Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula
Original title Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula
Country of production USA , Romania
original language English
Publishing year 2000
length 88 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Joe Chappelle
script Thomas Baum
production Avram chaplain
music Frankie Blue
camera Dermott Downs
cut Joe Rabig
occupation
synchronization

Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (Alternative title: Prince of Darkness - The True Story of Dracula ) is an American drama from 2000 . Directed by Joe Chappelle and written by Thomas Baum . The German dubbing was done by the dubbing company Johannisthal Synchron GmbH, Berlin.

action

In the middle of the 15th century, the Ottomans oppressed the Balkans as a rising hegemonic power. They are trying to get the Balkan countries under their influence and to extort tribute payments from them . Vlad II , the prince of the Walachai, is militarily too weak to repel them, but also has too little money to pay the high tributes demanded by the Turks to the Sultan. Since he is in arrears, the Turks take his two sons Vlad and Radu away from him and kidnap them as hostages to Turkey, where they grow up at the Sultan's court and receive an oriental education.

While the young Vlad is reluctant and rebellious, the even younger Radu adapts to the Turks and develops into their model pupil. While Radu discovers the foreign culture with curiosity and friendly interest, Vlad primarily perceives the sultan's power, emanating from draconian and cruel punishments. When Vlad grew up, the sultan wanted to send him to Romania as a negotiator to represent Turkish interests to negotiate with the Romanian nobility. However, the Romanian nobility, who have their own private interests in mind more than the interests of Romania, and who collaborate with the Turks, have intrigued against the Romanian king for a long time. Vlad's father was eventually assassinated. Vlad suspected that the murder was the result of a rope team and a conspiracy of the nobility. Vlad is therefore not riding to the Romanian nobility as ordered by the Sultan, but to the King of Hungary, who wants to curb the Turkish influence in the Balkans and who views the collaboration of the Romanian nobility with the Turks with concern. Vlad asks the Hungarian king to support Vlad's claim to his father's orphaned Thon. Hungary grants Vlad the requested support (the money that Vlad receives from the Hungarian king to set up a force comes partly from the Pope).

Vlad succeeds in ascending the throne with the help of his mercenaries and curbing the power of the nobility, which is hated by the people. Vlad is popular with the common people not only because he curbs the privileges and the arbitrariness and despotism of the nobility, but also because he has the extreme harshness and cruelty that spread fear and horror among collaborators and criminals (the deterrent effect he had as a young man in captivity observed among the Turks) against crime in general and against collaborators and negligent and corrupt public servants in particular. In doing so, he makes use of the (painfully slow, like crucifixion), the deterrent execution method of “staling”. The rumor soon arises among the simple, uneducated people (whoever spreads it) that they mix the blood of those executed in this way in his red wine and drink it.

The powerful Eastern Roman Orthodox clergy are suspicious and hostile towards Vlad. He fears that Vlad, who came to power in Romania with the help of money from the Pope and money from the (Catholic) Hungarian King, might be too influenced by the Western Roman Catholic Church. The Eastern Roman Orthodox Church, however, fears the Western Roman Catholic Church much more than the Islamic Turkish sultan, who at that time did not force any Christians living outside his realm to convert to Islam. For a while, Vlad succeeded in militarily rejecting the sultan's demands for tribute, while at the same time breaking the power of the largely parasitic nobility, as well as of fraudsters and thieves and other criminals. In the long run, however, small Romania cannot cope militarily with the threatening Turkey that is becoming ever larger and more powerful. In addition, the Turks assimilated Vlad's brother Radu, who proves to be a knowledgeable and intelligent general of the Turks. In addition, Vlad could not completely eliminate the nobility collaborating with the Turks. Vlad's own father-in-law belongs to these treasonous aristocratic circles. Out of consideration for his wife, who does not understand and disapproves of Vlad's draconian punishments (and is desperate about it and loses his mind more and more), Vlad does not take action against his father-in-law, although he accuses him of deserting and treason. In addition, Vlad underestimates the power of the Eastern Roman Orthodox clergy, which also intrigues against Vlad.

Vlad's opponents try to cut him off from Hungary and to help the Turks invade Romania. Finally, Vlad loses the war against the Turks, is captured by his united enemies (nobility, clergy, Turks) due to a ruse by the clergy and dies at the sword of his brother Radu, who leads the Turkish troops. However, just prior to his father's murder, the Eastern Roman Orthodox clergy, who had already murdered his father, cursed Vlad in a manner that resulted in the cursed ghost of Vlad seeking vengeance and haunting the traitorous clergy leader and bringing him to death can. In the end, the curse is turned against whoever pronounced it. At the end of the film it is pointed out that in Romania, which has suffered almost constantly from arbitrariness and despotism and corruption and crime for centuries since the Middle Ages, many people have repeatedly wished for Dracula's “return”.

Reviews

Ryan Cracknell wrote in the Apollo Movie Guide that the film is somewhere between truth and fiction. The representations " failed "; however, the film brings new spirit to the old myth.

The lexicon of international films wrote that the film was an " undemanding low-budget television film " and clearly showed " only the bloodthirstiness of the" stake " ". He leaves the “ historical and political circumstances of the three decades described ” “ largely in the dark ”. " The less stringent plot, the unprofessional realization and the bad synchronization " would make the viewer's interest wane.

background

Steven A. Saltzman was nominated for the 2001 Golden Reel Award for editing music .

The film was shot in Bucharest . In Russia and Finland it has been released on video and DVD, respectively.

Rudolf Martin also played in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Dracula in episode 1 of the 5th season (Buffy vs. Dracula)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , November 2013 (PDF; test number: 142 206 V).
  2. ↑ Prince of Darkness - The True Story of Dracula German synchronous card index . Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  3. ↑ Ryan Cracknell: Film Review "Dracula: The Dark Prince". apolloguide.com, archived from the original on February 11, 2008 ; Retrieved July 1, 2013 (in English).
  4. ↑ Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used , accessed February 18, 2008
  5. ↑ Filming locations for Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula, accessed February 18, 2008
  6. ↑ Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula premiere dates, accessed February 18, 2008