Dracula Untold Dvd

Dracula Untold is a 2014 American dark fantasy action-horror film directed by Gary Shore in his feature film debut and written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. A reboot of the Dracula film series, the plot creates an origin story for the titular character, rather than using the storyline of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel. In this adaptation, Dracula is the monster alter ego of historical figure Vlad III “the Impaler” Drăculea. Luke Evans portrays the title character, with Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper, Art Parkinson, and Charles Dance cast in supporting roles. Principal photography began in Northern Ireland on August 5, 2013.

Universal Pictures released the film in regular and IMAX cinemas on October 10, 2014. Dracula Untold grossed $217 million worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics, with many criticizing its story, inconsistent tone, and characters, but praising its performances and visual effects.

Plot

In 15th-century Erdély (Hungarian Kingdom), Vlad Drăculea is the Prince of Wallachia and Transylvania. As a child, he was a royal ward in the palace of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and was trained to be a soldier in the Sultan’s elite Janissaries corps, where he became their most feared warrior. He was called “Vlad the Impaler, Son of the Dragon”, after slaughtering thousands by impaling them on spears, but became sickened by his own acts and abandoned his past.

Now ruling his domains in peace, Vlad and his soldiers discover a helmet in a stream and fear that an Ottoman scouting party is preparing the way for invasion. The stream leads to Broken Tooth Mountain, the top of which has a cave carpeted in crushed bone. Within the cave, they are attacked in the dark by an inhumanly strong and fast humanoid creature, killing Vlad’s retinue. Returning to his castle, Vlad learns from a local monk that the creature is a vampire, a Roman from the days of the Empire, who was tricked by a demon for personal success and great powers, but was trapped in the cave as price for this. Vlad celebrates an Easter feast with his wife Mirena and son Îngeraș, when an Ottoman contingent arrives at the castle. Vlad offers them the usual tribute payment of silver coins, but the emissary wants an additional tribute of 1,000 boys to be trained as Janissaries. Vlad refuses. Mirena believes Vlad can convince Sultan Mehmed II to show mercy. Vlad offers himself in place of the boys; but Mehmed refuses and demands Vlad’s son in addition.

Knowing war is coming, Vlad returns to the Broken Tooth Mountain cave to seek help from the vampire. The vampire tells him there are consequences and offers him some of his blood, which will temporarily give Vlad the powers of a vampire. If he resists the intense urge to drink human blood for three days, he will turn back into a human. Otherwise, he will remain a vampire forever, and the ancient vampire will be freed, the seal on his cave broken by having given the darkness a worthy offering to plague the world like himself. Vlad accepts the offer. He discovers that he has the ability to transform into a cloud of bats. When he returns to Castle Dracula, the Ottoman army attacks, but Vlad single-handedly kills them all. He then sends most of the castle’s subjects to Cozia Monastery for safety.

Mirena learns of Vlad’s curse, as she sees him holding silver to keep himself weak when near his people to avoid revealing his condition to them or attacking them for blood. Vlad’s sudden increased strength also arouses suspicion among his subjects.

That night, the Ottoman army marches on the monastery. Vlad commands an enormous swarm of bats to repel them; however, the soldiers are actually a decoy force, allowing a handful of Turks to infiltrate the monastery, kill many of the inhabitants and kidnap Îngeraș. Mirena tries to defend her son, and falls from the edge of the monastery wall. Despite his superhuman speed, Vlad cannot reach her in time. Dying, Mirena pleads with Vlad to drink her blood before the sun rises and lifts his curse, so that he will have the strength to save their son. Vlad reluctantly drinks her blood, triggering his final transformation into a full-blooded vampire and granting him even greater powers, and in doing so he frees the ancient vampire from his cave by breaking the magical seal imprisoning him. As he does so, he summons black storm clouds to block out the sun. Vlad returns to the monastery and turns the small group of survivors and mortally wounded into vampires as well.

At the Ottoman army’s camp, Mehmed prepares for a massive invasion of Europe. Vlad and his vampires arrive, hidden by a large lightning storm, and easily massacre the terrified Ottoman soldiers, while Vlad himself goes after Mehmed, who is holding Îngeraș captive. Aware that vampires are weakened by silver, Mehmed has lined the floor of his tent with silver coins, making Vlad’s strength and speed that of a human — and impairing his vision — as Mehmed fights him with a silver sword. He overpowers Vlad and prepares to impale his heart with a wooden stake, but Vlad turns into a flock of bats and evades him. Taking the name “Dracula, Son of the Devil”, he kills Mehmed with the stake and drinks his blood. Vlad then sends Îngeraș away before his vampire army preys on him, and dispels the storm clouds so that the vampires, including himself, will burn away and die in the light. However, a man who had previously observed Vlad’s nature and wished to serve him drags his dying body out of the sunlight and offers him his blood, which restores Vlad to life. With Vlad presumed dead and Europe saved from the Ottoman invasion, Îngeraș is crowned the new Prince of Wallachia.

In the present day, Vlad now known as Dracula meets a woman named Mina who strikingly resembles Mirena, in the streets of a modern city (London). The vampire who cursed Vlad watches them from afar. As they walk away, he follows, saying “Let the games begin”.

Cast

Luke Evans as Vlad III “the Impaler” Drăculea / Dracula: Known as the Son of the Dragon, Vlad is a prince and war hero, who becomes a monster known as a vampire to protect and defend his family.
Dominic Cooper as Sultan Mehmed II
Sarah Gadon as Mirena, Vlad’s wife
Gadon also portrays Mina Murray as a part of the present-day ending
Art Parkinson as Îngeraș, son of Vlad and Mirena
Charles Dance Master Vampire, the one who turns Vlad into a vampire.
William Houston as Cazan, Vlad’s advisor
Diarmaid Murtagh as Dumitru, one of Vlad’s men
Noah Huntley as Captain Petru, one of Vlad’s men
Paul Kaye as Brother Lucian, a monk