Dark prince

I happened to catch this on USA network Tuesday night, the supposed "true" story of the real man of history's mystery called Vlad Dracula, Prince of Wallachia, b.1431, d.1476. Seeing the trailers for it, I knew it would be a feature film and I expected the story to be dramatized, Hollywood style, owing that most of the known history surrounding Dracula is complicated by political intrigues the likes of none Shakespeare could ever have dreamed, but butchery is indeed butchery (pun intended).

Although the film is delightful in gothic romantic ways, it is hardly the "true" story. Even if one were to ignore the ludicrous ending, the film is more than well supplied with historic inaccuracies, I suppose in a blundering attempt to interpret into reasonable terms the demented practices of the man known in his day as "Vlad Tepes," or, "Vlad the Impaler."

"Dark Prince" is wonderfully filmed, and a deft performance by Rudolf Martin (of ABC's "All My Children" fame) as our prince renders a raw sexuality. Written by Tom Baum in a seamless syle that captures the mind (it employs one of my own favorite plot devices, flashback during present inquiry) and expertly directed by Joe Chapelle, "Dark Prince" delivers in the fantasy department but almost wholly ignores the high, volatile intrigues of fifteenth-century Eastern Europe in the wild lands known as Transylvania. Caught between Hapsburg imperialism, Hungarian Christianity, Russian orthodoxy and Ottoman Islamic forces, these violent influences created and without doubt dictated the attitude and actions of Dracula of Wallachia, but the astounding military genius of the prince was merely implied in the film focusing more on the unlucky love of Prince Vlad's first wife, who purportedly plunged herself from the parapet of Dracula's castle in to the river below. Today, the river is still called "Arges" (pronounced "Ar-jesh"), which means "Princess River" in the Romanian tongue. Most disappointing was the complete absence of Dracula's older brother, Mircea, and a complete sugar-coating over the circumstances of Dracula's, and his younger brother Radu's, Turkish imprisonment while both were still children. The portrayal of Dracula's death unfortunately flattered the weak and simpering brother, Radu the Handsome, the worst of the film's many inaccuracies, and the supernatural ending ruins rather than redeems.

This is likely a "great film" for those who are seeking only entertainment and have never encountered the obscure written history regarding this notorious Plague-era ruler, but for those familiar with the historic Dracula, this film is nothing short of lampoonery of one of the most terrifying figures in history.

The Harrow's Copyright Information and Disclaimer.