TigersLair

Over 2 hours of big fat and boring historical lies. Imagine "300" reversed with the Persian invaders portrayed as the heroes and the Spartans as the ugly villains. Dracula (played by a Turkish actor of course), looks like a bad parody of the Joker from Batman, grimacing and grinning all the time in an extremely irritating way. Interesting to note though, that someone in Turkey feels the need to sully Vlad's figure even after centuries.

This Japanese/French coproduction, released after the manga but before the anime, is hands down, one the WORST movies ever made. To say the it su**s is a compliment: even one star is too much! For the fans of the manga and the anime it's literally insulting in every aspect, a bad parody that takes itself way too seriously. Maccoll was a "scream queen" in some italian Lucio Fulci's horror movies an she definitely should've kept doing that: here she thinks she's a real actress and it's our turn as spectators to scream horrified... plus she doesn't resemble even vaguely the stunningly beautiful warrior goddess portrayed by Riyoko Ikeda (in the manga) and Shingo Araki (in the anime) as she's way too fat and too short for the role, so much that she needs help to mount on her horse every time! Her uniform is poor and ridiculous and the blonde wig makes the ensemble even more laughable: it looks like a very cheap cosplay, rather than a costume of an international movie! Demy is an incapable director and as a a scriptwriter is ten times worse: the whole story is just a flat political apology focused on the contrast between nobles and poor people, with no insight into the characters. They all look like a bunch of brainless idiots: Oscar seems a pathetic, frustrated housewife, accidentally dropped into the uniform, more than a revolutionary heroine. The cast is as incapable as the director: the only one who at least tries to make a decent work is Barry Stokes, playing André, but the script doesn't help him at all. Even Michel Legrand, who is usually a not bad composer and has some experience with this genre, this time fails with a boring soundtrack that has no possible way to compete with the beautiful anime's one.

Not as interesting as the original Figueroa's novel, but a well done and entertaining movie anyway, with a beautiful photography by Vittorio Storaro, a nice soundtrack, and an all-star cast. Peter Ustinov is impressive in the role of the slave trader Suleiman, Kabir Bedi is perfect and intense as the lone warrior Malik, Beverly Johnson is very beautiful and acts decently (considering that she is a model, not an actress), and Michael Caine does his job even though with not much enthusiasm. He said that this was his worst movie and he did it only for the money: he probably forgot "The Swarm" or "Jaws 4: the Revenge" (where he courted Captain Brody's widow, chased by a vindictive shark... with said shark roaring out of the water multiple times in the final sequence...), not to mention "Austin Powers Goldmember"... Maybe Caine was envious because in "Ashanti" he had to share the scene with much sexier actors like Kabir Bedi and Omar Sharif... It's true anyway that a more profound approach to the slavery theme, and a bit more insight into the main characters would have helped the story, but the main goal of the movie is obviously to entertain, therefore the potential of the talented cast looks a bit wasted: Rex Harrison and William Holden only make small appearances, nothing memorable, Bedi and Sharif would have both deserved more space and even Caine looks a bit confined in his character; only Ustinov has room and lines enough to express his talent an he really rules the story. Also the supporting actors are all good and right for their roles.

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.