Marco Polo

I have seen this TV mini series when it first aired over WOR-TV in New York City in 1982, over one of the first home satellite TV receivers.

I was fortunate to record in VHS format this mini series on my Video Tape Recorder, although the quality is far from good. I still find this feature made for TV one of the greatest reenactments of Marco Polo ever. Even today with Hollywood relying on Computer Graphics and Blue Screen can't compare to the cinematography of Marco Polo of 1982. Why this feature was never released in Motion Picture Theaters or made available on commercial grade VHS or DVD or even re-aired over TV has me baffled. Yet this will always remain in my film library as a Classic film

Filmed on location, the 1982 version of "Marco Polo" must certainly be the most authentic representation ever made of the travels of Marco Polo. While viewing, it is ever so easy for one to astrally project into the film, thus becoming part of history. The cinematography was second to none. The score was hauntingly beautiful. The casting for each part was perfectly matched to each character, and each role was played at the peak of perfection. The mini series was evenly paced and seemed to hold the viewer spellbound for the next adventure. This film would certainly qualify as an educational tool for kids in junior high and above. I would love to purchase the series, but after years of searching, I have not located a seller.

...and it's a true shame this wonderful miniseries hasn't been reissued on DVD or even on video. I was fortunate enough to record it the one time it repeated on NBC (in 1984), and I recently transferred that copy to SVHS in an attempt to preserve it a bit longer. I really hope some day the studios will get their acts together and give this wonderful miniseries the legacy it deserves: on DVD.

This movie kept my interest throughout every single last minute, from the opening credits the night of the first episode, to the closing credits the night of the final episode. One might think that somewhere in there, your attention would wander, but not with this movie. It was absolutely wonderful and the way it combined all aspects of the story and the characters - love, adventure, compassion, greed, war, in-fighting, etc. - was marvellous. It seems that nearly all of the TV mini-series are available on video, but I can't find this. The highest compliment a movie can get from the viewer is their time and I will say that I would watch this over and over and over again. I give it a 10!!!

Chronicle. Colors. Feelings. Waters of events. Way. A young Venitian and essence of a wonderful universe. For my childhood, this movie was Wikipedia and cartoons in same skin. Images of far land and adventures of Marco Polo, smell of freedom and lessons about fundamental values are yet precious. It was more than a movie. Encyclopedia, trampoline, fairy tale, key to a form to know and feel, ingredient of escapes and show. One film for empathic travel, masterpiece in art to give elements from civilization and to teach science of dialog between different cultures. Ken Marshall is axis of an extraordinary trip. Ruocheng Ying is perfect Khan. So, a biographic movie is, in this case, a kind of palace, docu-drama and slice of delight in same time, in same measure.