Genghis Khan
Theatrical poster by Frank McCarthy.
Directed by	Henry Levin
Screenplay by	Beverley Cross Clarke Reynolds
Story by	Berkely Mather
Produced by	Irving Allen
Starring	Omar Sharif James Mason Stephen Boyd Eli Wallach Françoise Dorléac Telly Savalas
Cinematography	Geoffrey Unsworth
Edited by	Geoffrey Foot
Music by	Dušan Radić
Production companies	Irving Allen Productions Central Cinema Company Film (CCC) Avala Film
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	April 15, 1965 (1965-04-15) (Germany) June 23, 1965 (1965-06-23) (United States) August 30, 1965 (1965-08-30) (United Kingdom)
Running time	120 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom West Germany Yugoslavia United States
Language	English
Budget	$4.5 million[1]
Box office	$2.25 million (US & Canada rentals) 2.6 million tickets (France & West Germany)

Genghis Khan is a 1965 biographical adventure film directed by Henry Levin and starring Omar Sharif, depicting a fictionalized account of the life and conquests of the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan. Distributed in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1965 by Columbia Pictures, the film also features James Mason, Stephen Boyd, Eli Wallach, Françoise Dorléac and Telly Savalas.

A 70 mm version was released by CCC Film in West Germany. It was filmed in Yugoslavia with Technicolor and Panavision.

Plot

The young Temujin sees his father tortured and killed by a rival tribe led by Jamuga. Held prisoner, he is yoked into a large wooden wheel around his neck and tormented by the tribal children. He meets the young Bortai after an act of kindness to her, but is punished by Jamuga. Temujin then escapes and hides in the hills, followed by holy man Geen and mute warrior Sengal, who pledge their allegiance to the man vowing to unite all the Mongol tribes.

Raids along caravan routes gradually increase the size of his army, and then Temujin decides to capture and take as his wife the young Bortai. He does so, but then she is recaptured by Jamuga, who rapes her before Temujin can steal her back. Temujin raises the resulting child as his own.

A stranded Chinese ambassador is helped out by Temujin, who accompanies the diplomat into Song China, where he is proclaimed "Genghis Khan, the Prince of Conquerors". His Mongol army stays in Peking for a long period, training, learning, and growing complacent. The imprisoned Jamuga escapes at one point. Finally, feeling trapped, the Mongols break out of their "captivity", killing the Emperor of China in the process, and begin their conquest of Asia.

After laying waste to everything from Manchuria to Moscow, the Mongol army finally battles the Shah of Khwarezm, defeating him and capturing Jamuga one last time. Temujin and Jamuga fight one last battle, and, although victorious, Temujin succumbs to his wounds soon after, following a loving good-bye to Bortai. A voiceover speaks of Genghis Khan's reputation and successors in expanding his empire.

Cast

• Omar Sharif as Temujin, later Genghis Khan
• Stephen Boyd as Jamuga
• James Mason as Kam Ling
• Eli Wallach as Shah of Khwarezm
• Françoise Dorléac as Bortei
• Telly Savalas as Shan
• Robert Morley as Emperor of China
• Michael Hordern as Geen
• Yvonne Mitchell as Katke
• Woody Strode as Sengal
• Kenneth Cope as Subotai
• Roger Croucher as Massar
• Don Borisenko as Jebai
• Patrick Holt as Kuchiuk
• Susanne Hsiao [de] as Chin Yu
• George Savalas as Toktoa
• Gustavo Rojo as Altan

Production

The film was shot over 125 days.^[1]

Allen and Euan Lloyd (who worked in publicity) wanted to make a follow-up called Clive of India based on a script by Terence Young but it was never made.^[1]

Box office

In the United States and Canada, the film earned $2.25 million in distributor rentals.^[2]

In Europe, the film sold 1.724 million tickets in West Germany^[3] and 879,532 tickets in France,^[4] for a combined 2,603,532 tickets sold in West Germany and France.