History Film / TheMongols

** Genghis Khan died in 1227 (not 1240) while besieging the rebellious Western Xia in UsefulNotes/{{China}}, he never went to Poland. And the exact cause of his death remains a mystery, attributed to either illness, being killed in action or from wounds sustained in hunting or battle, while here he's stabbed InTheBack by Ögedei's paramour.

* BellyDancer: On his diplomatic mission, the Mongols entertain Stefan with scantily-clad slave belly dancing girls coming from all of the Mongol empire (China, India, Ceylan, Syria and so on).

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Genghis Khan is depicted as open to Polish proposals of peace. [[BloodKnight Ögedei]] clearly isn't.

* RapePillageAndBurn: In the first town to be conquered by the Mongols, the latter pillage churches, drag a Virgin Mary statue behind a horse, go after the women and tie some men to the wheels of their carts.

* HordesFromTheEast: Of course, being about the Mongol attempts to conquer Europe.

** When he's introduced, Ögedei gleefully [[ATasteOfTheLash whips]] some conquered Poles with {{Evil Laugh}}s while his horde goes all RapePillageAndBurn.

* WarHawk: Ögedei, as he puts it:

* {{Warhawk}}: Ögedei, as he puts it:

During the invasion of UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} by UsefulNotes/{{Mongol|ia}} hordes in 1240 as the latter lay siege to the city of Kraków, a conflict between Emperor UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan (Roldano Lupi) and his oldest son Ögedei (Jack Palance) ensues when the former aims for peace and the latter itches for war and conquest.

** Genghis Khan died in 1227 while besieging the rebellious Western Xia in UsefulNotes/{{China}}, he never went to Poland. The Poland campaign of the Mongols started in 1240. And the exact cause of his death remains a mystery, attributed to either illness, being killed in action or from wounds sustained in hunting or battle, while here he's stabbed InTheBack by Ögedei's paramour.

** In RealLife, Ögedei was Genghis' third son, not his first son. Although historically disregarded in comparison to his father, especially on account of his alcoholism, he was known to be good-natured, something his portrayal as a cruel BloodKnight and WarHawk here clearly isn't.

* WarHawk: Ögedei, as he puts it:

* {{Yellowface}}: As with ''Film/TheConqueror'' a few years prior, none of the actors playing Mongols, starting with Jack Palance, was of Mongol or East Asian descent. The film surely capitalized on Palance's unusual face that was made to look Asian-ish (it resulted from reconstructive surgery after a war injury).

** In RealLife, Ögedei was Genghis' third son, not his first son. Although historically disregarded in comparison to his father, especially on account of his alcoholism, he was known to be good-natured, something his portrayal as a cruel BloodKnight here clearly isn't.

** In RealLife, Ögedei was Genghis' third son, not his first son.

* BloodKnight: Ögedei lives for war and RapePillageAndBurn, he can't stand truces and peace treaties to the point of sabotaging them.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Ögedei would never stoop so low as to kill his own father Genghis Khan, and when Huluna does it, he vows to execute her once he'll be done with Poland.

* ToppledStatue: A Virgin Mary statue is seen being dragged behind a horse by the Mongols in the first Polish town they invade, to show that they're clearly not Christians.

* TheKingslayer: Huluna ends up killing Genghis Khan when he's determined to seek out peace with Poland, in order to allow Ögedei to pursue his war plans.