I actually registered for this service and am writing this review in Defence of Omar Shariff. I saw that the only review on IMDb was rather harsh and unbalanced. Shariff's portrayal of the CHARACTER of the Mongolian Chieftain was a truthful yet poetic performance that John Wayne definitely lacked the depth of character to deliver. There was a comment in that one review about Shariff's "Arabic" accent. In order to enlighten readers, Shariff's Arabic is not that good as education in Egypt in the old days was strictly British and Arabic was strictly forbidden. There is also no such thing as an Arabic accent. Arabs have 22 different dialects in 22 different countries with hundreds of accents per country. Moreover, there is no generic Arabic accent as there is no true generic American or British accent. Yes, James Mason was enchanting in his role as Chinese Ambassador/courtier, but cancelling out Shariff for his accent and his physical appearance would be a critical blunder worthy of a Junior high student with learning disability. I actually see a certain wisdom in casting the modestly framed Shariff as a warlord. This choice would emphasise the idea that the Mongol nation was built by this man using will power and cunning, not mere brute force. THAT is historically accurate. The movie does have many shortcomings, such as simplistic photography that is nowhere near as engaging as it could have been. The score was far too cartoonish for my taste. The Script was choppy when it needed to be flowing and vice versa. The final battle/duel sequence was a serious let down and far too short for such a titanic struggle. As for historical accuracy, I really don't care about that kind of this when I'm watching a movie. History doesn't exist anymore, there's only mythology.
Review of Genghis Khan
