Some kind stranger seems to have taken the time to put on YouTube the entirety of the movie Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula, which is a made-for-television movie on Vlad the Imapler. The first part of this film is here, and I advise you to go watch it if you're interested in a change from all the movies on Bram Stoker's version of the character.

It...has its problems, though. Fairly significant ones, at that. For the sake of organization, I'm seperating out my thoughts on it in a few sections.

Easily Avoided Historical Inaccuracies:
- Wallachia, not Romania, damnit.
- Where was Mircea? I understand wanting to simplify the family dynamics (I'm not blaming anyone for cutting out Vlad the Monk, am I?), but the existence of an older brother rather changes things somewhat, I'd say. And I know the screenwriters did research on him, because they give his death by burial alive to Vlad Dracul, so why not put him in, at least for one touching brotherly scene near the beginning.
- The dates on the Turkish captivity are messy. While I suppose the dates aren't exact, it certainly did not begin as late as 1446, and by all means it did not end in 1455. It ended in 1448. He was only seventeen. That's important, the fact that Vlad and Radu were so young there. And, for the sake of all the gods, Mehmed was about Vlad's age! And he was most certainly not sultan at the beginning of their captivity.
- Where did the three seperate reigns go? This movie seems to make the process of ruling Wallachia/Romania a great deal simpler than it was.
- The son who ruled Wallachia after him was Minhea, not Vlad.
- Ilona Szilgy (sp?) was the Hungarian King's cousin, not daughter. And, though it's not clear when they got married, it was early enough in his captivity that they had children.
- That death...doesn't really make any historical sense.

Problems With It As A Film:
- Those costumes are really very bad. And a lot of the props, too. The ring, for example. Oh, it's ridiculous.
- Lydia was really very annoying. I liked her more after she went crazy. And, really, that whole plotline was just unbelievable to me. I don't buy the whole 'sadistic and ruthless in one aspect of his life, but completely kind and gentle in another'. (Wait till you all see my major love affairs for him in How Few Days Make Up A Century. They're much more interesting, if I do say so myself.)
- Related to the above, I do hope that people realize one day that whitewashing actually makes characters less interesting, not more.
- The flashback organization doesn't work all that well.
- The acting is, at times, rather terrible.
- "They weren't just killing a man...they wanted to crush an idea" - they were princes governing a rather chaotic and uncivilized country, trying to keep it from being conquered by all those around them, while also trying to maintain some minimum of control over the poputation. Neither Vlad Dracul nor Vlad Draculea were likely to have particularly Utopian ideals.
- I was snickering at Vlad being angry at the noble over the whipping scene. Likely, I imagine that he would have respected him more over it. Of course, this is my personal impression, but I think that Vlad respected nobles more if they did their own dirty work.
- This film could have been made in a much more creative and interesting way, just as a general note.

Things I Liked:
- The actor who plays Radu as an adult is really very good. His scenes with Vlad are the best parts of the movie.
- The almost loving way that Vlad kills the traitorous nobleman is very in character.
- "My father said that greed was the most powerful force on earth, but I have found one greater...fear" (paraphrased) - yes, that's it.
- The whole "because he was weak" scene with Lydia, when he knocks over the wineglass, that was just wonderful.
- I really liked the scene with little Vlad at his father's side, inventing the methods of execution for him.
- There are lines almost straight out of my play Battle Strategies in some of the Vlad and Radu scenes.

And...that would be it.