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Wow! Such a good movie.

So much average

Instant Favorite.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I loved this movie - it takes a good silent film to keep me glued to the screen, many Silents have huge amounts of frenetic studio-bound talking heads, but of course we have to wait for the titles to see what has just been said.Other reviewers have laid the premise of this one but as a Russian film lover and trying anything I come across (this DVD, just £3!!) and expecting propaganda and heavy symbolism, I had a tour de force of both Mongolian and Buddhist life, but far from being a National Geographic documentary, this had real passionate pizazz and incredible, often beautiful locations, with long-lost ancient rituals and occasions coming alive on the screen.I think it unfair to criticise and thus mark down a film because of the style and way it was made, at the time - this is 1928, the film stock and prints has degraded and the technical aspects made for slightly sped-up and jaunty action, whilst almost all the huge casts would have been local amateurs.However, what made it for me was the music - brilliantly (and I believe, the original choice overseen by the director just before his death, in the 50s) - the crisp stereo really prickling the senses and the variety - from strident symphonies to traditional music from the locations in the film, all perfectly matched to the action. So, when some of the strangest looking tube-like horns get blown by long bearded Mongolians, we get a strange sounding instrument, not an artificially contrived one. This might sound a minor point but for me, from the outset, it really put me in the mood and set me up for the duration.So - whilst many of the rather turgid Silent dramas are rather hard work and there's a sense of relief when they finally end, this was pure pleasure all the way through. Put to one side any preconceived notions about communist regimes and heavy Soviet symbolism and enjoy this much lighter and enjoyable classic. (It IS critically considered a Classic, actually and not just my say so or opinion)

A confident and defiant film, Storm Over Asia succeeds as both a rabble-rousing bit of propaganda and an entertaining adventure film.The film depicts the simple Mongol herdsman and trappers calmly and pleasantly practicing their commerce, until one is cheated out of a valuable fox fur by a CAPITALIST PIG (that's us, kids). He gets into a brawl with the dude, and is ousted from the co-op for doing so. In exile, he escapes to the hills and becomes a Soviet supporter, and helps them fight against the occupying British army. He is captured by the British (during a meeting with a baby that is apparently the reincarnated Grand Lama) and sent out to be shot. But after being sent out, the army discovers an amulet that suggests he is a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, so they rush out, save him (He fled and got shot in the belly), and install him as a sort of promotional puppet leader. But once he gains more prominence, he decided to turn against his CAPITALIST PIG bosses.The film is well-directed and well-put-together, with every scene having a rough polish befitting the Soviet defense. I considered mentioning that the CAPITALIST PIGS were a bit one-dimensional, but if honestly, they probably were quite a bit like this, especially from their perspective, and the most underpraised of the Soviet masters, Vsevelod Pudovkin, has a sure hand that keeps the film paced damn near to perfection, and I never lost interest for a moment, leading to a satisfying guns-blazing finale to which the film had been building throughout.Storm Over Asia provides yet another lament for the advent of sound, as so many films from the late 1920s exhibited a myriad of great directors perfecting the artform, before sound tore it all down, forcing them to start all over again, ensuring a film like Storm Over Asia would never be able to be made, the way it was so wonderfully made, ever again.{Grade: 8.5/10 (B+) / #4 (of 13) of 1928}

Mongolia always had a certain appeal to me. If China and Russia were to have a baby, it would look like Mongolia. It's such an intriguing and beautiful looking place, with a nice and long culture, that we all yet know so little about. It always has served as a great backdrop for movies.The movie also focuses a lot on the Mongalian cultures, which also definitely makes this one of the least propaganda filled Russian movies of its period. because most movies were financed- and needed to be approved by the Communist party, who would of course often were making certain demands. I don't know what was the story behind this movie but my guess is it was pretty much the same.The backdrop and cultural themes within this movie make sure that it is a beautiful shot one to watch, with of course also some typical Russian fast editing, especially during the action sequences.And the movie does have some good action in it, although the movie is not halve as epic or action filled as its title would suggest, though in the end the movie still starts to show some epic properties, although this is mostly serves a purpose for the movie its symbolism. The ending is by the way quite solid and a rather unforgettable one. In essence the movie for some reason more reminded me of "Lawrence of Arabia", that was also more political and well layered, with different themes and culture-clashes in it, just as this movie is. Also both stories show definitely some similarities. I especially loved the political games within this movie, toward the ending. "Potomok Chingis-Khana" has really got a solid story!The movie was very well cast. All of the actors seemed to fill the roles right and strongly and had the right required looks for it, which was perhaps the most important aspect in '20's silent-movie casting.A great watch, also for especially those who like Russian cinema from the '20's but were never fond of the Comministic aspects and themes in it.9/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

(Note: this is a "review" of the Kino International VHS version, which runs 128m and has a new score by the Olympia Chamber Orchestra.)Unlike "October 1917" or "The Battleship Potemkin", which are about revolutions in European Russia, "Storm Over Asia" concerns itself with the British occupation of Southeastern Siberia and Northern Tibet during the Russian Civil War (1917-22.) The plot is one of mistaken identity: a simple Mongolian hunter is mistakenly found to be the direct decendant of Jengis Khan by the British occupiers, and groomed to become their puppet king of Siberia. What I find interesting is that, while the protagonist becomes a member of a Bolshevik cadre fighting the British, he does not become a flaming Leninist. He fights the British because they cheated him in a crucial business transaction; i.e. selling a very valuable pelt for food money. The ideas of dynastic succesion, Buddhist reincarnation, fur monopolies, and the British running the Far East are skewered brilliantly just by the visuals of each, especially the scene where the occupying general visits the Lama. What I really liked was the new sound track, which uses Tibetan instruments, sound effects, an a driving music score effectively, especally at the end.