Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula
| Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Written by | Thomas Baum |
| Directed by | Joe Chappelle |
| Starring |
Rudolf Martin Jane March Christopher Brand Peter Weller Michael Sutton Roger Daltrey |
| Theme music composer | Frankie Blue |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Avram 'Butch' Kaplan |
| Cinematography | Dermott D. Downs |
| Editor(s) | Joe Rabig |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | USA Network |
| Original release | October 31, 2000 |
Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (alternately titled Dracula: The Dark Prince and Dark Prince: Legend of Dracula) is a horror-war television film, which premiered in the United States on the USA Network on Halloween, October 31, 2000. It is about Vlad III Dracula, "the Impaler", the historical figure who gave Bram Stoker's Dracula his name.
Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula tells the story of Vlad Dracula, the historical figure who gave Bram Stoker's Dracula his name. Vlad is a dispossessed noble, and a patriot who fights the occupation forces of the Turks hoping to avenge the murder of his father by Romanian nobles and the capture of his brother by the Ottoman sultan. The King of Hungary (Roger Daltrey) becomes Vlad's ally and, with his support, Vlad and his men attack the occupying Turks and turncoat Romanian boyars, and seizes the throne of Wallachia, in the movie called simply (and anachronistically) "Romania".
His bride Lidia (Jane March) discovers what Vlad does to the bodies of his enemies and is horrified. She begins to lose her grip on sanity, claiming to hear the voices of the dead. He reluctantly banishes her to a convent, which he later regrets and amends. Lidia, however, remains the same and ultimately commits suicide, leaving Vlad dispirited and alone with their adolescent son. Vlad's brother Radu arrives at the head of a large Turkish invasion force.
The narrative of the film is presented as evidence given at a hearing following Vlad's alignment with the Roman Catholic King of Hungary. At the end of the film, Vlad is excommunicated by the Orthodox Church shortly before being assassinated by Radu and having a vision of Lidia calling his name. As a result of his condemnation by the priests, Vlad is found to have risen from the grave and gained eternal life, free to roam the earth (as he has been denied entrance to both Heaven and Hell), implying that he has now become the very vampire for which his name is famous.
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