Marco Polo (1982)
Marco Polo is an American-Italian television miniseries originally broadcast by NBC in the United States, by Antenne 2 in France and by RAI in Italy in 1982. It starred Kenneth Marshall as Marco Polo, the 13th-century Venetian merchant and explorer. The series also featured appearances by Denholm Elliott, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Ian McShane, Leonard Nimoy, and others. It was originally broadcast in four episodes, where episodes 1 and 4 were twice as long as episodes 2 and 3. The series is sometimes divided into six equally long episodes.
Seasons & Episode
The splendors and intrigues of the 13th century are seen through the eyes of the Venetian Marco Polo (Ken Marshall), who sets out with his father and uncle on a journey to the Far East. Niccolo: Denholm Elliott. Teobaldo: Burt Lancaster. Doge: John Gielgud. Matteo: Tony Vogel.
Freed by renegade Saracens, Marco Polo (Ken Marshall) survives plague in Persia and an avalanche in Tibet to arrive at a Mongol camp in northern China. Kublai Khan: Ying Ruocheng. Niccolo: Denholm Elliott. Matteo: Tony Vogel.
Marco's friendship with the Khan's son grows amid ministerial jealousies and plans for war with Japan. Marco: Ken Marshall. Kublai Khan: Ying Ruocheng. Achmet: Leonard Nimoy. Chinkin: Junichi Ishida. Phags-Pa: James Hong. Niccolo: Denholm Elliott.
Marco (Ken Marshall) is appointed as an emissary to southern China, and falls in love with an orphaned Westerner (Kathryn Dowling). Achmet: Leonard Nimoy. Chinkin: Junichi Ishida. Niccolo: Denholm Elliott. Kublai Khan: Ying Ruocheng.
In “The Fourth Step,” the Polo family reunion in Kublai’s city was less than joyous, with Marco’s uncle sneering at the cultural assimilation that his brother’s son had embraced. While their time together was bitter and brief, no one even bothered to raise the subject of whether Marco would leave Kublai’s court with them, rejoining them in the family merchant business. But subsequent events—beginning with the Polos’ arrest for smuggling—proved that Marco was even more “Oriental” then uncle had claimed.
