Hunyadi!
Hunyadi! Long live Hunyadi!
As Governor of Hungary, I shall obey the will of the nation.
I will do everything in my power
to act without bias,
anger,
or the desire for revenge.
I shall do my best, but if I sometimes make mistakes,
forgive me. I am only human.
Stay here.
Where's Cillei?
- We're the only ones here. - Where's he hiding?
He's gone to Vienna to ask for Friedrich's help.
And why does he need help?
To fight you.
VIENNA DUCHY OF AUSTRIA
Magnificent.
Look who's here!
Who are you?
This is Ulrich Cillei.
Ulrich was a good friend of your mother.
Maybe too good a friend...
A friend?
It doesn't matter who I am.
What's important is who you are.
Do you know?
The son of Elizabeth of Luxembourg and Albert of Habsburg.
I'm the King of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia and Croatia.
And the Prince of Austria!
Wonderful!
He's a very clever boy.
Just like his father.
What do kings do?
Don't you worry,
I'll show you.
EDIRNE THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
It's impossible.
We could never take Constantinople.
Even your father couldn't do it.
I am not my father!
We launch major campaigns against Europe every summer.
And we return with plenty of gold and slaves.
Our presence in the West is enough...
It is not enough!
We have the biggest army in the world.
But time doesn't stand still.
An empire is like a predatory animal:
if it's idle for too long, the other predators grow stronger.
We can't expand any further to the east, Glorious Sultan.
If an empire does not keep growing,
people stop believing in it.
When I occupy Europe, it will inspire belief in the empire.
And the first step is to take Constantinople.
The empire surrounds the city, and yet it holds out.
An island of Christianity in the Islamic sea.
It shall be ours.
All the same...
its walls are strong, my lord.
The strongest in the world.
No cannon can destroy them.
We just need faith. And then Allah himself will help us.
Leave faith to the people and the imams.
I shall build cannons so big,
you'll think they spit the wrath of Allah himself.
I've found the world's best cannon maker...
Hunyadi's cannon maker.
Only he can build a cannon big enough
to blast open the gates of the infidels and bring their walls down.
This is "the Basilisk".
Its barrel is so big, it could swallow even the Vizier of Anatolia.
Its cannonballs are heavier than a baby elephant.
It's capable of firing right over the Bosporus strait.
Our task is not to wait for Allah's help.
It is to make him proud!
I wrote to say I was coming.
Are you sure you wish to leave
the world of flesh and blood, my daughter?
And have you brought gold to guarantee your peace within our convent?
So what now?
Haven't we had enough of this madness?
You want to attack the Habsburgs?
They're the only ones who can help us against the Ottomans.
I'll do what I have to do.
Meaning?
Have some breakfast.
And then?
We're marching on Vienna.
VIENNA DUCHY OF AUSTRIA
Welcome!
I'm sure you can explain
what an army of Hungarians is doing outside the gates of my city.
Because if I brought them into the palace, you might see it as a threat.
Say it's not him you want to fight.
No, it's the treacherous dog hiding behind him.
Your quarrel is your own domestic affair.
But if your troops set foot on my land...
it's war.
He says it's a Hungarian affair,
but if we advance any farther...
it'll be war.
I wouldn't risk it if I were you, dear "Johannes".
For my part, I'm willing to forget our trivial difference of opinion.
I bet you are.
You're right, this is our own affair.
Hand Cillei over and we'll be off.
That I cannot do.
You and your army can go now.
The moment they take their eyes off you, you're a dead man!
Enough!
Enough.
These two won't be persuaded
to make peace.
Unless we force them, here and now,
I see no point in further discussion. Do you?
What do you mean, Your Highness?
There's a tried and trusted method.
The deadliest of enemies make
the happiest family.
Family?
We shall marry Cillei's daughter
to Hunyadi's son, Matyas.
That will guarantee the peace, right?
What did he say?
For Matyas to marry Cillei's daughter.
What? No chance!
- I'm afraid we've got no other choice. - Of course we have. War!
If you attack the Habsburgs, you'll be fighting the whole of Europe.
As Governor, you can't want that.
There's got to be another way.
HUNYAD CASTLE THE KINGDOM OF HUNGARY
Thank God!
I never thought Vitez would be able to talk you out of
that foolish war with Cillei.
Is something wrong?
Peace comes at a price.
But they're only children.
Right now we're only talking about the ceremony, not the wedding night.
No!
I forbid it.
Matyas will stay with Cillei and Lisabeth will live with us.
- I won't allow you to sell our son. - I'm not.
Then you're handing him over like a prisoner?
This isn't about me.
Of course not.
Nothing ever is.
Still... it's always those around you who pay the price.
What choice do I have?
No! Stop. I don't want to hear it.
I've heard it a thousand times: “this is about the nation”.
If you love your family, I beg you,
for once put us before the nation.
Enough!
Father!
Matyas!
We'll bring you home as soon as we can.
And one day all of these battles will be over. I promise.
And then you'll stay home with us?
Yes.
Then we'll all finally be together.
Son...
I'll make everything up to you.
I promise.
BUDA CASTLE THE KINGDOM OF HUNGARY
- Wait... - Leave me be!
I'm sorry.
You're sorry?
This isn't like stepping on my foot.
Or spilling a glass of milk.
Believe me, if...
If there was any other way...
Please, at least think it through.
You have no armor,
No army.
All you have are books and knowledge.
Yet, you're just like him...
You deserve each other!
Congratulations, son. Marriage is a sacred union.
Thank you.
Lisabeth. I promise you'll have a good life in Hunyadi Castle.
And, Matyas, you'll learn so much with Cillei.
If we're engaged, why can't we live together?
Yes, why can't we?
You're still too young to understand, but...
...it's for the good of the nation.
That's what father says.
I know, sweetheart. I know.
I'll bring you home. I promise.
What's eating her?
If you dare to touch a hair on my boy's head...
I know you think justice and God are on your side...
But let me tell you something...
I've lost five children.
Five.
It's something you never recover from.
Lisabeth means more to me than anything or anyone.
She's my one and only living child.
I swear on all that is holy,
if anything happens to her in that barbarian rat-hole of yours,
it's not just you who'll be punished.
I'll exterminate your entire family.
Starting with that fine young gentleman!
To the happy couple!
Long live the newlyweds!
I want you back.
This palace is lovely.
I'm sure the Governor will get the nicest room in it.
We'll be in King Sigismund's old room.
The royal suite...
I'm sure you'll love it.
Your place is here by my side.
You're not my husband anymore.
You're the Governor of Hungary.
I'm going back to Hunyad castle.
And I don't want to see you again
until you bring my son home to me.
You know I feel the same way you do.
The way I do?
How the hell could you know what I feel?
I don't want to lose Matyas either.
Then do something!
Anything.
Do you have any idea what it's like to sacrifice everything to save your son?
Why do you think Ujlaki helped free you from Vlad's prison?
What do you think he wanted in return?
So it's true?
You knew?
I thought it was nothing more than Cillei's dirty gossip.
That was the cost of Ujlaki's army.
You should have just let me die.
And our son?
Should I have let him die, too?
What do you want me to say?
Should I apologize?
For saving your life?
For saving our son?
And I'd do it again.
Say something!
Scream. Hit me!
I'd never hit you.
How could you?
- What's happening? - Janko! Please...
Father! Don't!
Stop! Or you'll ruin everything we've fought for.
You think I care?
Father!
EIGHT YEARS LATER
CELJE LOWER STYRIA
Do you think the stars are watching us?
I didn't raise you to be superstitious.
Matyas...!
You know, if our priests stopped worrying about who to burn at the stake and why,
perhaps we might know why the sky turns above us...
If it turns at all...
Think of all the things we'd know if life wasn't so short.
Don't think about such things.
Life is what it is.
Will my friend the king join us tonight?
No.
He might start thinking. And he's not smart enough for that.
But aren't kings smart?
An educated mind is wasted on the throne.
The clever ones tell their king what to do and think.
And the generals?
They're just soldiers,
all they care about is war.
VATICAN CITY ROME
I came as quickly as I could, Your Holiness.
Quickly or slowly...
it's all the same to God.
He'll achieve his goal regardless.
You've...
You've brought bad news, haven't you?
I'm afraid so.
Constantinople has fallen.
Look at those rays of light...
How beautiful.
Mehmed won't stop at Constantinople.
He wants Rome itself.
The next obstacle in his path is Hungary.
I shall go there.
I shall take an army with me.
Holy Father, announce a crusade.
A campaign to end with the Final Conflict.
A campaign?
A crusade? No, no...
I'm too old for these things.
Do whatever you like. Whatever you can.
Then give me your blessing.
This will be our greatest campaign ever.
After Constantinople,
to take Belgrade will be child's play.
The real battle will come after that.
Buda, Vienna and Rome will fall one after the other.
I'm glad you'll be with me.
Who doesn't dream of eternal fame?
But your reward will come in this life.
I only ask for one thing.
Everybody wants great power.
But great power is no more than an illusion.
Only the power of the Bright-eyed Sultan truly exists.
That of anyone else is just a figment of the imagination.
I think I can guess what you're after.
My father's former lands.
Wallachia.
The tiny nation where I was born.
Should I reward my best man with something so small?
A diamond is no bigger than a grain of sand,
but it's worth more than a whole desert.
No.
I'll give you gold...
jewels...
beautiful palaces...
women...
Ten times more of everything than you could ever have
in that miserable little country.
I will make you a vizier.
But you will remain by my side.
I need you with me.
You're too generous, Glorious Sultan.
Father Capestrano from Italy is here.
He's here?
Capestrano's in Buda?
What does he want?
Let him tell you himself.
One more thing...
The nobles have called a meeting of the Royal Council.
You have to be there.
- I'd rather fight a hundred battles... - These are battles too, Janko.
I know, I know...
We have law and order in Hungary.
And peace.
Our people haven't lived this quietly for years. All thanks to you.
Making peace is much harder
than waging war.
Il Corvo...
It's time for you to fulfill your destiny.
The Pope himself sent me.
If he'd sent you sooner,
we could have gone to Constantinople's aid.
I'm glad you haven't forgotten our language.
You're not to blame for what happened there.
Sure...
No one takes credit for a mistake.
No offence, why are you here?
Because I believe in you!
Constantinople wasn't your battle.
Yours is about to start.
The Turks are marching to take Belgrade.
And I'll be there by your side...
...when we die,
we'll enter the gates of Heaven's together.
You know...
I like this less and less.
I've met your type before. A grand inquisitor, no less.
Cardinal Cesarini. He was called by the Lord.
I know.
I was there.
Perhaps
you disagree with our methods,
but when I appear with tens of thousands of believers
willing to sacrifice their lives for the Lord,
then you'll understand why I do what I do.
Miho, reinforce the walls of Belgrade Castle.
Dig trenches.
- Stock up on supplies. - This won't be my first siege.
I know.
When will you get there?
- I need to raise an army first. - We don't need any cavalry.
What we need are defenders.
They thought hiding behind thick walls would be enough at Constantinople, too.
You know me, Miho,
I only like to attack.
What are you planning?
I don't know yet.
What about Erzsebet?
What do you mean?
You should make peace with my sister.
I can't go home yet. You'll have to deal with Erzsebet.
Go to Hunyad right away and take her to safety.
Where?
As far from the Turks as possible.
HUNYAD VILLAGE THE KINGDOM OF HUNGARY
Thirty-six...
Thirty-seven...
Thirty-eight...
Thirty-nine...
Forty!
Coming, ready or not!
Wherever can she be?
Is she... here?
Lisabeth! No!
The last time it happened was last year.
But she got better after a few days.
Now, though...
I'll have to open a vein.
We'll let out the diseased blood.
Or some of it, at least.
If that worked, our soldiers would return from battle healthy, no?
I hardly expect a woman to understand the complexities of medicine,
but please show a little respect.
If you want gold as well as respect, then save her.
Because if you don't, she won't be the only one who dies.
Understand?
Brothers and sisters! The Last Judgment is at hand!
The end of the world is coming.
Constantinople has been overthrown.
Soon, the armies of Satan will be here, too.
There's only one way out: the path that leads from this hell on Earth to Heaven.
Follow me and I will lead you there.
We have many matters to settle,
but none more urgent than the news I have brought...
Belgrade Castle is in peril.
Always the same old tune: "Ottomans, Ottomans, Ottomans".
And now Constantinople is in the hands of the Ottomans. Everything is.
Sultan Mehmed is determined to conquer the West.
We'll be his first objective.
Hungary protects the whole of Europe.
And Belgrade is the gateway to Hungary.
The bastion of Christianity itself.
Janko, if you want to grow your army, you may just as well stop.
To you, I'm not "Janko".
Call me "Governor", if you please.
My lords!
My lords, how can you be so ungrateful?
In the past years, Hunyadi has brought us peace and prosperity.
- And we paid a high price for it. - No...
We're grateful to the Governor.
Not just us. The King of Hungary is grateful, too.
What's going on?
Perhaps you've forgotten exactly who he is.
So let me to present him to you again: His Majesty Ladislas V...
The son of Albert of Habsburg and Elizabeth of Luxembourg.
The King of Hungary!
We're faced with a difficult decision, Your Majesty.
We'd like your opinion regarding an important matter.
What are you trying to say, Ulrich?
As King Ladislas V has now come of age,
I propose he takes over the rule over the country. Here and now.
So that's your game.
Oh, it's no game.
You always knew that you'd only have the power to govern Hungary
until His Majesty grew up.
All those in favor of my proposal, raise your hands.
The King!
Is this what you want?
For a child to decide the fate of our nation?
The fate of Christianity itself?
It is disrespectful to call God's chosen king a "child".
In Vienna we cover the hole in the lavatory, with a lid.
Do you do the same?
It keeps back...
the stink.
Just like you Hungarians keep the Ottoman barbarians away from Europe.
You're our defender.
So, go defend us.
If you want to get away from this...
child's shitty ass,
you know where to find me.
My son?
Matyas is well.
Come with me.
Father...
Oh, dear God...
How long has she been like this?
A few days. But she's always been weak.
Has my father come?
That's all she ever says.
Every time she comes down with a fever, all she wants is Cillei.
We can't keep her here any longer.
I'm taking her back to Cillei.
- Maybe we can get there in time. - I'll come with you.
Really?
I know Cillei.
And... Janos wants me by your side.
God, it's so good to have you here!
Don't you want to see the miracle, my daughter?
You've changed since you've been here...
For the better.
Thank you, Mother Superior.
They say...
that your sultan
is coming to conquer us.
I'm grateful to have found refuge from the horrors of the world here.
The sisters are nervous.
And it doesn't help that...
the pagan demon's concubine
lives among us.
What do you want me to do, Mother?
You already know.
According to Aristotle, it's just the evaporation of the atmosphere.
Although many have rejected the theory.
What's wrong, Miklos? Can't be bothered to look up to the heavens?
We may never see this sight again.
I didn't spend days traveling here to stare at a pretty light in the sky.
Wake up...
We're nearly there.
Father...
You'll see him very soon.
And then what?
Take the boy inside. Whatever happens, stay indoors.
We came as soon as we could.
Lisabeth!
Darling...
- Father... - I'm here, sweetheart.
Don't go...
Don't go, Lisabeth!
Stay here.
My Lord.
You did this.
Give me back my son. Please...
The way you gave me back my daughter?
Ulrich, I beg you.
Bring him here!
Give me back my son!
Remember what you feel now.
You can threaten me. But you have no army.
Your husband is leading them to yet another battle.
Where is the great Hunyadi now?
He's gone to protect us.
- To protect you, too. - But he can't protect his son.
If he ever sees the boy again, he won't recognize him.
Not after my dogs have ripped his face off.
- What do you want? I'll do anything. - Oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente.
An eye for an eye...
You've taken the dearest thing to me in the whole world.
And so now I'll take what's dearest to you.
It's only fair, isn't it?
Ulrich. That's enough!
This is your doing, Ulrich.
Your sin.
Matyas!
- Come with me! - Where?
- Home. - Not so fast!
Miklos! Good to see you. I've got a job for you...
A job? For me?
Why do you always take the wrong side? Isn't it time you changed?
Vitovecz is coming... Take Matyas with you.
To your castle... even to Rome. Watch over him.
- Protect him with your life. - Why would I do that?
You owe it to Erzsebet!
I loved her like she was my own child.
Get out of here.
And never come back.
I told Ujlaki to take Matyas with him.
BELGRADE CASTLE THE KINGDOM OF HUNGARY
Emese!
Where are you going?
We've just arrived. We've brought food for the inner fortress.
Why? Are you hungry?
Always.
Jakub's just kidding.
We get enough food.
- Thank God, I was getting worried. - I'd watch my mouth if I were you.
You're talking to the Governor's little boy.
My dad's not the Governor anymore.
Lacko Hunyadi.
So why isn't he here?
Hunyadi.
The great Hunyadi.
If he doesn't come, who's going to protect us?
You two?
The child king's run away to Vienna.
And all the nobles went hurrying after him. They're all fleeing.
And you? Why did you stay?
I don't like being compared to a crap-hole.
I'll be straight with you...
We barely stand a chance.
Well...
that's why I'm not going with you to Belgrade.
But I can get you an army.
You?
Maybe the nobles will listen to me.
Forward!
Faster!
My father once besieged this castle himself.
Your father was the greatest general in history.
But he still couldn't take it.
Our cannonballs will simply tear those walls apart.
Just like in Constantinople.
Our ships?
They'll be here tomorrow morning, Bright-eyed Sultan.
Chain their sides together like a bridge.
I don't want a single Hungarian rowboat to be able to reach the castle.
As you command, Glorious Sultan.
Mihó!
My father?
No idea, Lacko.
But it doesn't matter now anyway.
If we don't stand our ground, everything will be lost.
Take cover!