In 1500, Cesare Borgia wants to rule over the entire Italic peninsula; his favorite agent, one Andrea Orsini, is a man who conceals his humble origins and has artistic tendencies; Borgia assigns him with eliminating the sovereign of an independent City State, towards whose wife Orsini feels attracted.
The distinguishing feature of this production is the location shooting in Italy (San Gimignano, Siena, Florence, Rome, and Venice) and San Marino, which gives it a remarkably realistic as well as aesthetically pleasing look. Aside from that, it is the usual Hollywood fare, professionally done yet decidedly melodramatic in nature. As usual in Hollywood melodrama, characters, both central and supporting ones, act in less than plausible ways, which nevertheless are very convenient in regard to shaping the plot, and the dialog is not ashamed of anachronism, conspicuously so in a reference to romantic love. There is even a devoted mother of peasant origin who is played with adequate gusto by Katina Paxinou, but could just as well be done by Anna Magnani. Machiavelli's thought is summarized in the usual popular way as "the ends justifies the means". In short, it is entertaining and not too enlightening regarding History, but far from preposterous.
Rating: 57
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