PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED
This movie is not rated, but has mature themes and was created with an adult audience in mind. It contains scenes, including violence, indicative of the events and time portrayed. We would recommend Parental Guidance and that parents preview it before watching with children.
This epic film tells the powerful true story of one of the most important military battles in history, recounting the Ottoman Turks massive invasion of Vienna, the gateway to the West, on September 11, 1683, a moment when Christendom and Western civilization truly hung in the balance.
Islam was at the peak of its expansion in the West. 300,000 Islamic troops, under the command of the Grand Vizier, Kara Mustafa, besieged the city they called 'The Golden Apple', with the goal to conquer Vienna, then Rome and all Christendom.
The Christian forces in Vienna, under the leadership of a weak Emperor Leopold I, were unprepared and vastly outnumbered for the onslaught. But a holy, courageous Capuchin monk, Blessed Marco D'Aviano, arrives in Vienna to rally the forces, and calls all the Christian people to fervent prayer, reminding them what is at stake: "Our wives, our children, and most importantly -- the future of our Catholic Faith!"
Marco also pleads for the aid of the great Polish King and military leader, Jan Sobieski. Carrying a huge banner of their Black Madonna, Sobieski and his famed Winged Hussars respond to the call, and the epic battle ensues for the freedom of Christendom.
Buttressed by glorious cinematography, beautiful sets and costumes, dramatic war scenes, and a compelling music score, the film includes powerful performances by an outstanding cast with F. Murray Abraham, Jerzy Skolimowski, Claire Bloom, Piotr Adamczyk, and Enrico Lo Verso.
Up Next in Movie Night
-
Ninth Day
With The Ninth Day, acclaimed film director Volker Schlondorff creates a moral thriller that "succeeds in illuminating an almost unimaginably dark story" (The New York Times). Inspired by the true story of a dissident priest's temporary furlough from Dachau, The Ninth Day transforms an ethical cr...
-
Ignatius of Loyola
This modern and very human take on the story of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, often called "The Saint of Second Chances," is an incisive and thrilling look at the life of the real man behind the legend. In his lifelong quest to become the heroic knight of his fantasies, Igna...
-
Triduum: A Spiritual Pilgrimage
Triduum: A Spiritual Pilgrimage is a beautiful, 30 minute contemplative documentary. This film cinematically walks through the locations of the Holy Week story, re-presenting the most important days of human history. Immersed in the real and sacred places of the Holy Land, the pilgrim faithful is...
57 Comments