#1296d: AMIRKULOV, Ardak: The Fall of Otrar (1991)

AMIRKULOV, Ardak (Kazakhstan)
The Fall of Otrar [1991]
Spine #1296d
Blu-ray


Kazakh New Wave iconoclast Ardak Amirkulov’s hypnotic thirteenth-century epic is a feverish vision of one of history’s most decisive battles—Genghis Khan’s siege of the now-lost city of Otrar—engraved in images of stunning, hallucinatory power. When his warnings about an imminent invasion are taken for insolence, a former Mongol scout (Dokhdurbek Kydyraliyev) must escape imprisonment to stop an escalating diplomatic crisis and avert a clash of civilizations. With a panoramic scope that encompasses intimate palace intrigue and the merciless sweep of battlefield carnage, The Fall of Otrar is a monumental imagining of seismic historical upheaval—and a terrifying, electrifying feast for the senses.

157 minutes
Color
in Kazakh, Mandarin, Mongolian
1:37:1
Criterion Release 2026

Director/Writer

Ardak Amirkulov was 44 when he directed The Fall of Otrar.

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Commentary

Video tribute

Documentary 1

Documentary 2

Documentary 3

Controversial altered ending

Theatrical trailer


Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

99

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