Taras Bulba (1962 film)

Taras Bulba is a 1962 film loosely based on Nikolai Gogols short novel, Taras Bulba, starring Yul Brynner in the title role, and Tony Curtis as his son, Andrei, leaders of a Cossack clan on the Ukrainian steppes. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson. The story line of the film is considerably different from that of Gogols novel, although it is closer to his expanded 1842 proRussian Imperial edition than his original proUkrainian version of 1835.

Several years later, Taras sends his two sons, Andrei and Ostap Perry Lopez to the academy at Kiev, to obtain a Polish education. There, the eldest son, Andrei, falls in love with a Polish princess Natalia Dubrov played by Christine Kaufmann, to the ire of the locals, who treat the Cossack brothers like scum of the earth. Ultimately, the brothers are forced to flee Kiev, returning to their fathers house on the Ukrainian steppes.There, word comes that the Poles want the Cossacks to raise an army to help them in a new war with the Turks. When Andrei objects, he is accused of being a coward. This is a serious offense that can only be resolved by a test of courage. Andrei and his accuser ride and jump their horses over a chasm until God chooses which one is right by having the accuser fall to his death. Taras embraces Andreis lead and plans to betray the Poles and take back the Ukraine. ........

Source: Wikipedia