Synopsis
Vlad, the ruler of Wallachia, fights against the Ottoman Empire on the battlefield, as well as against the Hungarian nobles.
Directed by: Doru Năstase
Cast: Ștefan Sileanu, Ernest Maftei, Emanoil Petruț, Teofil Vâlcu, Alexandru Repan, Constantin Codrescu, George Constantin, Constantin Barbulescu, Ion Marinescu, Silviu Stanculescu, Vasile Cosma
Script: Mircea Mohor
Producers: Lidia Popiță
Cinematography by: Aurel Kostrakiewicz
Edited by: Adina Georgescu Obrocea
Sound: ing. Silviu Camil
Muzică: Horia Moculescu
Year: 1979
Category: feature film
Genre: History
Duration: 114 minutes
397,447 – Cinepub viewers
PLOT SUMMARY
In his first reign (1456 – 1462), Vlad the Impaler consolidates his power to defend the independence of the country, which is in a dual subordination: towards the Ottoman Porte and towards the kingdoms of Hungary. Dissatisfied with his policy, the boyars rebel.
Vlad becomes aware of this and resorts to a cruel punishment: impalement. After the first three years of his reign, the results of Vlad the Impaler’s policies bear fruit; the country is cleansed of thieves and traitors, and the people love him. However, by punishing the Turkish envoys who had come for tribute, Vlad arouses the wrath of Mehmed, who sets out to punish the defiant ruler.
AWARDS
- 1979 – ACIN – Prize for costumes
- 1979 – Sitges – Certificate of Merit
CRITICAL REVIEWS
“By dissecting and directorially realizing the proposed literary narrative (…), Doru Nastase resorted in the pre-generic and in other episodes to the well-known experience of certain genre productions characterized by a certain dynamism and a certain plastic relief.” – Valerian Sava – 1979 (Cinema)
TRIVIA
- Five films featuring Vlad Tepes’ fictional counterpart Count Dracula were released in the same year: Nosferatu, fantoma noptii (1979), Love at First Bite (1979), Dracula (1979), Nocturna (1979) and Graf Dracula in Oberbayern (1979).
- In the editing credits, Adina Georgescu is credited as Adina Georgescu-Obrocea.
- The filming took place from July 4th to December 23rd, 1977, in exterior locations in Hunedoara, Brașov (Zărnești Gorges, Râșnov Gorges, Bran Castle, Măgura), Pitești (Govora, Cotmeana), Buftea (studios), Hârșova, Crucea, and Vârtop. Filming resumed from May to August 6th, 1978, in Dobrogea (Crucea), Vârtop, and Ghindărești, Buzău (Cislău).
ARTICLES
- “Vlad Ţepeş” – film chronicle – Valerian Sava – 1979 – aarc.ro
- The film “Vlad Ţepeş” or the authoritarian image of the communist dictator – historia.ro
This premiere is part of a national archive project supported by the Romanian National Film Centre.
Special thanks goes to the Romanian Filmmakers Union and to the Romanian Film Archive.
