Les 55 Jours de Pékin

Titre original : 55 Days at Peking

NOTE IMDb

6,7/10

7,6 k

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Action Adventure Drama History War

En 1900, alors que la révolte des Boxers éclate à Pékin et que les délégations occidentales inquiètes organisent leur défense, une baronne russe déclassée croise le chemin d'un Major américa... Tout lireEn 1900, alors que la révolte des Boxers éclate à Pékin et que les délégations occidentales inquiètes organisent leur défense, une baronne russe déclassée croise le chemin d'un Major américain ; à la cour de l'impératrice Tzu-Hsi, on s'agite en coulisses. [255]En 1900, alors que la révolte des Boxers éclate à Pékin et que les délégations occidentales inquiètes organisent leur défense, une baronne russe déclassée croise le chemin d'un Major américain ; à la cour de l'impératrice Tzu-Hsi, on s'agite en coulisses. [255]

Voir les informations de production sur IMDbPro

NOTE IMDb

6,7/10

7,6 k

MA NOTE

Voir les informations de production sur IMDbPro

Nommé pour 2 Oscars
- 5 nominations au total

Anecdotes
This movie was shot in Spain and needed hundreds of Chinese extras, and the company sent scouts throughout Spain and the rest of Europe to hire as many Asian-looking actors and actresses that they could find. The casting web in 1962 reached as far as London, Lyon, and Marseilles, so the result was that many Chinese restaurants in those cities closed for the summer 1962 during filming because the restaurant staff - often including the restaurant's owners - was hired away by the movie company. The company hired so many, that for several months, there was scarcely a Chinese restaurant to be found open in Spain and those three other cities.

Gaffes
At the beginning, the German band plays Deutschland Uber Alles, which was not adopted by Germany until after World War I. Germany at that time used the anthem Heil Dir Im Siegerkranz, whose tune is that of God Save The Queen, while Austria-Hungary used the Deutschland tune for its anthem, Gott Erhalte Franz Den Kaiser.

Citations
German Ambassador: You have to admire Sir Arthur; he always manages to give the impression that God must be an Englishman.

Versions alternatives
To receive a 'U' certificate in the UK (making the film suitable for all ages) significant cuts were made by the BBFC. These included the scene of the priest being drowned by the water-wheel, a shortening of the screaming sounds made by the soldier before his leg amputation, and a removal of all references by Lewis to local women being made available for soldiers. To retain the same certificate all video releases also featured the same cut print. The 2014 DVD features the uncut version and is upgraded to a PG.

Connexions
Featured in I'm a Stranger Here Myself (1974)

Bandes originales
So Little Time
(The Peking Theme)
Recorded by Andy Williams on CBS Records
Words by Paul Francis Webster
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin

Avis des utilisateurs70

Commenter

Commentaire à la une

7/10

Not A Racist Film

Watching this film in a PC era like today you may find allegations of racism being made against it , but you have to remember that 55 DAYS AT PEKING was made in 1963 . The war in the Pacific had ended less than 20 years earlier and the horrors of the Burma railway and the Bataan death march were still fresh in the memory . Likewise the UN had fought a dirty and bloody war against North Korea and Communist China ten years earlier and 1963 was a year when America started committing ground troops to South Vietnam , so this was an era where many people were worried about " the yellow peril " . One thing you can't really accuse the film of being is geo-nationalist , a coalition featuring diverse nations like Germany , Russia , Italy and France fighting alongside Britain and America ! You can tell this was made a long time ago and if it was made today the Americans would have saved the day single handed while portraying everyone else as total cowards . At least the makers of 55 DAYS AT PEKING had the decency of showing a factual historical event without having to totally rewrite history . I do hope present day Hollywood producers will take note .

My only problem with this film is that the main story is held up with a romantic subplot featuring Charlton Heston who's not exactly romantic material , but this is soon forgiven when the battle scenes arrive and what battle scenes they are . Watching these scenes today I was struck as to how they were achieved by a combination of stuntmen and stuffed dummies . That's what I hate about modern day blockbusters that rely on cartoonish CGI figures running around . It's a lot more fun seeing a couple of man sized dolls falling a couple of hundred feet with dubbed screams on the soundtrack , Hollywood doesn't seem to do this type of action sequence anymore which is a great pity