Burebista

Burebista (1980) is a Romanian historical epic film about the life of the ancient Dacian king Burebista, depicting his battle to unify his nation and to resist Roman incursions. The film was made to commemorate the supposed 2,050th anniversary of the founding of the "unified and centralized" country that was to become Romania. Ceaușescu himself was a great nationalist and saw in Decebal, Burebista, and Mihai Viteazul models to follow. Plot The film begins with a shot of a rocky outcrop, shaped like a human head, apparently gazing out over the Carpathian Mountains. A voice-over explains that the expansion of Roman power is beginning to threaten the borders of the kingdom of Dacia under its "enigmatic" ruler Burebista.