warm and bubbly, whereas Ms. Deneuve always seemed cold & aloof...
They certainly could have not got real Mongols in those days when that country was totally isolated from the West as it is jammed between Siberia and China. So they had to do with what they got at home, and make us believe. They probably cast Sharif and Boyd because they had been in TFORE and it would be interesting to get them together again as rivals, and Dorleac (an actress I adore and surely one of the most beautiful of all time that can put any of today's bimbo stars to shame)was just coming out from France and this was the take-off of her international career. The only objection I have as to the casting is poor old James Mason, one of my favourite actors of all time, who here is almost embarrassing to watch. I reckon he was in only for the money, and I only guess he tried to forget the film as soon as he finished working in it and went home.
But the movie is good entertainment, and that is the way we have to look at it and forget about historical veracity and ethnic accuracy. It is just an epic romp made for escapism, pure and simple.