I'm probably not part of the majority here, but I think this is a good movie. A lot of people are probably knocking it before they've even seen it because John Wayne plays Temujin.
As the story goes, John Wayne wanted the role and he was very serious about it. He found the script in Dick Powell's office. I'm sure Powell had his reasons for wanting to throw the script out, but it can't be that it was that horrible of a script. The script is actually pretty decent. I can't complain about the make-up either because I think that was very well done too. John Wayne, between the make-up and his hair, really looks Asian in this.
People that criticize this movie keep pointing out the nationalities of everyone involved. If you are going to do that then you are just nitpicking. Yes, John Wayne is a white man playing a Mongol. But you couldn't have expected them to cast a real Mongol in the role. Whites played Orientals and Native Americans all the time back then. Anthony Quinn, who is of Mexican and Irish descent, played Attila the Hun once. Omar Sharif, once played Genghis Khan. Stephen Boyd played Kahn's blood brother Jamuga. That Sharif and Boyd movie was horrible, by the way. The Conqueror is way better than that. The Conqueror is more accurate too. You're probably going to wonder, "Why John Wayne?" I said the same exact thing and I thought the movie was silly at first. But I actually sat down and watched it and I thought it was good.
The Conqueror's opening is great. It opens with Temujin riding through the dessert with his Mongol army. The scenes of the army riding are great. They are shot so well. The action scenes of the Mongols fighting enemy armies were great too. If you want action, this has plenty of it. Another nice touch was the love story between Temujin and Bortai. Bortai is played by Susan Hayward. She was pretty decent in her role. I enjoyed her scenes with John Wayne. I also enjoyed Pedro Armendariz in his scenes with John Wayne. Armendariz was also decent in his role as Jamuga, Temujin's blood brother. A previous reviewer said that John Wayne and Pedro Armendariz are not believable as brothers. Keep in mind, the movie never says they are brothers, but they keep stressing blood brothers.
Overall, I think The Conqueror was a pretty good movie. It pushed all of the right buttons for me. I enjoyed it very much. The Conqueror is a well made movie, with good performances, great directing, great cinematography, decent writing, great costumes and great make-up. I thought the score by Victor Young was great too. I especially loved the Romantic theme that Young uses throughout the movie. That was very memorable.
If you ever get a chance, see this movie. If you are interested in the subject matter, check it out. If you are a fan of the old time classics or those Hollywood epics, check it out. If you are a fan of John Wayne and you want to see him in a different role for a change, check it out. John Wayne won't disappoint you. The Conqueror and John Wayne are not bad at all. Don't knock this movie until you've seen it. People were way too harsh when they placed their votes on IMDb. I'll bet that some people gave this movie a 1 without even seeing it. All they saw was John Wayne's name in the credits.
As the story goes, John Wayne wanted the role and he was very serious about it. He found the script in Dick Powell's office. I'm sure Powell had his reasons for wanting to throw the script out, but it can't be that it was that horrible of a script. The script is actually pretty decent. I can't complain about the make-up either because I think that was very well done too. John Wayne, between the make-up and his hair, really looks Asian in this.
People that criticize this movie keep pointing out the nationalities of everyone involved. If you are going to do that then you are just nitpicking. Yes, John Wayne is a white man playing a Mongol. But you couldn't have expected them to cast a real Mongol in the role. Whites played Orientals and Native Americans all the time back then. Anthony Quinn, who is of Mexican and Irish descent, played Attila the Hun once. Omar Sharif, once played Genghis Khan. Stephen Boyd played Kahn's blood brother Jamuga. That Sharif and Boyd movie was horrible, by the way. The Conqueror is way better than that. The Conqueror is more accurate too. You're probably going to wonder, "Why John Wayne?" I said the same exact thing and I thought the movie was silly at first. But I actually sat down and watched it and I thought it was good.
The Conqueror's opening is great. It opens with Temujin riding through the dessert with his Mongol army. The scenes of the army riding are great. They are shot so well. The action scenes of the Mongols fighting enemy armies were great too. If you want action, this has plenty of it. Another nice touch was the love story between Temujin and Bortai. Bortai is played by Susan Hayward. She was pretty decent in her role. I enjoyed her scenes with John Wayne. I also enjoyed Pedro Armendariz in his scenes with John Wayne. Armendariz was also decent in his role as Jamuga, Temujin's blood brother. A previous reviewer said that John Wayne and Pedro Armendariz are not believable as brothers. Keep in mind, the movie never says they are brothers, but they keep stressing blood brothers.
Overall, I think The Conqueror was a pretty good movie. It pushed all of the right buttons for me. I enjoyed it very much. The Conqueror is a well made movie, with good performances, great directing, great cinematography, decent writing, great costumes and great make-up. I thought the score by Victor Young was great too. I especially loved the Romantic theme that Young uses throughout the movie. That was very memorable.
If you ever get a chance, see this movie. If you are interested in the subject matter, check it out. If you are a fan of the old time classics or those Hollywood epics, check it out. If you are a fan of John Wayne and you want to see him in a different role for a change, check it out. John Wayne won't disappoint you. The Conqueror and John Wayne are not bad at all. Don't knock this movie until you've seen it. People were way too harsh when they placed their votes on IMDb. I'll bet that some people gave this movie a 1 without even seeing it. All they saw was John Wayne's name in the credits.