Marco Polo (1982 TV series)

Marco Polo
Poster of Marco Polo
Genre	Drama, History
Written by	David Butler Vincenzo Labella Giuliano Montaldo
Directed by	Giuliano Montaldo
Starring	Kenneth Marshall Denholm Elliott Tony Vogel F. Murray Abraham Anne Bancroft John Gielgud John Houseman Burt Lancaster Tony Lo Bianco Ian McShane Leonard Nimoy David Warner James Hong Ying Ruocheng
Composer	Ennio Morricone
Country of origin	United States Italy
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	8[contradictory]
Production
Executive producers	Giovanni Bertolucci Franco Cristaldi Vincenzo Labella
Producer	Vincenzo Labella
Production locations	China Italy Mongolia Morocco
Cinematography	Pasqualino De Santis
Editor	John A. Martinelli
Running time	545 min.
Production company	Vides Cinematografica RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana National Broadcasting Company (NBC) Procter & Gamble Productions (PGP) Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS)
Original release
Network	NBC RAI
Release	May 16 (1982-05-16) – May 19, 1982 (1982-05-19)
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Marco Polo is a 1982 American-Italian television miniseries originally broadcast by NBC in the United States and by RAI in Italy. It stars Kenneth Marshall as Marco Polo, the 13th-century Venetian merchant and explorer. The series also features appearances by Denholm Elliott, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Burt Lancaster, Ian McShane, Leonard Nimoy, and others. It was originally broadcast in four episodes,^{[contradictory]} where episodes 1 and 4 were twice as long as episodes 2 and 3. The series is sometimes divided into six equally long episodes.^{[contradictory]}

Set in the 13th century, the series follows the adventures of Marco Polo, who departs with his father and his uncle to China. His journey through Asia lasts three and a half years and leads him through barren deserts and vast steppes. Marco spends several years in Beijing as a guest of the Great Khan, earning the trust of and respect from the Emperor.