''Vlad Țepeș'' is a 1979 Romanian

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film directed by

Doru Năstase Doru Năstase (; 2 February 1933 - 29 April 1983) was a Romanian film director and actor. He was best known for his historical films, such '' No Trespassing'' and ''Vlad the Impaler''. Filmography As Director *1975: '' No Trespassing (Pe aici ...

. The film recounts the story of

Vlad the Impaler Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ro, Vlad Țepeș ) or Vlad Dracula (; ro, Vlad Drăculea ; 1428/311476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most imp ...

(also known as Vlad Dracula), the mid-15th century

Voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

, and his fights with the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

on the battlefield and with the

Boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

s in his court. Commissioned by the Communist authorities, the movie promoted the line that

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...

had drawn through the

July Theses The July Theses ( ro, Tezele din iulie) is a name commonly given to a speech delivered by Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu on July 6, 1971, before the Executive Committee of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR). Its full name was ("Proposed measu ...

of 1971, by projecting the image of a strong, authoritarian leader who is right with the people. It also had the purpose to wash the name of the voivode from the shame caused by

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

's novel. The fabrication of the myth of

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

is highlighted in the film: it was built by outside elements (on the one hand, the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and Szekler merchants from

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a popu ...

, and on the other, the enemies of Wallachia, the Turks), but also by the wicked and traitorous boyars.

Cast

* –

Ernest Maftei Ernest Maftei (; 6 March 1920 – 19 October 2006) was a Romanian film actor. He appeared in more than seventy films from 1953 to 2006. Biography Born in Prăjești, Bacău County, he attended high school in Bacău, and, at age 17, he joined the ...

– ''Străjer'' Mânzila * – ''Armaș'' Stoica * – Boyar Albu *

Alexandru Repan Alexandru Repan (; born 26 February 1940) is a Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variant ...

– Sultan

Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

Constantin Codrescu Constantin Codrescu (; 5 September 1931 – 13 November 2022) was a Romanian actor. He appeared in more than thirty films since 1953. Born in Huși, he was raised in northern Bukovina, but had to move to Bucharest after the region was annexed ...

– Iunus Beg, envoy of the Sultan *

George Constantin George Constantin (; 3 May 1933 – 30 April 1994) was a Romanian actor.

– Metropolite of

Ungro-Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

*Ion Marinescu – Grand Vizier Mahmud Pasha *

Silviu Stănculescu Silviu Stănculescu (; 24 January 1932 – 23 October 1998) was a Romanian actor. He appeared in more than forty films from 1960 to 1998. Born in Timișoara, he graduated in 1956 from the I.L. Caragiale Institute of Theatre and Film Arts (IA ...

– Treasurer Sava * – Boyar Mogoș * –

Michael Szilágyi Michael Szilágyi de Horogszeg ( hu, horogszegi Szilágyi Mihály; c. 1400 – 1460) was a Hungarian general, Regent of Hungary, Count of Beszterce and Head of Szilágyi–Hunyadi Liga. Family He was born in the early 15th century as vice ...

, captain of

Belgrade Fortress The Belgrade Fortress ( sr-Cyrl, Београдска тврђава, Beogradska tvrđava), consists of the old citadel (Upper and Lower Town) and Kalemegdan Park (Large and Little Kalemegdan) on the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, in a ...

* –

Pope Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

* – Boyar Rătundu * – Johannes Reudel, Vicar of

Biserica Neagră The Black Church, Biserica Neagră in Romanian (german: Schwarze Kirche, hu, Fekete templom), stands in the city of Brașov in south-eastern Transylvania, Romania. It was built by the Saxon (German) community of the city and represents the mai ...

, envoy of

*Eugen Ungureanu –

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi ...

, King of Hungary * * – Ottoman dignitary * – Wallachian merchant * –

Stephen the Great Stephen III of Moldavia, most commonly known as Stephen the Great ( ro, Ștefan cel Mare; ; died on 2 July 1504), was Voivode (or Prince) of Moldavia from 1457 to 1504. He was the son of and co-ruler with Bogdan II, who was murdered in 1451 ...

, Prince of Moldavia

References

External links

* 1970s historical drama films 1970s biographical drama films Romanian historical drama films Romanian biographical drama films Films set in the Ottoman Empire Films set in Romania Films set in the 15th century Cultural depictions of Vlad the Impaler 1979 drama films 1979 films {{historic-film-stub