Marco Polo (miniseries)
| Marco Polo | |
|---|---|
|
Poster of Marco Polo | |
| Genre | Drama, History |
| Written by |
David Butler Vincenzo Labella Giuliano Montaldo |
| Directed by | Giuliano Montaldo |
| Starring |
Kenneth Marshall Denholm Elliott Tony Vogel F. Murray Abraham Anne Bancroft John Gielgud John Houseman Burt Lancaster Tony Lo Bianco Ian McShane Leonard Nimoy David Warner James Hong Ying Ruocheng |
| Composer(s) | Ennio Morricone |
| Country of origin |
United States Italy |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Giovanni Bertolucci Franco Cristaldi Vincenzo Labella |
| Producer(s) | Vincenzo Labella |
| Editor(s) | John A. Martinelli |
| Location(s) |
China Italy Mongolia Morocco |
| Cinematography | Pasqualino De Santis |
| Running time | 480 min. |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel |
NBC RAI |
| Picture format | Film |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original airing | United States |
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Marco Polo is an American-Italian television miniseries originally broadcast by NBC in the United States, by Antenne 2 in France and by RAI in Italy in 1982. It starred Kenneth Marshall as Marco Polo, the 13th-century Venetian merchant and explorer. The series also featured appearances by Denholm Elliott, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Ian McShane, Leonard Nimoy, and others. It was originally broadcast in four episodes, where episodes 1 and 4 were twice as long as episodes 2 and 3. The series is sometimes divided into six equally long episodes.
Plot
Italy - 13th century. Marco Polo, born in Venice in 1254, just turned 17 when he departed with his father and his uncle to China. His adventurous journey through Asia lasted three and half years and led him through barren deserts and vast steppes. Marco spent several years in Beijing as a guest of the Great Khan, earning the trust of and respect for the Emperor.
Cast
- Kenneth Marshall as Marco Polo
- Denholm Elliott as Niccolò Polo
- Tony Vogel as Matteo Polo
- David Warner as Rustichello da Pisa
- Burt Lancaster as Pope Gregory X
- Vernon Dobtcheff as Pietro d'Abano
- John Gielgud as Doge of Venice
- John Houseman as Patriarch of Aquileia
- F. Murray Abraham as Jacopo
- Anne Bancroft as Marco's Mother
- James Hong as Phags-pa
- Ian McShane as Ali Ben Yussouf
- Leonard Nimoy as Achmet
- Mario Adorf as Giovanni
- Patrick Mower as Brother Damian
- Tony Lo Bianco as Brother Nicholas
- Ying Ruocheng as Kublai Khan
- Junichi Ishida as Prince Chinkin
- Tetsurō Tamba as Saiamon
- Gordon Mitchell as Arnolfo
- Sada Thompson as Aunt Flora
- Soon-Tek Oh as Wang Zhu
See also
- List of historical drama films
- List of historical drama films of Asia
External links
- Marco Polo at the Internet Movie Database
- Marco Polo at TV.com