Samson and the 7 Miracles of the World

MACISTE AT THE GREAT KHAN'S COURT

It's useless.

No one will get the Bell of Freedom to toll again.

Only Mongolian troops under the command of the Great Khan

can free China from the rule of the Tartars.

In the 13th century, China had been

under the cruel government of the Tartars for many years.

Emperor Wung gathered his strongest people,

to give voice to a huge bell, their symbol of freedom,

but when no strength was able to make it sound,

he was forced to call some foreigners for help.

The Great Khan of the Mongols accepted the invitation

and threw the Tartars out of the Celestial Empire.

The Chinese people received him as a liberator,

without realizing that he was going to become their new master.

Honor and glory to the Great Khan of the Mongols

who has agreed to put his powerful army

to get back the freedom of our country.

The sovereign of our Celestial Empire is waiting for you at the palace,

to celebrate magnificently your coming and your victory, great commander.

Our people will accept hospitably your soldiers like brothers,

recognizing their courage.

What does this dance symbolize?

The eternal struggle between good and evil.

Of course, does good always win?

Sure.

With your leave, Son of Heaven, to thank you for your show,

I'd like to offer you another prepared by us.

- What is he going to do? - This is very strange.

What is it?

You will see.

Patience is the best of virtues.

Stop, Bayan!

The killer shouldn't die.

He will tell us the name of the traitor before being punished.

Torture will make him talk.

Take him away!

Who ordered you to kill the Emperor?

Talk!

Give it another turn of the screw.

Are you going to talk?

Who ordered you to kill the Emperor?

Don't abuse my patience.

Well, are you going to talk outright?

Who is responsible for your crime?

Turn the crank once more.

Go on.

It's enough!

Give it another turn!

He's dead.

It's a shame.

One cannot speak if his tongue was cut out.

I will keep this symbol of power

until the day the crown prince accedes to the throne.

Announce to the people that Princess Lei-ling

will be entrusted to care of the holy monastery of Tang.

She'll be there studying the principles of the nation's religion.

The prince will remain in court,

where he will get the proper education to take the throne.

Until then, I assume the role of regent of the Chinese Empire.

Ten years have passed.

The Chinese people are subjected to a tyranny worse than that of the Tartars.

The great Khan of the Mongols has enslaved

those to whom he promised freedom

and has plunged the country into misery and starvation.

Foci of revolt emerged throughout China, but all attempts were in vain.

The new rulers have no limit in the ferocity of the punishments

and the cruelty of the reprisals.

The sad mass of servants

is joined by the long and tragic mass of the doomed.

Get ready.

Mongolian soldiers were killed in the vicinity of this village.

The Great Khan, in the name of law and justice,

has ordered that for every dead soldier,

ten hostages must be beheaded.

They keep on attacking and escaping,

vanishing into thin air.

Reprisals and punishments are not possible

because of the silent network of complicity that protects them.

Your father's enemies can't live under your roof.

May the enemy always find you wielding the sword.

It's their law.

For them you're the enemy.

If you were crowned Emperor of China, things would change.

There he is. The future Emperor of China.

Soon he will come of age and it will be hard for me to keep him in check.

Prince Tai-Sung loves hunting.

And hunting is dangerous.

Accidents are quite common.

We have little Lei-ling, locked in that distant convent.

Some false rebels could ask the nuns for shelter.

There would be reprisals.

The princess would be executed by mistake

and the blame would fall on the rebels.

The princess will have changed a lot.

It's been 10 years.

She has the Imperial Dragon tattooed on her arm.

It will be easy to recognize her.

An unfortunate fate is written for these children.

Always stay with me, Liu Tai.

It's good for the peace of my soul.

I've always been by your side

and I will remain when you become Lord and Ruler of this country.

Come with me.

Young prince,

we decided to celebrate your birthday with a big hunt.

It's the best gift I could receive.

I'll go this way;

you will go around the swamps

and you, Tai Sung, will stay next to the tiger trap.

Let's see who the best hunter is.

Just wait for the tiger to show up

and I'll bring you its skin to decorate your throne.

Bayan,

I entrust you with the safety of the prince.

Let your soldiers hurry. The convent of the Buddhist nuns isn't near.

Whoever commands them shouldn't forget the dragon tattoo.

Make haste! Put him in the tiger trap.

No!

Hurry up! Hurry up!

The tiger isn't far away.

No!

Now cover it.

Quick! Climb up the tree.

Help!

Help!

Attention!

The princess has a dragon tattoo on her left arm!

Look everywhere!

Search for her! She shouldn't escape!

What do you want? Who are you?

Who are you?

Don't be afraid, stranger. You're welcome here.

The one who is with you is Prince Tai-Sung.

He is hurt. What happened?

Tell us, who are you?

My name is Maciste.

I was born from the rock.

Tell me, where do you come from, Maciste?

From a great distance.

Come in.

If you hate the invaders of China, this is your home.

Take the prince from him and carry him to my cell.

Be careful.

I am the mind that leads the people who fight the Mongol oppressors.

Chu, unlike me, is the sword that always strikes wherever he is.

He must be a man of great courage. I would like to know him.

If you want to join our fight, you'll find him long before you imagine.

The prince is resting in bed.

His wounds are not serious. He will get over them soon.

Glad to hear that.

However, if the Great Khan ordered to kill Tai-Sung,

we'd better make him believe that his plan was successful.

Wai-Tung!

Go to the forest and make the tiger's body disappear.

But don't erase its tracks.

What about the bodies of the three guards?

When the Mongols find their companions with claw wounds,

they will think that the tiger attacked and killed them.

Tao is our high priest. He lives in the Imperial Palace.

We'll send him the prince's clothes to make the Khan believe that he's dead.

You've let the princess get away.

Traitors!

Forgive me, sir.

Maybe she was killed.

Maybe, maybe, why "maybe"?

My orders should not be answered with a "maybe".

Prince Tai-Sung may have also died,

but his body vanished into thin air.

Forgive me, sire.

I did everything I could.

Well, you haven't done enough.

I cannot allow mistakes or slip-ups in such serious matters.

Take him away!

You'll pay for it with your life.

No, my lord! No, no, no!

I no longer have tears to shed.

Death and misfortune have spread their black wings over our land.

Does this belong to Prince Tai-Sung?

Some of our monks on pilgrimage who were returning to the monastery

saw a tiger dragging the remains of a boy.

But before they could help him,

the beast escaped, hauling the body of the child into the forest.

The monks have only been able to collect the clothes of the poor victim

as a proof of his misfortune.

I've had the bitter fate of recognizing

in the midst of these dirty and bloody clothes

my beloved lord's mantle.

My heart bleeds at such horrible news.

I will make it public so that all the people mourn with us

the death of the prince.

Wang's tavern?

Yes, it's straight ahead. Turn right and you'll find it.

Wang's tavern?

That one over there.

7, 4, 8, 4, 5, 6...

3, 9, 7, 4, 4...

Hello, my friend. Welcome to my humble tavern.

Give me your hand.

I want to make sure that this ring fits your finger.