Movie revisits Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan is a well known name in Russia but he’s not fondly remembered there, says Bodrov: he’s talked about the most cruel man in the world. Bodrov focuses on the ruler’s early life. In this scene, the nine year old boy displays confidence when picking his future bride. In telling the story, Bodrov takes on not only Russian stereotypes but also those of Hollywood. John Wayne starred as early- Genghis Khan in a 1956 movie, and this writer says the movie was appalling. But history got tweaked along with Western films, and Bodrov wanted to give Genghis Khan the credit he deserved. But Bodrov says bringing Genghis Khan’s early life to the screen wasn’t easy: there was a controversy when I first started filming. Bodrov took his filming to Kazakhstan where the people were eager to present a different image of their country than the one offered in the movie �Borat.� But filming in place that had been part of the Mongolian Empire proved difficult. The author takes issue with the way Bodrov depicts blood flowing freely in some of the fight scenes and Mongols refused to engage in hand to hand combat. Still the film goes a long way in correcting some misconceptions about Genghis Khan and his legacy.