Marco Polo

TV Mini Series
1982–1983
8h 24m

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Burt Lancaster and Ken Marshall in Marco Polo (1982)

The life and experiences of the thirteenth century explorer, who sought to connect the civilizations of China and Europe through trade.The life and experiences of the thirteenth century explorer, who sought to connect the civilizations of China and Europe through trade.The life and experiences of the thirteenth century explorer, who sought to connect the civilizations of China and Europe through trade.

Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

1.3K

YOUR RATING

Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 2 Primetime Emmys
- 2 wins & 7 nominations total

Episodes8

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TopTop-rated 1 Season2 years

Photos6

Top cast82

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Ken Marshall

Marco Polo

Denholm Elliott

Niccolò Polo

Tony Vogel

Matteo Polo

David Warner

Rustichello

F. Murray Abraham

Jacopo

Mario Adorf

Giovanni

Patrick Mower

Brother Damian

Ruocheng Ying

Kublai Khan

Beulah Quo

Empress Chabi

Jun'ichi Ishida

Prince Chinkin

James Hong

Phags-pa

Gordon Mitchell

Arnolfo

Leonard Nimoy

Achmet

Bruno Zanin

Giulio

John Dicks

Brother Philip

Lin Lao

Bayan

Ian McShane

Ali Ben Yussouf

Sada Thompson

Aunt Flora

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5.9

8.1

5.2

6.7

6.3

7.7

Marco Polo: One Hundred Eyes

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Marco Polo

6.7

Sliding Doors

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The Incredible Adventures of Marco Polo

6.3

Ma Ge Bo Luo

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Enrico Sabbatini spent over three years designing over 4,000 unique costumes and 3,500 pairs of shoes. His research required two trips to China where he visited museums and talked with historians in an attempt to re-create the 13th century before returning to Rome with thousands of square feet of silks, cottons and cashmeres and more than 1,000 furs. The embroideries were done in China, the hand-hammered armor was made in Italy and the jade was hand-carved for the Mongol belts and the breastplate of Kublai Khan. Even the undergarments were authentic. All the costumes were of museum quality and were specially presented at the Washington Textile Museum, where among the highlights was a ceremonial robe ornately embroidered with dragons in gold leaf at a cost of $7,000.

Alternate versions
The US broadcast of the 10-hour mini-series aired on NBC in four consecutive nights from May 16-19, 1982. Parts 1 and 4 were three hours long, while parts 2 and 3 were two hours long (including commercials).

Connections
Featured in The 34th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1982)

User reviews33

Review

Featured review

Delicate memories

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.