AllMovie

The oft-filmed Gogol novel Taras Bulba was afforded one of its earliest screen treatments in this reasonably lavish Polish production. Although star J. N. Douvan-Forzow was much too obese to be thoroughly convincing as virile Cossack leader Taras Bulba, his performance was otherwise quite credible. The plot concentrates on the relationship between Taras Bulba and his sensitive, college-educated son, whose romance with the daughter of a Polish governor causes an irreparable rift between parent and child. Contemporary reviews indicate that director J. M. Ermolieff spared the audience nothing in terms of violence and brutality. The best-known version of this venerable historical yarn was lensed in 1962, with Yul Brynner and Tony Curtis in the principal roles.