Anyone who like hero movies will love this one. And that's not the only thing. Sergiu Nicolaescu made this movie as the first in the world (as far as I know) with battle scene that looks real enough to get you on your toes. And that doesn't mean lot of blood but the way that the camera follows the action, big action of the troops and instant local action of "mano a mano" fight.

"Jump, Selim."

This is the story of Romanian King Michael the Brave, the first ruler to unite Romania in 1600 A.D. The movie has good directing, great battle scenes, good actors and lavish costumes and sets. It could have been a really great movie, if not for the terrible music and the wooden and clunky dialogues.

Director Sergiu Nicolaescu tells the story well. The camera moves around, showing the action from (almost) all angles, and it really takes it's time. It also glides a lot. Starting from the very beginning, the camera flies alongside the characters, creating some really great moments. And while the technique is not new - one famous example would be Buster Keaton's "The General"- the effect is still stunning. True, the director tends to overuse it a little here and there, but it works most of the times.

The battle scenes are incredible. Thousands of soldiers and horses take part in what must be some of the biggest mock battles of all time. The extras literally fill the horizon as far as one can see, the costumes and the weapons are very well done, and there are a lot of pyrotechnics.

The actors are very good. Most - if not all - of the big names of Romanian Cinema have a part in this grand epic. Amza Pellea is good, even if a little wooden. The villains are particularly well done, and they seem to be the only ones who are allowed any flexibility. Ion Besoiu makes a memorable role, taking advantage of this freedom, and so does Nicolae Secareanu. Director Sergiu Nicolaescu also has a good role. There are many other actors, in parts big and small.

The film has a very high production value. The costumes and makeup are excellent, the sets are great, and the movie takes advantage of many of the Romanian and European landmarks.

The music is terrible. It is loud, it is monotonous and it is grating. And distracting. There are also some scenes when people break into song and the result is laughable.

The dialogues are also terrible. They are wooden and stiff and the language used is clunky and pretentious, but that is not entirely the film makers fault. The '70s were a difficult period for artistic expression in Romania, with heavy censorship - a bunch of low IQ morons who had to be appeased, often by adding annoying and less than subtle references to communist values and ideas. On a positive note, though, everybody speaks only one language, which makes it less distracting. Kinda like Star Trek.

Michael the Brave. A great historical epic, that could have been even greater. 8/10.

It was a great idea that HBO Romania had to broadcast "Mihai Viteazul" on the Romania's National Day, that is the 1st of December. "Mihai Viteazul" successfully combines battle scenes and political intrigues and to show as realistic as possible the life and times of the great Romanian ruler. I'm not going to describe the film itself, it has to be seen by your own eyes to get the right image about a significant part of the Romanian film industry. Instead, I am going to speak a little about the director's visions about making this movie.

Right after HBO's playing the film on 1st December 2000, a Romanian broadcasting network invited director Sergiu Nicolaescu to make a comment on his masterpiece. Everybody must know this was the second motion picture made by Sergiu Nicolaescu for the silver screen. First, the film was meant to be a co-production with the USA, thus Nicolaescu managed to cast Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Orson Wells and other great actors at Hollywood. However, the Ministry of Culture under President Nicolae Ceausescu did not admit an American involvement in a production based on the glorious history of the Romanian people. So, director Nicolaescu and writer Titus Popovici had to renounce to the American partnership and made this film on their own, financed by the Romanian government. A small dispute started between Nicolaescu and Popovici regarding the actor to play the main character, Mihai Viteazul. A number of 128 Romanian actors were tested for this role and the probes were sent in America, so that some American producers to choose which one is the appropriate actor for the character. The result was Sergiu Nicolaescu and that was exactly what Titus Popovici had in mind. So they started shooting with Nicolaescu playing Mihai Viteazul. But, after a while, Sergiu Nicolaescu was not pleased with the role, he actually wanted to play Selim-Pasa and went to the Ministry saying he's not going to direct that movie anymore, unless he is allowed to do it in his manner. He got the approval, except, of course, any American involvement in it. He returned on the director's chair, but with Amza Pellea playing the main character. I have to admit he was right, because Amza Pellea was outstanding and Nicolaescu's "Selim-Pasa" was a better part, I think.

All the battle scenes were filmed by only three cameras, without zoom effects (the Romanian film industry wasn't working with such equipments in the seventies), so all camera movements were created by physicals efforts.

Battle scenes were filmed with the Army's support, for which the director thanks during the main titles.

Historical facts are precise, that is Nicolaescu's guarantee. More than anything else, Sergiu Nicolaescu loves history, the Romanian history, and all important moments and dialogues in his historical movies are covered by documents from those periods.

Nicolaescu says he was surprised to notice a TV sequence in Steven Spielberg's "E.T." showing images from his film "Mihai Viteazul". That's why he asked, when he had the opportunity, Steven Spielberg why he enclosed a sequence from his movie and not from another director's. And Spielberg replied he admired Nicolaescu's work, especially the battle scenes, which also inspired him for some of his future films.