The Conqueror (John Wayne) [DVD]

This film is a car crash of casting, with John Wayne as Genghis Khan (Oh Please!) But the script is worse than you can imagine, with stilted hackneyed dialogue and somewhat blandly shot too.Not only this, but this was the last film Howard Hughes produced and was the last RKO Radio Pictures film, dubbed an RKO Radioactive Picture because it was rather ill-advisedly shot on a nuclear test site, later unknowingly shipping 60 tons of radioactive soil to Hollywood for studio shoots! Hughes paid out much in compensation as 91 cast and crew members developed cancer as a result of the film shoot.The film itself suffers from strange sound - mono, I think. And is presented in 4:3 letterbox. You can zoom in to give yourself the Widescreen format, and it is watchable.

The Conqueror has taken a good deal of kicking over the years, not least because of it's ill-deserved inclusion in Harry and Michael Medved's book, The Fifty Worst Movies of All Time. They, like most writers who poke fun at this film, omit to mention that while the critics hated it, the paying public made it a huge hit at the time. Most of the criticism - and mockery - is usually levelled at the clunky dialogue, which very often verges on the unsayable - or should that be unspeakable? - of which the Duke gets, easily, the lion's share. By 1956, when this film was originally released, Wayne had enough clout to have had the script seriously doctored to suit his style of delivery and he certainly should have. However, when he saw the script, on director Dick Powell's desk, so the story goes, he insisted on taking the role - which was never written with him in mind - regardless. Though many consider him to be miscast, he certainly looks more comortable in this role than in, say, The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958), which was the only Wayne film to lose money - ever.Stilted dialogue aside, The Conqueror is a quite spectacular, action packed epic, which makes excellent use of the panoramic Utah locations. This was R.K.O.'s first and only use of CinemaScope, under licence from 20th Century-Fox, a fact that irked Howard Hughes so much that he ordered the developement of his own widescreen lens, Superscope and, subsequently, Superscope 235 (RKO Scope in its 2:1 aspect ratio variant), the latter still being in use today in the form of Super 35, James Cameron's favourite format.The plot takes a few liberties with history, but not nearly so many as Irving Allen's 1965 version, Genghis Khan, which starred Omar Sharif. And it has to said that Wayne is a much more impressive Temujin than Sharif, any day. He is backed up by a host of familiar faces, most of whom are usually to be found in westerns: Pedro Armendariz, Lee Van Cleef, Leo Gordon, John Hoyt and William Conrad, and the beautiful Susan Hayward is a fiery Bortai, the Khan's spirited Tartar wife.This package includes both Blu ray and DVD versions, with several sets of optional subtitle languages, except English, which doesn't really matter as playback defaults to the original English language version.The picture is fine and clear, with excellent colour and a some grain present - not surprising in a 'Scope film of this vintage - and there is virtually no print damage, although some of the titles are a little wobbly in both versions, which has to be down to the print used. The aspect ratio is approximately 2.35:1, enhanced for 16:9. Sound is stereo, with clearly audible dialogue throughout.The Conqueror was supposed to be Howard Hughes' personal favourite of all the films he made and he would watch it over and over again, it was said. He bought back all the prints at one stage and the film was never seen for more than twenty years, becoming a 'lost' film, much sought after by collectors.This is a welcome addition to the steadily growing list of fifties CinemaScope costume spectaculars available in Blu ray format, and as such, is not to be missed - even if the dialogue makes you smile a little!

John Wayne as a mogul don't get more strange than this. Believe is or not he pulls it off. Great movie not too great of a blu ray transfer. Still well woth the money.

excellent quality

Wonderful!

Moderate

good!

Strange role for Wayne,..