Les Guerriers

Unlike many Hollywood movies of the same period (Cleopatra, Ben-Hur, Fall of the Roman Empire, etc) this one is almost perfect in the historical accuracy sence. They used the latest archeological data available at the time (Trajan's column) to show Roman legions in their glory. Cinematography is great. I've heard they used something like 5,000 extras to create battle scenes. Unlike its sequel (Collona), this movie is a masterpiece for everyone who likes cinema and ancient history. I think that if it would be released in the USA it would be nominated for Oscar. Its a shame that this video is hard to find and is not available in major stores.

"The Dacians" (Dacii) follows a very decent plot for a sword-and-sandal genre. Roman legions invade Dacia ready to become "The Masters of the World." But this Roman world is not united, but filled with intrigues and back stabbing among the Emperor and the general. "Sufro," (I suffer it) proclaims the Emperor while hiding his satisfaction. On the Dacian side, patriotism (300 Spartans style) fills their souls. "Why the Dacian smile when they die?" asks the Roman commander.

The photography of the Romanian country side and the Roman Legions on the march is excellent. The soundtrack is superb when the Roman legions are advancing. To add to the spectacle 5,000 extras fill the landscape.

Thanks to a Web site that sells Romanian movies in the NTSC format, I could watch this little jewel again. The follow up ("Column" or "The Trajan Column")seems to be unavailable.

Attractive Romanian film (actually a Romanian-French co production filmed in Romania) belonging to the swords and sandals genre and telling the story of how the Dacians confronted and resisted the Roman Empire at around 100 AD. Great action scenes, attractive outdoor locations (in pastoral like locations) are a plus. This was made in 1967, when many films of this sort were made in the West (the so called Peplum, including Spartacus, Cleopatra and countless Italian movies), yet this particular film seems to be little known outside Romania. It is a well made, entertaining film with fine color photography. Since the Dacians are believed to be the ancestors of the Romanians, I suppose part of the purpose of the film was to raise nationalist consciousness, but this is thankfully not too heavy.

Nicolaecu's movie is one of the greatest Romanian films ever made. The leading role of the king belongs to Amza Pellea, who wonderfully combines the force of the ancestors and the art of giving life to such a character.

The genuine landscapes bring the viewer into a prodigious world of mystery and ancient beliefs which are now violently invaded by the roman conquerors. The co-production benefits not only from the performance of the actors, the settings or the daring achievement in directing of Nicolaescu, but also from the unique, yet true story.

This is what i call a good movie, but this is the comment of a novice in matters of movie critics. For those who enjoy spending precious time on movies, this is worth watching.

The newspaper "Adevarul" (the Truth) releases on DVD the "Historical" series of movies made by Sergiu Nicolaescu in the '60s, '70s and '80s. This contains the movies "Dacii" (the dacians), "Mircea", "Mihai Viteazul", "Nemuritorii" (the Imortals), "Capcana mercenarilor" (the mercenaries' trap), "Pentru patrie" (for the country). They are restored from film rolls from the National Film Archive (or national television archive), but quality is limited to VHS resolution. Given the film and audio technology level in 1967 the soundtrack is mono with subtitles in English and french. Colors are restored, but some scratches are visible throughout the movie, given its 41 years of age. Visual or audio effects were no concern for Nicolaescu, since its movies are based on historical facts transcending time and people. Fight scenes are real, using 5000 plus extras synchronized and filmed with multiple cameras, since no more than two takes were possible in one day at that scale. I don't know if the movies will be available outside the country, since are distributed only with the paper. http://www.filmeleadevarul.ro/istorice/category/filme/dacii/