The Adventures of Marco Polo
by John Cromwell, John Ford, Archie Mayo
List Price:
Our Price: $17.99
You Save: $1.99 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $9.42 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Basil Rathbone, Binnie Barnes, Gary Cooper, George Barbier, Sigrid GurieDirector: Archie Mayo, John Cromwell, John Ford
Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.37:1
Running Time: 104 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-05-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of The Adventures of Marco Polo
Movie Review: Great History? No...but Entertaining Gary Cooper!
Summary: 3 Stars
You simply can't take "The Adventures of Marco Polo" seriously...but as a light-hearted, glossy, tongue-in-cheek adventure, the film is great fun, from the same year as Warner's "The Adventures of Robin Hood".
With producer Samuel Goldwyn's biggest box office star, Gary Cooper, in the lead, as a drawling, skirt-chasing Polo, the film opens with an opulent, Hollywood version of 13th century Venice, then quickly moves to the steppes of central Asia, and finally the equally opulent court of Chinese Emperor Kublai Khan (George Barbier), where Cooper and his groaning comic relief (Ernest Truex) encounter Khan's exotic, if not particularly Oriental-looking, daughter (Sigrid Gurie...who learns how to kiss from the obliging Polo), and Khan's ruthless adviser, Ahmed (another terrific villainous portrayal by Basil Rathbone), who has designs on both China and Gurie.
Screenwriter Robert Sherwood tosses in a bit of history (the Chinese inventions of spaghetti and gunpowder, introduced to Polo by H.B. Warner, channeling his "Lost Horizon" persona), but clearly treats the storyline as farce, adding a feared (but henpecked) tribal chief (a heavily made-up Alan Hale), and his jealous wife (Binnie Barnes, who also falls under Polo's spell). Also, watch for 17-year-old Lana Turner in a small but showy role as a most desirable Chinese handmaiden (this is the infamous film where Goldwyn's makeup department burned off her eyebrows, permanently).
Directed by veteran director Archie Mayo (who lacked Michael Curtiz' flair for epic period adventure), the action scenes are a bit flat, and Cooper's climactic fight with Rathbone is somewhat disappointing (truthfully, he seems out-of-place confronting a swashbuckling villain). Certainly, 1938 audiences weren't 'buying' Cooper as an Italian adventurer (it WAS a stretch!), and the film flopped, but if you're in the mood for pure escapism, from Hollywood's 'Golden' age, "The Adventures of Marco Polo" is certainly worth a look!
Summary of The Adventures of Marco Polo
Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 05/22/2007Gary Cooper makes a dashing, flirtatious explorer-adventurer in The Adventures of Marco Polo, a twinkling account of Polo's 13th century travels from his home in Venice to China, where he established a new east-west trade route. Nothing comes easy, of course, so the film's script (by author Robert E. Sherwood) finds playboy Polo barely surviving his journey only to be sabotaged in his efforts to forge a relationship with emperor Kublai Khan (George Barbier). Polo's rival for Khan's loyalty (and the affections of the emperor's daughter, played by the exotic Sigrid Gurie) is the scheming Ahmed (Basil Rathbone), who has the ruler's ear and is wont to punish enemies by chaining them down for the benefit of hungry vultures. The story's general outrageousness extends to Polo's banishment to a tribe of rebels, led by a henpecked strongman (Alan Hale) whose shrewish wife takes a shine to the Venetian stud and saves him from execution. Directed by Archie Mayo (The Petrified Forest), The Adventures of Marco Polo is glossy fun, led by Cooper's charming, knowing performance and highlighted by the film's unwillingness to take anything too seriously. Scenes in which Polo is introduced to two Chinese inventions--spaghetti and gunpowder--are priceless. --Tom Keogh
Action & Adventure DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in If you want to discover Gary Cooper (1901 - 1961)
Wings (NTSC Import)DVD
Best price: $16.44
Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.; Release date: 2006-04-04; DVD
Best price: $18.39
Price in other shops:
Fighting CaravansRelease date: 2005-09-06; DVD
Best price: $3.99
Price in other shops:
![If I Had a Million [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ] Image](/images/If-I-Had-a-Million-NON-USA-FORMAT-PAL-Reg-2-Import-Spain-B0019D39XM-X.jpg)
If I Had a Million [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]DVD
Best price: $33.99
A Farewell to ArmsRelease date: 2004-12-07; DVD
Best price: $4.12
Price in other shops:
Shirley Temple - Little Darling Pack (Little Miss Marker/ Now and Forever/ The Runt Page)Release date: 2005-04-19; DVD
Best price: $2.69
Price in other shops:
The Wedding NightTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $6.14
Price in other shops:
![Desire (The Pearl Necklace) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Sweden ] Image](/images/Desire-The-Pearl-Necklace-NON-USA-FORMAT-PAL-Reg-2-Import-Sweden-B0018UY5RA-X.jpg)
Desire (The Pearl Necklace) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Sweden ]DVD
Best price: $23.99
Mr. Deeds Goes to TownRelease date: 2000-02-01; DVD
Best price: $6.50
Price in other shops:
The PlainsmanRelease date: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $4.09
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Taras BulbaTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-03-25; DVD
Best price: $7.10
Price in other shops:
Gary Cooper MGM Movie Legends Collection (The Cowboy and the Lady / The Real Glory / Vera Cruz / The Winning of Barbara Worth)TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $22.59
Price in other shops:
Kings of the SunTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-03-25; DVD
Best price: $7.11
Price in other shops:
El Cid (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition) (The Miriam Collection)WELLSPRING/GENIUS; Release date: 2008-01-29; DVD
Best price: $9.98
Price in other shops:
Pirates of the Golden Age Movie Collection (Against All Flags / Buccaneer's Girl / Yankee Buccaneer / Double Crossbones)Release date: 2007-05-08; DVD
Best price: $13.49
Price in other shops:
Casanova BrownTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $6.04
Price in other shops:
The Wedding NightTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $6.55
Price in other shops:
Ball of FireTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $7.60
Price in other shops:
Tyrone Power Collection (Blood and Sand / Son of Fury / The Black Rose / Prince of Foxes / The Captain from Castile)Release date: 2007-05-01; DVD
Best price: $29.99
Price in other shops:
Unconquered (Universal Cinema Classics)Universal; Release date: 2007-05-22; DVD
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops: