A handful of men and women held out against the frenzied hordes of bloodthirsty fanatics!
Diplomats, soldiers and other representatives of a dozen nations fend off the siege of the International Compound in Peking during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. The disparate interests unite for survival despite competing factions, overwhelming odds, delayed relief and tacit support of the Boxers by the Empress of China and her generals.
Log it
Sign in to log this.
Character
Classical in form, grave, earnest and epic.
- classical in formformally daring
- gravecomic
- earnestironic
- intimateepic
- character-ledplot-driven
Who loves it, who doesn't
No profiled raters yet.
Where do you stand?
Answer first; then see how everyone, and your circle, split.
“Is it too big for its own story?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
“Is Charlton Heston the best thing in 55 Days at Peking?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
“Are the characters only there to move the plot?”
Sign in to answer.
Be the first to answer.
Ask the title
A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
Reviews
No reviews yet.
Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Mar 20227/10
It is tempting just to look upon this as an imperialist (Western, not Chinese) costume drama with fireworks. I think, however, it does merit a little more credit than that. Samuel Bronston pulls together quite a cast as Hollywood (via Madrid and Valencia) gives us it's version of the failed/foiled Boxer rebellion that lead to the ultimate decline of the Dragon Throne. Charlton Heston and David Niven develop a decent enough chemistry as the story takes shape, and Ava Gardner, Flora Robson, Leo Genn and Paul Lukas ensure there is some strength and depth to the supporting cast, and therefore to the story of the siege of the diplomatic compound in Peking by Chinese rebels in 1900. The sets are testament to what could be done in a world before CGI (and I bet the budgets wouldn't be that much different, either) and the mass-participation scenes are colourful, noisy and look good. As ever with these kind of films, there is an inevitability around the outcome; however preposterous the odds - but this is still a commendable effort to enlighten us, a little, as to the attitude of the colonial powers to China at the turn of the 20th Century.
Read the whole review on TMDB
Cast
- Charlton HestonMaj. Matt Lewis
- Ava GardnerBaroness Natalie Ivanoff
- David NivenSir Arthur Robertson
- Flora RobsonDowager Empress Tzu-Hsi
- John IrelandSgt. Harry
- Harry AndrewsFather de Bearn
- Leo GennGen. Jung-Lu
- Robert HelpmannPrince Tuan
- Kurt KasznarBaron Sergei Ivanoff
- Philippe LeroyJulliard
Crew
- Nicholas RayDirector
- Bernard GordonScreenplay
- Philip YordanScreenplay
- Jack HildyardDirector of Photography
- Dimitri TiomkinOriginal Music Composer
- Robert LawrenceEditor
- Michał WaszyńskiProducer
- Samuel BronstonProducer
- Alan BrownProducer
Where to watch
Checking availability…
Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
The Other Boleyn Girl 200886% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, earnest.
Sink the Bismarck! 196086% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, earnest.
Outlaw King 201885% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, earnest.
The Hunt for Red October 199084% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, earnest.
Mutiny on the Bounty 196283% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, earnest.
The Bridge at Remagen 196983% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, earnest.
The Way Back 201083% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, earnest.
The Last of the Mohicans 199282% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, earnest.
The White Princess 201782% alikeTelevision · Both classical in form, grave, earnest.
Marco Polo 201482% alikeTelevision · Both classical in form, grave, earnest.
Often watched with
Recommendations from TMDB. Opening one adds it to Tastebuds
