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Marco Polo

Marco Polo

TV Series · 1982 · 15 people

The journey to the East of the 13th-century Venetian merchant and explorer is the subject of Marco Polo, an American-Italian television miniseries from 1982. Giuliano Montaldo directed, and Ken Marshall plays the lead. It first aired on NBC in the United States and on RAI in Italy, and went on to reach 46 countries in all, including France through Antenne 2 and Spain through RTVE. It was also the first joint effort of its kind between a Western and a Chinese broadcaster.

The story begins with young Marco setting out for China alongside his father and uncle. Crossing Asia takes three and a half years, taking the travellers through barren deserts and vast open steppes. Once in Beijing, Marco stays on for years as a guest of the Great Khan and earns the emperor's trust and respect. The cast also includes Denholm Elliott, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Burt Lancaster, Ian McShane, Leonard Nimoy and F. Murray Abraham. David Butler and Vincenzo Labella wrote the script.

In the US it ran from 16 to 19 May 1982, while Italy's Rai 1 showed it from 5 December 1982 to 23 January 1983. It aired in four episodes, the first and fourth twice as long as the others, and has also been shown in six equal parts.

DirectorGiuliano Montaldo
NetworkNBC, RAI

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Cast

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Gordon Mitchell Gordon Mitchell Actor · died at 80 Capitano Arnolfo Renato Scarpa Renato Scarpa Actor · died at 82 Frate Tommaso Kenneth Marshall Denholm Elliott Tony Vogel F. Murray Abraham Anne Bancroft John Gielgud John Houseman Burt Lancaster Tony Lo Bianco Ian McShane Leonard Nimoy David Warner James Hong

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Through different eyes

Series Binger A series devotee tracking character arcs, cast chemistry and season pacing.

It's a four-part miniseries, but the parts aren't equal: the first and last run twice as long as the others. That shape lets you feel the weight of the journey, though the pace can sag in the middle stretch; I'd say it works better one episode at a time than in a single sitting. Its real draw is how it spreads Marco's change from a young traveller into someone the Great Khan trusts across several episodes. A single film could never give that arc so much room, and that is the true payoff of the miniseries format.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

Marco Polo's journey is one of the best-known stories of trade and curiosity between East and West, and fittingly the series itself was the first joint project of its kind between a Western and a Chinese broadcaster. Its long look at the three-and-a-half-year crossing of Asia, through deserts and steppes, is valuable for grasping what distance meant in that age. Still, this is the East told through the eyes of a Venetian merchant, and in my view its picture of the Khan's court and Chinese society stays limited to a guest's perspective. Shown in 46 countries, it is also an interesting record of the big international co-productions of the 1980s.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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