New Trailer for 4K Restoration of ‘The Fall of Otrar’ Epic Kazakh Film
by Alex Billington
July 13, 2025
Source: YouTube
“Glory will be yours!” Janus Films has debuted a brand new trailer for the 4K restoration of a lost Kazakh war epic film titled The Fall of Otrar. The story is based on actual history following Genghis Khan and his decisive victory at the city of Otrar around 1219 & 1220. Made by Kazakhstan filmmaker Ardak Amirkulov, the film was completed around 1991 & 1992, but hasn’t been shown many places aside from film festivals. It most recently showed at the 2024 New York Film Festival last year as the 4K restoration. This historical epic charts political intrigue among the Kipchaks, a confederation of tribes on the steppes of central Asia. “One of the most astute historical films ever made, Amirkulov’s staggering epic (co-written by Aleksei German) concerns the intrigues and turmoil preceding Genghis Khan’s systematic destruction of the lost East Asian civilization of Otrar.” Restored by (Martin Scorsese &) The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory. The Fall of Otrar restored in 4K from the original camera & sound negatives. Scanning was performed by ARDFILM in Almaty. Ardak Amirkulov supervised the scanning & approved the final grading of this print. Restoration was completed in 2024 by L’Immagine Ritrovata. Now it’s time to experience this in all of its glory on the big screen at your local art house cinema.
Here’s the full 4K restoration trailer (+ poster) for Ardak Amirkulov’s The Fall of Otrar, from YouTube:
Kazakh New Wave director Ardak Amirkulov’s The Fall of Otrar is a hypnotic epic about one of world history’s crucial military battles. In the early 13th century, Genghis Khan conquered Otrar, a major city in the old Persian kingdom of Khwarazm & gateway to the West. This victory marked the fearsome warrior’s first campaign beyond traditional Mongol territory—and opening salvo to his near complete domination of Central Asia & Eastern Europe. Evoking the dynamic pacing of Akira Kurosawa, and the hallucinatory sensuousness of Tarkovsky (aided by a deft alternation among color, black-and-white, and sepia film stocks), Amirkulov follows the buildup to war through the eyes of Unjukhan (Dokhdurbek Kydyraliyev), an audacious Kipchak soldier who tries to convince Khwarazm’s ruler (Tungyshpai Zhamankulov) of Genghis Khan’s imminent invasion. As a former Mongol scout, Unjukhan well knows Khan’s canniness & brutality, but when his pleas are taken for insolence, he must escape imprisonment to stop an escalating diplomatic crisis and to avert a clash of civilizations. With a panoramic scope that covers all the intimate details of palace intrigue as well as the merciless sweep of battlefield carnage, The Fall of Otrar film is a masterful imagining of the seismic changes of history — and a terrifying, electrifying feast for the senses.
The Fall of Otrar, also known as Отырардың күйреуі in Kazakh, is directed by acclaimed Kazakh producer / filmmaker Ardak Amirkulov – his first feature film at the time. He later went on to directed other films including Abai, Qosh bol, Gülsary!, Khirurg, and The Land Where Winds Stood Still most recently in 2023. The screenplay is by Aleksey German and Svetlana Karmalita. Produced by Aleksey German. This initially premiered in 1992, and it played at the 1999 Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The 4K restoration also played at the 2024 New York Film Festival. Janus Films re-releases The Fall of Otrar in select US theaters (beginning at Film at Lincoln Center in NYC) starting August 1st, 2025. For more release info, visit their official site.
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