Rise of the Raven

I've only seen the first three episodes so far.

The film series is an attempt to show the struggle of a people against a conquering enemy.

The period when the Turkish Empire tried to conquer the Kingdom of Hungary.

The action takes place from the late 1420s to 1456, when a Hungarian nobleman, János Hunyadi, takes up arms against the Turkish armies besieging the southern border of the country.

He defends not only his own land but the whole country at a time when the country is in turmoil.

The film follows the life of this man.

I am not a film expert, I cannot tell you about the direction, lighting, cinematography, etc.

But I would recommend it to anyone who loves history and wants to learn about the medieval history of Central Europe, and especially of Hungary.

What makes the film special is that the characters in the series speak in their own anglophone languages, Hungarian, Serbian, Turkish, German, etc., giving a sense of the multilingual world that characterised this part of Europe at the time.

It was a pleasure watching this series. Not only the story (since I like this historical age), but the actors are very talented. I would emphasise the main character's (Hunyadi János) professionality, but the character of King Ulászló and Cillei Ulrik is amazing also. It's a pity that King Ulászló died so early. His playing is unforgettable, while he is acting one time the young gentleman knight king and then a heroic emperor. Fantastic!

The landscapes are professional also. I'm looking forward to watching the remaining episodes. Well done for everybody, who took part of filming of this series!

A roughly historically accurate series from the 15th century Hungary with monumental battle scenes and traditional male image. During the Osman-Turkish invasion of the Balkan, the vaivode of Transylvania, János Hunyadi tries to expel the muslim conquerors from Europe. Although he has Christian enemies as well (the Habsburgs and their vassal, the sly Count, Ulrik Cillei, who is the "Littlefinger" of the series and Vlad "Dracul" Tepes, the orthodox vaivode of Wallachia), he achieves many legendary victories on the Turks and as the elected Governor of Hungary, he becomes the saviour of Christian Europe and the father of the mightiest Hungarian king, Matthias Corvinus. The castle of János Hunyadi is watchable in Transylvania in our days as well: the Vajdahunyad castle is the most beautiful Gothic fortification in Central Europe.

First of all, if you are not familiar with the late medieval history of Central- and Eastern Europe, you should know that it was very complex and diverse, with many nations, factions, religions, full of heroes and battles, intrigue and treason. The most serious threat to this part of the world was the Ottoman Empire, the strongest military power of that time occupying countries, massacring and enslaving whole provinces. So choosing the proper allies (or even betraying them in the right moment) was a question of life or death.

All of these offer a great basis for 'Game of Thrones'-like TV series, but with real historical background.

The Hunyadi (Rise of the Raven) TV series is set into this context.

The title character, John Hunyadi (1407-1456) was a nobleman later becoming the regent of the Hungarian Kingdom. He served two years in the army of the Duke of Milan upon King Sigismund's order, he fought the Hussites and adopted their tactics. All these experiences helped him to build up a well organised army, and gain success against the Ottomans. His ultimate victory was at the siege of Belgrade in 1456, which stopped the Ottomans' western expansion for about 70 years.

One of the greatest pros in this series is using many languages altogether, most of the characters speaking their mother tongue. Which is not just very unique in the whole film industry, but gives a lot of authenticity, and it is highly respectful toward the diverse cultural heritage of Europe.

This TV series is based on a long and quite popular historical novel series, "Hunyadi" by Mór Bán, with 12 already published books and 2 more to come later.

And yes, unfortunately this leads to the downside. The Hunyadi TV series was perfect if one season would just treat one or two books of the novel series. But I suppose there was no chance for that, and they rather put it altogether into a 10-episode-long, single season series. And that's sad, because this leaves not much time to get to know all the characters, or understand the exact political and military situation of those times.

Of course there are fictitious parts in the series, but most of the story line is based on real historical events, most of the characters are based on real historical figures, and there are many small details which are actually historically correct.

This series is not without errors, but the subject and the multi-language approach makes it very unique and a "must-see" to anyone interested in medieval history.

I was pleasantly surprised by this series. It starts strong, then slows down a bit, but by episode 4 it sucks you in and you can't stop watching. What I liked most is the strong emotions it stirs up and that all sides are portrayed as likeable, yet imperfect humans. And of course there are the battle scenes, the executions that seem that you are right there with the characters. A couple of times during the series I thought the film was pure genius, but I don't want to give away the plot. Episode 10 is epic, I watched it many times. Don't miss it! I hope for a sequel. At least now I know why church bells toll at noon from Europe to Latin America to all over the Christian world.