Vlad Tepes

like many films under Comunist regime, it is a tool of propaganda. and this is the rule who defines especially historical films. the past legitimating the present. the hero in heroic aura. the history as a kind of magnificent page of hagiography. two small details impose the difference. first - the theme. it could be an answer to the image of vampire who is so popular in West. and who has an explanation in film. then - the performances. like in many other Romanian films from the same period, saving the film against the not remarkable dialogues or political command.in rest - well known ingredients : the fight scenes, the music, the war between boyars and the leader, the loyal poor men and the Ottoman Empire. but the virtue is the science of Ștefan Sileanu to do a remarkable Vlad Țepeș. to reflect the essence of a not comfortable and too ambiguous character. then,Alexandru Repan as Mahomed II and the fascinating meet between Vlad and the Valachian Metropolit.

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.

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.

Excellent film biography of Vlad Dracula, also called Vlad Tepes (Tse-pesh), or "The Impaler", a nickname bestowed upon this 15th century warrior by enemies - the Turks of the Ottoman Empire - after his favorite method of execution. This is a good, albeit one-sided, biography of the historical Dracula, who is considered a great hero of Romania for defending his home country against excessive and insurmountable odds, which were later proven to be just that. Some of the salient facts are skewed just a bit (you can't make a hero look too much like a monster - which is what both the Turks and the Germans thought him to be), but the story is still great, and is comparable in its way to "Braveheart." Definitely recommended, but difficult to find.

This is one of the many good movies about the great romanian kings who change the history. The action depict the life of the romanian king, Vlad Tepes, known as the Impaler. He was the son of Vlad Dracul, named like this because he was member of the Dragon Order, and the grandson of Mircea the Older. Despite of his great ancestors, Vlad manage to get himself notice, even that his rulership wasn't so long. In one thought, Vlad said "Until now I ruled six years and they gone like only one day. I just wish I had two days, so that in the second day to build something useful for my people, something to be remembered. But still, I manage to build in the soul of my people, and that is a greater achievement." The movie also show the true origin of the mith of Dracula, the vampire. This is an example of how people are so easy to believe bad news, and so reluctant when listen to something good. On the overall, it worth seen the movie, not only for the action, but also for the tenacity shown by Draculea in defending his country against the Ottomans.