Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan [Blu-ray]

I would love more movies exactly like this about the great Genghis Khan - the truth about how he pulled Mongolia together, gave laws and was fair and just. He was in real history a great one, the west has through the years portrayed the great Genghis as a brutal, evil, cruel leader typical of westerners and hollywood lies; actually the great Genghis was the opposite.

This is a movie on the scale of what Hollywood was once capable of. It isn't and doesn't have to be historically perfect in every detail of accuracy. There are so many movies based loosely on historical legend that succeed in weaving history with story-telling why single this one out as not being "historically accurate". Will the first person who saw the movie who actually witnessed life in the 12th century please step forward and tell us all exactly what went on every day in the life of Genghis Khan? Yet some reviews lean toward criticizing the film's accuracy based on other movies they have seen or books they have read. Bottom line ... this is a movie, not a history book.I am no more qualified than anyone to discuss how accurately this movie portrays the life story of Genghis Khan, though as a descendent of Mongols and having traveled extensively in the footsteps of Temüjin by way of foot, camel and jeep I can say that much of what I saw such as the sharing of milk, the blessing over it, the drunken parties, the relationships of the Mongolians with their families and with each other, and the background scenery of much of this movie is dead-on accurate. I've been there ... the movie, in a sometimes idealized way, often shows us exactly what Temüjin himself saw 900 years ago.Taken as a movie, not a history book, the cinematography is excellent. The music is eerily accurate as a popularized version of exactly what camel herders and local entertainers performed for me and have performed for others for centuries. The costumes were romanticized, of course, in most cases. There were times it was hard to focus that we are talking about the 12th century and the movie's costuming simply jumped all over time and space.I am extremely happy that the dialogue of the Mongolian actors was in their native dialect (while the Chinese actors spoke Mandarin and some of the other characters spoke in a Turkic dialect). With my limited knowledge of the Mongolian language I recognized what the people I lived with in Mongolia spoke to me. The sub-titles were well done. To dub the dialogue into the local language of the movie's viewer would have utterly destroyed the movie.I'm not sure what I expected from this movie before seeing it, maybe a preachy documentary or something featuring Tom Cruise and Kim Kardashian in the lead roles to sell at the box office, unfortunately if Hollywood made this movie that may actually have been the case. It was easy to ease into the more casual and less hammy acting of the actors who were chosen. There were no miscasts, although Honglei Sun as Jamukha might be just a little over the top with his backaches and neckaches.Watch the movie with an open and relaxed mind and tune in on the many subtleties used to help us understand the conditions and circumstances that formed one of the most memorable people in all of history. Take time to dissect the battle scenes to see how Temüjin progressed from being the underdog to becoming Genghis Khan, perhaps the most brilliant military strategians of all time. And do read the subtitles, there aren't that many of them.I highly recommend this movie.

While the DVD worked perfectly, the actual movie had little to offer aside from beautiful footage of the Mongolian steppe and an Oscar worthy performance from Tadanobu Asano. Aside from that,the movie was pretty dull and generic.

The setting, language and plot was pretty good. But the Chinese and Russian choreographers just couldn't resist that kung-fu banga-banga action style. By 2/3 through, I didn't care anymore. I'd think it was better if I hadn't paid for it. Pass.

Mongul tells the story of Temudjin, the boy who grows up and eventually becomes Genghis Khan. At the age of nine, Temudjin's father(Esugei), the khan at the time, shows him how to pick a wife. After doing so, the plan is for them to get married in five years. After Esugei is poisoned however, he dies and the Mongols he was travelling with take matters into their own hands. Pillaging and doing whatever they see fit. Temudjin becomes a slave and sets out to find his brother, Jamukha, who he feels is the only one who can help him. A few years pass. Temudjin, now a man, sets off to claim his wife. He winds up going through a lot of hardships in the process, but what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger. It is said that all Mongols are afraid of thunder, but what if they don't have a place to hide? They become one of the greatest Mongols in history and greatness comes to those who take it.This movie is shot beautifully. Every shot is filled with vibrant colors and seems to be shot in a unique way. There are quite a few first person perspectives during battle sequences that are quite stunning. Seeing the blood splatter all over the camera is always a plus, in my eyes. The battle scenes are where the film truly shines. The way they're shot make you feel like you're in the middle of it all. The perspective on a lot of the angles during not only the battle sequences, but in the movie as a whole, are impressive in their own right. The music also lends a helping hand in making this movie incredible. While some of it wasn't to my liking, the majority of it fit the film like a glove and only enhanced what was going on in the film and what the characters were going through.The main reason I checked out this movie was because of Tadanobu Asano. I've mentioned my admiration of his acting in the past, but I had heard that this was possibly the most physical role he ever had. That peaked my interest. Well that and the fact that he was headlining the film. He definitely doesn't disappoint in this and he only seems to impress me more with each film I see that he's involved with.Mongol may not be as action packed as the trailer leads you to believe. There are a handful of really impressive action scenes, but there's a lot of character development in this as well. The acting is top notch and as I mentioned, the visuals will have your eyes glued to the screen the entire time. I think the last twenty minutes or so make this film worth seeing alone. While it isn't action packed for two hours straight, I like to think that if you're a fan of movies like 300 then you'll probably enjoy this. This is just a bit more story driven.Rating: 8/10

Beautiful images and very interesting story. I don’t really like subbed movies but this one had easy to read large text and they paced the text slower which gave time to read and see the action. My dad saw it with me and he loathes subbed movies but he was completely engrossed in this film.

Excelente película. El producto llegó en excelente estado y en tipo y forma

Havent actually played it yet but was disappointed as I didnt realise it would be in Mongolian with English sub titles my fault I guess

Recomiendo esta película por ser una recreación bastante legítima de la verdadera historia de Gengis Khan.Además fue hecha con mucho respeto hacia la cultura mongola

Excelente película, imperdible para los amantes de la historia.

Además de que siempre me ha parecido muy interesante la historia de Genghis Khan, la película me encantó, los paisajes son hermosos, además de que es hablada en mongol.