Marco Polo | |
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![]() Poster of Marco Polo | |
Genre | Drama, History |
Written by | David Butler Vincenzo Labella Giuliano Montaldo |
Directed by | Giuliano Montaldo |
Starring | 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 Ying Ruocheng |
Composer | Ennio Morricone |
Country of origin | United States Italy |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8[contradictory] |
Production | |
Executive producers | Giovanni Bertolucci Franco Cristaldi Vincenzo Labella |
Producer | Vincenzo Labella |
Production locations | China Italy Mongolia Morocco |
Cinematography | Pasqualino De Santis |
Editor | John A. Martinelli |
Running time | 545 min. |
Production company | Vides Cinematografica
RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana National Broadcasting Company (NBC) Procter & Gamble Productions (PGP) Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) |
Original release | |
Network | NBC RAI |
Release | May 16 May 19, 1982 | –
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) |
Marco Polo is a 1982 American-Italian television miniseries originally broadcast by NBC in the United States and by RAI in Italy. It stars Kenneth Marshall as Marco Polo, the 13th-century Venetian merchant and explorer. The series also features appearances by Denholm Elliott, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Burt Lancaster, Ian McShane, Leonard Nimoy, and others. It was originally broadcast in four episodes,[contradictory] where episodes 1 and 4 were twice as long as episodes 2 and 3. The series is sometimes divided into six equally long episodes.[contradictory]
Set in the 13th century, the series follows the adventures of Marco Polo, who departs with his father and his uncle to China. His journey through Asia lasts three and a half years and leads him through barren deserts and vast steppes. Marco spends several years in Beijing as a guest of the Great Khan, earning the trust of and respect from the Emperor.