55 days in Beijing
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | 55 days in Beijing |
| Original title | 55 Days at Beijing |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1963 |
| length | 155 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Nicholas Ray Guy Green ( anonymous ) Andrew Marton (anonymous) |
| script |
Robert Hamer Philip Yordan Bernard Gordon Ben Barzman (anonymous) |
| production | Samuel Bronston |
| music | Dimitri Tiomkin |
| camera |
Jack Hildyard , Manuel Berenguer |
| cut | Robert Lawrence |
| occupation | |
| |
55 Days in Beijing is an American film from 1963. The monumental film deals with the Boxer Rebellion in Beijing at the turn of the century, but was shot almost entirely in Spain. The budget of 17 million dollars is particularly evident in the imposing buildings, the lavishly staged battles and the splendid furnishings.
action
A crisis looms in Beijing in 1900: Empress Tzu-Hsi tries to put a stop to the xenophobic movement of boxers, which has spread to the vicinity of the city of Beijing and attacks Chinese Christians and foreigners. Meanwhile, in the diplomatic quarter, people are concerned about how their own people should be evacuated from the city in the event of an escalation.
The situation escalated when the boxers murdered the German ambassador in the street on June 20, 1900 after the Empress gave in to the pressure. With the help of the imperial army, the boxers now storm the diplomatic quarter, where around 500 Europeans have holed up, under the command of the English ambassador Arthur Robertson and the American Major Lewis. This is followed by a cunning defensive war, embedded in the story of a few individuals and their fates, such as that of Baroness Natalie Ivanoff and those mentioned above. Although the tide has turned a few times, the 20,000 or so Chinese retain the upper hand and, over time, keep pushing forward with great losses. But after 55 days the siege ends, as the allied troops of the united eight states finally arrive and take Beijing within a short time. A triumphant entry of British, Russian, Japanese, American, German, French, Italian and Austrian troops follows.
Reviews
"Action professional Andrew Marton ( The Longest Day ) staged the impressive battles, which Dimitri Tiomkin ennobled with terrific music."
"The only remarkable thing about this heroic epic with star cast, which is fictitious in the story , is the great staged fight scenes and the camera work."
Awards
The film was nominated for two Oscars in the categories of "Best Theme Song" ( So Little Time ) and "Best Film Music". The title music of the German version was sung by the Botho Lucas Choir .
Historical background
From a historical point of view, the film can be criticized because the besieged are portrayed quite one-sidedly as fundamentally righteous, brave and steadfast, while the Chinese are depicted as devious enemies. Historical backgrounds of the Boxer Rebellion, such as internal Chinese tensions between the Manchu dynasty (Qing dynasty) and the Han Chinese, but also the appearance and behavior of the “foreigners” - Europeans, Americans and Japanese - remain uncommented. It is and remains a "Hollywood production" that does not claim to be historical objectivity.
Others
- One problem was the recruitment of a sufficient number of Chinese extras. This was solved by recruiting as many Chinese as possible across Spain, which led to the curiosity that most Chinese restaurants in Spain were closed for the duration of the filming due to a lack of staff.
- For political reasons, the film could not be shot in Beijing, so a replica of the city of Beijing from around 1900 was set up near Madrid on an area of 243,000 square meters.
- The costumes of the Empress, Prince Tuans and other people on the scene in the royal court were all originals, and a wealthy Florentine family had loaned them for the film.
- The future Japanese film director Jūzō Itami plays a supporting role in this film.
- The German film Alarm in Peking had already dealt with the same subject a quarter of a century earlier.
Web links
- 55 Days at Peking in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- 55 Days at Peking at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b 55 days in Beijing. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed April 20, 2017 .