Dacii (1967)

The great King of Dacia, Decebal (Decebalus), is disposed to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to keep the integrity of his people. His own son, Cotyso, is given to the god Zamolxis to ... See full summary »

Director:

Sergiu Nicolaescu

Writers:

Titus Popovici, Jacques Rémy (French adaptation)

Stars:

Pierre Brice, Marie-José Nat, Georges Marchal

Cast

Credited cast:
Pierre Brice	...	Septimius Severus
Marie-José Nat	...	Meda
Georges Marchal	...	Fuscus
Amza Pellea	...	Decebal
Mircea Albulescu	...	Oluper
Alexandru Herescu	...	Cotyso
György Kovács	...	Domitien
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ion Apahideanu
Ion Banica
Geo Barton	...	Zoltes
Ion Birá
Florin Blanarescu
Anatol Bogdan
Emil Botta	...	Grand Priest
Dumitru Butnariu

Storyline

The great King of Dacia, Decebal (Decebalus), is disposed to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to keep the integrity of his people. His own son, Cotyso, is given to the god Zamolxis to the dismay of the King and his daughter Meda. Septimius Severus a young roman devoted to his adopted country, must make the choice between his blood origins and the culture he was raised to.

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Plot Keywords:

zamolxis | dacia | horde | grand priest | sword duel | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

Romania France

Language:

Romanian

Release Date:

31 May 1967 (France)

Also Known As:

Kampf der Titanen gegen Rom

Filming Locations:

Romania

Company Credits

Production Co:

Franco London Films, Romania Film, Studioul Cinematografic Bucuresti

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In some scenes, watches are visible on the wrists of Roman and Dacian soldiers.

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Connections

Referenced in German Grusel - Die Edgar Wallace-Serie (2011)

User Reviews

THE DACIANS (Sergiu Nicolaescu, 1967) ***

A Romanian film – better-known, if at all, by its original title DACII – about the Roman (i.e. Italian) Empire is an absolute rarity, but I was instantly drawn to it from the evocative stills I saw on the Internet. The fact that it featured a couple of French stars in Pierre (MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN {1960}) Brice and Luis Bunuel/peplum regular Georges Marchal, then, was merely the icing on the cake; however, it did feel odd hearing them speak in a completely foreign tongue! For all its obvious naivete' (being, at best, a semi-professional enterprise and actually only the director's first feature-length effort!), the end result proves reasonably impressive – primarily on the visual front (with location photography that is indeed spectacular and the battle sequences themselves emerging as not only surprisingly elaborate but rather brutal as well!).

That said, the plot offers its own interest – with even some novelty value in store: the titular people are engaged in war against the Romans (rulers of all the known world at that time). Being Pagans, to determine whether the odds are in their favor or not, it is required that the King sacrifice his first-born i.e. a son who is literally dumped upon an upturned fork and bleeding to death! This turn-of-events naturally sours the relationship between the potentate and his daughter, who leaves the castle grounds to settle in the country. The Romans, too, have their problems: Emperor Domitien is perhaps the most condescending ever portrayed; his adviser is adamantly against invasion (believing the Dacians can be persuaded to lay down their arms without the need for carnage); their ageing if still athletic champion warrior (Marchal) is suffering from temporary blindness due to an old wound; while another 'star' officer (Brice, actually the afore-mentioned bureaucrat's son) is wounded during an initial skirmish, cured for by the Dacian king's daughter (needless to say, they end up falling in love), and ultimately revealed to be a native of the very land he is intent on conquering for the glory of Rome!

A sort of follow-up, made by other hands, was 1968's COLUMNA aka THE COLUMN which similarly featured 'recognizable' names for the international market (though their overseas exposure was extremely limited in the long run!): Briton Richard Johnson and Italians Antonella Lualdi (from Vittorio Cottafavi's THE HUNDRED HORSEMEN {1964}) and Franco Interlenghi. Actually, THE DACIANS reminded me of Robert Siodmak's two-parter STRUGGLE FOR ROME (1968) – a German epic that was only released abroad in heavily-truncated form as THE LAST ROMAN.