''Genghis Khan'' (or ''Ang Buhay ni Genghis Khan'') is a 1950 Philippine

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film directed by Manuel Conde, based on the life of Mongol ruler and emperor

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

. It was the earliest film to depict the Khan's life. ''Genghis Khan'' was given a technical achievement citation upon its debut at the 1952 Venice Film Festival. It also was shown at the 1952 Edinburgh Film Festival. Widely acclaimed by international critics for its technical innovation and remarkable storytelling within the medium, ''Genghis Khan'' makes Filipino history as the first film to be submitted as a sole entry of Honorary Foreign Language Film award at the

26th Academy Awards The 26th Academy Awards were held on March 25, 1954, simultaneously at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood (hosted by Donald O'Connor), and the NBC Center Theatre in New York City (hosted by Fredric March). The second national telecast o ...

, despite no award was given to that film by the Academy Board of Governors, making it the only year to not have given that honorary category to any non-English-language films until the establishment as a competitive award. Considered the most ambitious and classic

post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

film ever made and one of the greatest Philippine films.

Plot

A film about the youth of Temujin, who later became

, who is brave, wise, sometimes cunning. He goes through difficult trials, fighting against competing tribes for land rights and struggling for

hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states, either regional or global. In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of ...

in the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

. Having fallen in love with the daughter of the leader of an enemy tribe and trying to restore his destroyed ulus. His actions lead to a great victory before he ascends the throne.

Cast

* Manuel Conde as Temujin / Genghis Khan * Elvira Reyes as Lei Hu * Inday Jalandoni as Burchou * Jose Villafranca * Lou Salvador as Burchou * Don Dano as Darmo Acosta * Africa Dela Rosa * Ric Bustamante * Ely Nakpil * Johnny Monteiro * Andres Centenera * Leon Lizares

Production

''Genghis Khan'' was directed by Manuel Conde and was produced under his own studio Manuel Conde (MC) Productions. The film had a limited budget and equipment used for production was outdated even at that time. Due to cost-cutting measures, Conde used

calesa A kalesa (Philippine Spanish: calesa), is a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage used in the Philippines. It is commonly vividly painted and decorated. It was the primary mode of public and private transport in the Philippines during the Spanish col ...

horses which had smaller built compared to horses used in Western films. The film was made in black and white and has a duration of 88 minutes. Conde as Manuel Urbano also did the film's screenplay. Botong Francisco, who is better known for his murals, was also involved in ''Genghis Khan'' as its production designer. Other members of the production team include Emmanuel Rojas (cinematographer), Rex Heinze (editor), Flaviano Villareal (sound) and Juan Silos Jr. (music). As seen in the original posters, Manuel Conde shares directional credit with Lou Salvador as a concession to the actor for agreeing to shave his head for his villain role as Burchou. Despite this, Conde assumes full creative control in directing the film and Salvador didn't have a single directional input towards the film. New re-releases of the film now remove Salvador's directional credit and only bear Conde's name in the posters.

Release

''Genghis Khan'' was released at the 1952

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

bought the worldwide distribution rights to release the film in the following year, where it would later be dubbed in 16 languages, making it the first Philippine film to have bought the rights to worldwide distribution by

major film studios Major film studios are filmmaking, production and film distributor, distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American ...

in the United States.

Reception

''Genghis Khan'' was praised for its technical aspects although it was also found to be too graphic and violent by critics of that time. Conde was praised for being "authentic" by devising small-built horses which was believed to be closer to the actual breed of horses used by Genghis Khan which is now extinct.

Accolades

''Genghis Khan'' won the Filipinos Pearl of the Orient Award as Most Popular Motion Picture in the Philippine Movie Popularity Poll of 1952-53 sponsored by the Philippines Herald newspaper.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt0291939 1950 films Philippine epic films Films set in Mongolia Philippine biographical films Depictions of Genghis Khan on film Films set in the 12th century 1950s biographical films 1950s rediscovered films Philippine black-and-white films Cultural depictions of Börte