Vlad, l'impalatore

The movie "Vlad Țepeș" presents us the life and deeds of Vlad the Impaler during his reign, the challenges he faces and the sheer determination he had to overcome them.

The acting, costumes and scenery are all top, as well as the historicity of the actions in the movie, but the real thing that makes the movie special is Vlad and his deeds, it's more than a life lesson, it's a new moral understanding that he left his people as a legacy, that things can be different, that evil can be defeated, and by not only opposing but actually fighting the typical human weaknesses and wickedness, he managed to stay in the collective memory of his people and foes, thus becoming an immortal, and the personification both cruelty and righteousness and that the human spirit can indeed cleanse itself and get closer to perfection and justice by deeds rather than words.

This movie should be an inspiration for all humanity, willpower overcomes evilness and weakness, and sets us free.

To speak about Vlad Țepeș is always a risk. Too many masks. The hero, the demon, the myth, the vampire, the character of historiography and the silhouette of Bram Stoker. The leader from chronicles and the model for Russian czars. A story without frontiers and rules. And, for the circle be full, the Communist vision about past, part of an absurd ideology. So, Procust bed. And, in this case, a good result. A story about courage and justice, patriotic values and crumbs of Medieval facts, politically correct and not very far from facts. A sage interpretation of a period with small extravagant sparkles. Ștefan Sileanu at perfect place, in struggle to create an interesting character, Ernest Maftei in same eternal role and director under PCR pressure. Today, an ironic remark is obligatory. But the 80 years was not a comfortable decade in Romania. In this case, like more others, a gentle smile is enough. And search to discover the dust of that period in its movies.

Seen this movie recently, didn't even heard about it and I was very excited to find it one the internet. And it's good. Finally, a film about Vlad the impaler, directly and strictly about him. No, vampires, no fangs, no sexy euro accents, no capes, no Van Helsing... thank Jebus. This is an historical film about Tepes and it's pretty enjoyable. If you got chance to see this film, don't miss it. Movies about Vlad the impaler are pretty rare, I saw Dark Prince (2000) with Rudolph Martin, the movie wasn't that bad, but... they just couldn't resist to put supernatural element in the film. In Vlad (1980), there's nothing supernatural, and that makes this movie excellent. I am not from Romania, and I have read many historical facts about Vlad Tepes, I really don't know how this film accurate is, but no matter, most of things are accurate and it's because it was filmed in Romania and it is a Romanian film, and who else knows better about Vlad than Romanians themselves? And it's in Romanian language, for which I was grateful, finally yo hear Dracula speaking in his native language. Actor who plays Vlad Stefan Sileanu is brilliant, with his powerful stare and rasping voice, he is the face of true evil and also true savior of his people. Watch this film, you'll love it.

The communistic states used historical films to make propaganda on their policy, as well as to promote national pride. Romania was not an exception and this film is one of the most interesting of its kind.

It presents the true story of Romania's national hero, prince Vlad Tepes of Vlachia, a man who tried to reform his country and resist the Ottoman invasions, using every way available, no matter how cruel, in order to succeed. The idea is that the cause justifies the means and for this, Vlad Tepes was a perfect example.

Having cinema treating their national hero as a monster since 1922, the Romanians have every right to present him as a cruel BUT great leader, which he practically was. There have been other films about this topic but no other has approached so much the historical truth as this one.

Worth the trouble of watching if you don't hate history.

An impressive movie (considering its age, the political context, and the fact that the Romanian film industry is definitely not Hollywood, in terms of budget), and a well deserved tribute to an interesting historical figure, who was very badly mistreated for centuries. People usually remind only Dracula's cruelty, forgetting his incredible courage and cleverness in fighting for the freedom of his country and of Europe against the overwhelming power of the Ottoman Sultan (who killed many more people than Dracula did). The life of Vlad III is narrated in a quite bare biopic style, strictly focused on the Voivod as a warrior and a political leader, with the obvious intent to celebrate a national hero under the sponsoring of the PCR regime, but the story and the dialogues are good enough to make the film interesting and entertaining, not a mere propaganda, though it's a pity that Dracula's well known interest for alchemy and science, as well as his vast culture (he spoke several languages fluently), aren't mentioned. The best thing are the performances of the actors: on top, the excellent Stefan Sileanu, who's very convincing and charismatic in the role of Dracula and has got the perfect rude charm required for the character. The medieval age is portrayed well enough and there's a decent attempt of insight into Vlad's character: a very brave warrior and smart leader, living in a dark age, who is cruel out of necessity (and not without some moral doubts) in order to save his small country from a Turkish invasion and from his own greedy and unfaithful boyars, who have led Valachia to poverty and corruption. The script underlines Vlad's devotion to his land and somehow also his "rebel hero" side: he's not afraid to break rules and traditions, even to defy the Church, and to raise his head and fight against the arrogance of the Ottoman enemies. Still the best movie about the real Dracula.