Mihai Viteazul (film)
Encyclopedia
Michael the Brave is a Romanian historic film, created by the film director Sergiu Nicolaescu
. The film is a representation of the life of the Wallachia
n ruler Mihai Viteazu, and his will to unite the three Romanian principalities
(Wallachia
, Moldavia
, and Transylvania
) in one country. The film was released in 1970 in Romania, and worldwide by Columbia Pictures
as The Last Crusade.
in the lead role, while the cast included a number of the best Romanian actors at the time, including Sergiu Nicolaescu
, Ion Besoiu
, Olga Tudorache, Florin Piersic
, Ilarion Ciobanu
, Silviu Stănculescu, and Mircea Albulescu
.
The film had initially been intended to be an American-Romanian superproduction, with Columbia Pictures
proposing actors such as Charlton Heston
, Orson Welles
, Laurence Harvey
, Elizabeth Taylor
, Richard Burton
, or Kirk Douglas
. But at Nicolae Ceauşescu
's intent, the production was approved only with Romanian actors.
The story, recognized for its historical accuracy, is full of grand battle scenes, political plots, betrayals and family drama. To reenact the battles that Mihai Viteazul fought against the Turks, some 5,000 soldiers of the Romanian army were brought to the set. Some reports put this number around 10,000 soldiers. The film has two parts and was shot in several locations, such as Istanbul
, Prague
and Calugareni
, but also the Danube
, the Black Sea
, Alba Iulia
, Carpathian Mountains
, Bucharest
, Sibiu
, Sinaia
, and Miraslau.
The budget at the time was around 14 million lei
, which in 2010 was estimated to be worth to be around 500,000 dollars, a relatively high sum for its period.
, under the name The Last Crusade. The film debuted outside of Romania in July 1971 at the Moscow International Film Festival
and in East Germany, and in March 1972 in Finland
, in June 1972 in West Germany
and in April 1973 in Japan
.
In 2000, the soundtrack of the film was redone in Dolby Surround
. It is estimated that the film will be re-released in Blu-Ray format sometime in 2010.
in 1972, but was not accepted as a nominee. At the Moscow International Film Festival in 1971, it won a Golden Award, but lost to Bilyy ptakh z chornoyu vidznakoyu (The White Bird Marked with Black). Nevertheless, it won at the Beaume Historic Film Festival in 1974, ahead of El Cid
.
With a rating on 8.3 on Internet Movie Database
, it is rated as the twentieth best historic film of all time. It is considered 18th in the biography category, 40th in the war category, 34th in the action category,. The director himself, Sergiu Nicolaescu, declared that he was impressed by the rating especially as it is an American website and the film was released four decades before.
Sergiu Nicolaescu
Sergiu Florin Nicolaescu is a Romanian film director, actor and politician. He is best known for his historical films, such as Mihai Viteazul , Dacii , Razboiul Independenţei , as well as for his series of...
. The film is a representation of the life of the Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
n ruler Mihai Viteazu, and his will to unite the three Romanian principalities
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
(Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
, Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
, and Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
) in one country. The film was released in 1970 in Romania, and worldwide by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
as The Last Crusade.
Cast
- Amza PelleaAmza PelleaAmza Pellea was one of the most important Romanian actors, being remarked both for his theatre and his film acting.Born in Băileşti, in Oltenia, he attended the Carol I High School...
... Mihai Viteazul - Ion BesoiuIon BesoiuIon Besoiu is a Romanian actor.He appeared in some of the most important Romanian films from the Communist period: "Furtuna", "Neamul Şoimăreştilor", "Haiducii", "Răscoala", "Mihai Viteazul", "Ciprian Porumbescu", "Păcală", "Ion, blestemul pământului, blestemul iubirii", "Ultima noapte de...
... Sigismund Báthory - Olga Tudorache ... Mama lui Mihai Viteazul
- Irina Gardescu ... Contessina Rossana Viventini
- György Kovács ... Andrei Báthory
- Sergiu NicolaescuSergiu NicolaescuSergiu Florin Nicolaescu is a Romanian film director, actor and politician. He is best known for his historical films, such as Mihai Viteazul , Dacii , Razboiul Independenţei , as well as for his series of...
... Selim Pasa - Nicolae SecăreanuNicolae SecăreanuNicolae Secăreanu was a well-known Romanian opera singer and actor.- Filmography :* The Lovers' Forest * Forest of the Hanged * Răscoala * Faust XX * The Dacians...
... Sinan Pasa - Ilarion CiobanuIlarion CiobanuIlarion Ciobanu was a Romanian actor. He has been described as "a legend" in the press.-External links:...
... Stroe Buzescu - Aurel Rogalschi ... Rudolf II
- Ioana BulcăIoana BulcăIoana Bulcă is a Romanian film actress. She appeared in 20 films between 1955 and 2007.-Selected filmography:* The Mill of Good Luck * A Woman for a Season * Mihai Viteazul...
... Doamna Stanca - Septimiu Sever ... Radu Buzescu
- Florin PiersicFlorin Piersic-Biography:His family left Cluj when it was ceded to Hungary in 1940, and moved to Cernăuţi after the city's occupation by Romania the following year. There, his father was appointed to the role of chief municipal veterinary. Later they returned home, and Florin graduated from the High School for...
... Preda Buzescu - Klára Sebök ... Maria Cristina de Graz
- Mircea AlbulescuMircea AlbulescuMircea Albulescu is a Romanian actor, university professor , journalist, poet, writer of prose, member of the Writers' Union of Romania . He was born as Iorgu Constantin V. Albulescu, in Bucharest, on October 4, 1934...
... Popa Stoica - Emmerich Schäffer ... Generalul Basta
- Colea RăutuColea RautuColea Răutu was a Romanian actor, born in Bălţi . He participated in more than fifty movies and TV series, among other the western film Apachen, the Romanian TV series Toate pînzele sus, and the prize-winning film Răscoala.- Selected filmography :* La 'Moara cu noroc Nominated for the "Golden...
... Sultan Murat III - Constantin Codrescu... Alexandru The Evil One
- Alexandru Herescu ... Ionică
- Corneliu Gârbea ... General Baba Novac
- Alexandru Repan ... Earl Viventini
- Jean Florin Georgescu. Archduke Maximilian
Production
The film was produced in 1970 after a script by Titus Popovici. It starred Amza PelleaAmza Pellea
Amza Pellea was one of the most important Romanian actors, being remarked both for his theatre and his film acting.Born in Băileşti, in Oltenia, he attended the Carol I High School...
in the lead role, while the cast included a number of the best Romanian actors at the time, including Sergiu Nicolaescu
Sergiu Nicolaescu
Sergiu Florin Nicolaescu is a Romanian film director, actor and politician. He is best known for his historical films, such as Mihai Viteazul , Dacii , Razboiul Independenţei , as well as for his series of...
, Ion Besoiu
Ion Besoiu
Ion Besoiu is a Romanian actor.He appeared in some of the most important Romanian films from the Communist period: "Furtuna", "Neamul Şoimăreştilor", "Haiducii", "Răscoala", "Mihai Viteazul", "Ciprian Porumbescu", "Păcală", "Ion, blestemul pământului, blestemul iubirii", "Ultima noapte de...
, Olga Tudorache, Florin Piersic
Florin Piersic
-Biography:His family left Cluj when it was ceded to Hungary in 1940, and moved to Cernăuţi after the city's occupation by Romania the following year. There, his father was appointed to the role of chief municipal veterinary. Later they returned home, and Florin graduated from the High School for...
, Ilarion Ciobanu
Ilarion Ciobanu
Ilarion Ciobanu was a Romanian actor. He has been described as "a legend" in the press.-External links:...
, Silviu Stănculescu, and Mircea Albulescu
Mircea Albulescu
Mircea Albulescu is a Romanian actor, university professor , journalist, poet, writer of prose, member of the Writers' Union of Romania . He was born as Iorgu Constantin V. Albulescu, in Bucharest, on October 4, 1934...
.
The film had initially been intended to be an American-Romanian superproduction, with Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
proposing actors such as Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
, Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey was a Lithuanian-born actor who achieved fame in British and American films.- Early life :Harvey maintained throughout his life that his birth name was Laruschka Mischa Skikne. However, his legal name was Zvi Mosheh Skikne. He was the youngest of three boys born to Ber "Boris" and...
, Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, or Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
. But at Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
's intent, the production was approved only with Romanian actors.
The story, recognized for its historical accuracy, is full of grand battle scenes, political plots, betrayals and family drama. To reenact the battles that Mihai Viteazul fought against the Turks, some 5,000 soldiers of the Romanian army were brought to the set. Some reports put this number around 10,000 soldiers. The film has two parts and was shot in several locations, such as Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and Calugareni
Calugareni
Călugăreni may refer to several places in Romania:* Călugăreni, a commune in Giurgiu County* Călugăreni, a commune in Prahova County* Călugăreni, a village in Dămieneşti Commune, Arad County* Călugăreni, a village in Felnac Commune, Bacău County...
, but also the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
, Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia
Alba Iulia is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,747, located on the Mureş River. Since the High Middle Ages, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania...
, Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
, Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Sibiu
Sibiu
Sibiu is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of 154,548. Located some 282 km north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt...
, Sinaia
Sinaia
Sinaia is a town and a mountain resort in Prahova County, Romania. The town was named after Sinaia Monastery, around which it was built; the monastery in turn is named after the Biblical Mount Sinai...
, and Miraslau.
The budget at the time was around 14 million lei
Romanian leu
The leu is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 bani . The name of the currency means "lion". On 1 July 2005, Romania underwent a currency reform, switching from the previous leu to a new leu . 1 RON is equal to 10,000 ROL...
, which in 2010 was estimated to be worth to be around 500,000 dollars, a relatively high sum for its period.
Release
The film was released in Romania in 1970 and ran in the cinemas for several years. Worldwide, it was distributed by Columbia PicturesColumbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
, under the name The Last Crusade. The film debuted outside of Romania in July 1971 at the Moscow International Film Festival
Moscow International Film Festival
Moscow International Film Festival , is the film festival first held in Moscow in 1959. From its inception to 1995 it was held every second year in July, alternating with the Karlovy Vary festival. The festival has been held annually since 1995....
and in East Germany, and in March 1972 in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, in June 1972 in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and in April 1973 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
In 2000, the soundtrack of the film was redone in Dolby Surround
Dolby Surround
Dolby Surround was the earliest consumer version of Dolby's multichannel analog film sound decoding format Dolby Stereo introduced to the public in 1982 during the time home video recording formats were introducing Stereo and HiFi capability...
. It is estimated that the film will be re-released in Blu-Ray format sometime in 2010.
Reception
The film is the most viewed Romanian film worldwide. It was Romania's entry for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language FilmAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
in 1972, but was not accepted as a nominee. At the Moscow International Film Festival in 1971, it won a Golden Award, but lost to Bilyy ptakh z chornoyu vidznakoyu (The White Bird Marked with Black). Nevertheless, it won at the Beaume Historic Film Festival in 1974, ahead of El Cid
El Cid (film)
El Cid is a historical epic film, a romanticized story of the life of the Christian Castilian knight Don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called "El Cid" who in the 11th century fought the North African Almoravides and ultimately contributed to the unification of Spain.Made by Samuel Bronston Productions in...
.
With a rating on 8.3 on Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
, it is rated as the twentieth best historic film of all time. It is considered 18th in the biography category, 40th in the war category, 34th in the action category,. The director himself, Sergiu Nicolaescu, declared that he was impressed by the rating especially as it is an American website and the film was released four decades before.
See also
- List of submissions to the 44th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Romanian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
External links
- http://wondersinthedark.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/mihai-viteazul-no-49/