''The Column'' ( ro, Columna) is a 1968

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

historical film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...

directed by

Mircea Drăgan Mircea Drăgan (3 October 1932 – 31 October 2017) was a Romanian film director. He directed 23 films between 1955 and 1992. His 1961 film '' Thirst'' was entered into the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival where it won the Silver Priz ...

. The film was selected as the Romanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

41st Academy Awards The 41st Academy Awards were presented on April 14, 1969, the first to be staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. For the first time since the 11th Academy Awards, there was no host. '' Oliver!'' is the only Best Picture winner ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee. The action starts near the end of

Trajan's Dacian Wars The Dacian Wars (101–102, 105–106) were two military campaigns fought between the Roman Empire and Dacia during Emperor Trajan's rule. The conflicts were triggered by the constant Dacian threat on the Danubian province of Moesia and also by ...

(106 AD), when south western

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ...

was transformed into a

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Roman Dacia Roman Dacia ( ; also known as Dacia Traiana, ; or Dacia Felix, 'Fertile/Happy Dacia') was a province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania and Banat (today ...

. It covers the years after the war, including the beginnings of the

Romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, an ...

and Romanian ethnogenesis, the construction of

Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa was the capital and the largest city of Roman Dacia, later named ''Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa'' after the former Dacian capital, located some 40 km away. Built on the ground of a camp of th ...

, resistance of the Free Dacians, and first

barbarian invasions The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...

Plot

Part 1

As the Romans under

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presid ...

take the Dacian capital Sarmizegetusa, the Dacian king

Decebalus Decebalus (), sometimes referred to as Diurpaneus, was the last Dacian king. He is famous for fighting three wars, with varying success, against the Roman Empire under two emperors. After raiding south across the Danube, he defeated a Roman invas ...

and his closest followers are forced to retreat. Trajan takes command of the city and orders one of his officers, Tiberius, to pursue the defeated king. In a cave, Decebalus broods on his defeat, and tells his devoted supporter Gerula that the Dacian people must continue to resist. Tiberius and his men catch up with Decebalus and Gerula. Decebalus kills himself to avoid capture. To Gerula's horror, Tiberius chops off Decebalus' head and right hand as trophies to take back to Trajan. While they are returning to the Roman camp, Gerula escapes. He gathers together a group of Dacians and takes them to a part of the land not yet under Roman control. At Sarmizegetusa, Trajan orders Tiberius to remain in Dacia and preside over the Romanisation of the territory, building fortifications, victory monuments, and Roman settlements. Tiberius initially meets resistance from the local people, but wins over influential local chief Ciungu when he shows clemency to his rebellious son. One of the Roman centurions, Sabinus, falls in love with a local woman, a devotee of the Dacian god Zalmoxis. They become lovers. The Romans seem to be building a successful community, but nearby, in a secret location, Gerula is training up free Dacians, including Decebalus's grandson, to launch a new campaign to destroy the Romans and restore the Dacian kingdom. Sabinus accidentally discovers the free Dacian camp, and a clash occurs, during which Gerula slashes Sabinus' face, blinding him. Andrada, an aristocratic Dacian woman who has killed a Roman soldier, is brought back to the camp. Again Tiberius shows clemency. He also tries to woo Andrada, who rejects him. Eventually, after a period of distrust, Tiberius wins over Andrada, and the couple are married. Tiberius tells Ciungu that he intends to build a town, and use Roman technology to improve the lives of the Dacian people. Andrada gives birth to her first child with Tiberius, a boy. He proudly shows the baby to the community, to cheers from both Romans and Dacians.

Part 2

Years later, Tiberius has built up the settlement into a Roman town. Trajan sends a Roman official to legally declare it to be a municipality. During the ceremony the official is killed by an arrow — shot by one of Gerula's men. The colony nevertheless prospers. The blinded Sabinus becomes the local schoolteacher, instructing the children in Roman culture. Andrada, however, also passes on Dacian lore and stories of pre-Roman times to her son. Decebalus's grandson is now fully grown, becoming the potential new king Gerula wants him to be. Gerula decides it is time to launch the war of liberation against the Romans and their collaborators. A shipment of mined gold is attacked. Almost all those travelling with it, including Ciungu, are killed. One man is left alive to tell Tiberius that all such "traitors" will be killed. Tiberius is furious. He arranges a meeting with Gerula and tells him that if the Romans and the Dacians continue to attack each other, they will only weaken the country, making it ripe for invasion by the barbarians to the north. Gerula ponders this possibility. While doing so, he comes across Tiberius' young son, who has wandered away from the town to explore. Talking to him, he realises that Dacia's heritage still lives in its new generation under Roman rule. Just as Tiberius predicted, the chief of the northern barbarians plans to use the disorder in Dacia to expand into its territory. He meets with Gerula and suggests they join together to expel the Romans. Gerula decides that such an alliance would only replace invaders who brought civilization, with invaders who will bring barbarism. He convinces Decebalus's grandson to aid the Romans. The barbarian chief launches his attack on the Roman town. Tiberius has prepared sophisticated defences, but the force of the barbarian attack threatens to overwhelm the Romans until the free Dacians come to their aid in a cavalry attack. Tiberius sends in the Roman cavalry to support them and the barbarians are crushed. However, Decebalus's grandson is killed in the battle. Devastated, Gerula realises his dream of a restored Dacian kingdom is over. As Tiberius approaches the body of Decebalus' grandson, Gerula imagines he intends to decapitate him, as he did his grandfather. Confused and distraught, Gerula attacks and kills Tiberius. Tiberius' body is brought back to the town accompanied by a chastened Gerula. As Andrada laments, Gerula tells the dead man's son that his father was a great warrior who fought for his people, and that he must grow up to defend the new country his father helped create.

Cast

* Richard Johnson – Tiberius (voiced in Romanian by

Mircea Albulescu Iorgu Constantin Albulescu (4 October 1934 – 8 April 2016), known professionally as Mircea Albulescu (), was a Romanian actor, university professor, journalist, poet, writer, and member of the Writers' Union of Romania (''Uniunea Scriitorilor' ...

) * Antonella Lualdi – Andrada (voiced in Romanian by

Valeria Gagealov Valeria Gagealov (9 December 1931 – 9 February 2021) was a Romanian film, radio, theater, television and voice actress. Biography She was born in Galați, Romania, and studied at the Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography w ...

) *

Ilarion Ciobanu Ilarion Ciobanu (; 28 October 1931 – 7 September 2008) was a Romanian actor. He has been described as "a legend" in the press and the last true Romanian comic. Biography Ciobanu was born in Ciucur, Tighina County, Kingdom of Romania (now Mold ...

– Gerula * Amedeo Nazzari – Emperor Trajan (voiced in Romanian by ) * Ștefan Ciubotărașu – Ciungu * Florin Piersic – Sabinus *

Amza Pellea Amza Pellea (; 7 April 1931 – 12 December 1983) was a Romanian actor noted for playing Romanian national heroes on film. He was born in Băilești, Oltenia, and attended the Carol I High School in Craiova. He later played at the Craiova Th ...

–

* Sidonia Manolache – Zia *

Emil Botta Emil Botta (; 15 September 1911, Adjud – 24 July 1977, Bucharest) was a Romanian actor and writer. Together with Emil Cioran, Eugen Ionescu, and , he was a member of the literary group called ''Corabia cu ratați'' ("The Losers' Ship"). ...

– High Priest * Franco Interlenghi – Optimus * Gheorghe Dinică – Bastus *Constantin Bărbulescu – Marius Fortunatus *Maria Cupcea – Prisosta, mother of Bastus *Bogdan Untaru * * – Apollodorus

Reception

The film's world premiere was held on October 24, 1968 at the International Film Festival in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. The premiere of the German version was held on 1 November 1968 at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, while the Romanian version premiere took place on November 18, 1968, in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

.Secvente - Columna
/ref> ''The Column'' was seen by 10,508,376 viewers in cinemas in Romania, as confirmed by a record of the number of spectators from the film's Romanian premiere date until 31.12.2007 compiled by the National Center of Cinematography. This places it in 7th place among the most viewed Romanian films of all time.Sebastian S. Eduard - Top - "Nea Mărin miliardar", cel mai vizionat film, în ''

Jurnalul Național ''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest Buchares ...

'', 22 noiembrie 2006. ''The Column'' was Romania's submission for the best foreign film Oscar in 1969, but it was not one of the nominated in the competition. The film was given a Diploma of Merit International Film Festival in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, Australia.

References

External links

* *http://www.filmstory.org/films/816 {{DEFAULTSORT:Column, The 1968 films 1960s historical drama films Romanian historical drama films 1960s Romanian-language films Films set in ancient Rome Films set in the Roman Empire Films set in ancient Dacia Films set in the 2nd century Films directed by Mircea Drăgan Dacia in art Dacia in fiction Films set in classical antiquity 1968 drama films