Prince of Foxes (1949) Movie Script
[Ran
[Whisperin
This Alfonso d'Este, do they say how bi he is?
Yes. They say he's over six feet tall.
A giant of a man.
A respectful silence is the least
you can offer your dead husband.
[Priest Speakin Latin
[Choir Sinin In Latin
Would you say the dead man
made a reluctant corpse?
A loose tongue soon
loses its mouth, Captain Orsini.
A wise tongue never needs
to repeat itself, Don Esteban...
nor does
a competent assassin.
- [Sinin Continues
- [ran Continues
Duke Cesare.
We have suffered
a most tragic loss.
My dear sister Lucrezia's
broken with grief.
The court will observe
a proper period of mourning.
- How long, de Lorqua?
- One year, my lord Cesare.
One month.
The dead must not place
too great a burden on the living.
It's my belief that everything,
even death, can be turned into profit.
Our armies hold Pesaro,
Rimini, Forli.
We're on the road
to Urbino, Bologna, Siena.
All Tuscany, the center of Italy
from coast to coast will be ours.
Then inevitably, Milan...
and Venice.
But this devil-begotten Ferrara
stands blocking our progress.
You, Gravina,
you're the military genius.
- How would you take it?
- Perhaps with 10,000 troops.
Or a woman.
We will walk into Ferrara
through a bedroom.
By arranging a marriage between
my recently widowed sister Lucrezia...
and, uh, Alfonso,
the servant of Duke d'Este.
Your Lordship knows that Duke d'Este is
negotiating such a marriage with the French king.
Alfonso's a blacksmith.
He needs a lusty woman...
not one of those
frail, French birds.
And who will convey
this delicate information?
Who?
Who but a man
as quick at deceit as a fox.
He must have the grace of a dancer,
the wrist of an assassin.
He must have little regard
for good faith.
Yet by his astuteness,
be able to confuse men's minds.
He must have confidence
in himself...
yet not permit that confidence
to render him incautious.
He must charm
as a snake charms a bird...
yet he must make no friends...
except those that can
be of use to him.
And for the same reason,
although we make use of love...
he must not love.
You may go now,
all of you, except...
Andrea Orsini.
You question me?
Then go!
You're pleased
with my choice?
I have never questioned
Your Lordship's judgment.
- Don Esteban was annoyed.
- Don Esteban is easily annoyed.
Don't underestimate him, Andrea.
Remember,
that in this race for glory...
he's always just behind you ready to pass
you if you should lose a single step.
I have learned that if my wits are quick,
my feet will be quick enough.
You've learned
something else today?
Why your sister's husband
was sent to another world.
One life is little enough
to pay for all Ferrara.
So long as it's not mine.
Drink.
You are a complete rogue.
I need someone
that can follow my mind...
who can keep his eyes
fixed on the ultimate goal- one Italy...
one kingdom, one king-
Cesare Borgia.
Think of it-
chief minister to a great new kingdom.
What prize on earth
could equal it?
But the great
know only one law-
the outcome justifies the act.
Have you the stomach
for greatness?
The stomach and the appetite.
Then bring me Alfonso d'Este's
promise to marry Lucrezia...
and I'll be certain of it.
Your Lordship will find me
a most efficient Cupid.
Try some of your shafts
on my cousin, Angela.
She's waiting for you.
No.
That way.
De Lorqua.
Captain Orsini leaves
tomorrow for Ferrara.
He travels by way of Venice.
Arrange the necessary passage.
Yes, Duke Cesare.
Angela.
Oh, Angela, my love. I've been commissioned
to leave immediately for Ferrara.
Yes, I know.
It will take you away from me,
and yet you are pleased.
Only because
the reward is great.
Oh, I love you.
I love you, Andrea.
But I don't trust you.
You're too ambitious.
If I'm ambitious, it's only to make
myself worthy of your love.
For without your love,
I'm nothing.
[Man Sinin In Italian
[Andrea
What do you think of that?
Good. Very good.
It's not signed.
Did you paint it?
Would it be any better
if it were signed Leonardo da Vinci?
- It would be worth more.
- Never mind.
It's not for sale.
I need it in my business.
But...
what do you think of this?
Ah. A gem!
A rare gem!
- It's not signed either.
- It doesn't need to be.
Will you sell it?
I might.
I will, uh, risk, uh, 50 ducats.
I risked my life.
- Let Cesare Borgia pay for that.
- He does, in opportunities.
How I die is his problem.
How I live is my own.
- Uh, 60.
- I'm a poor man on an expensive mission.
Seventy-five,
and that's my last offer.
My lowest price is 100 ducats,
and only out of love for you.
- Ninety.
- It's worth more than that to me.
[Woman
I'll buy your paintin.
Madonna Camilla.
What an honor!
What a delight. Your Signora
drops like an angel from heaven.
To find you bargaining
like a fishwife.
Not for myself,
but for a client.
Oh, then it's worth the price?
No doubt, if beauty
has a price.
Will you let me have this
for 100 ducats?
Please?
Accept it as a tribute
to your own beauty.
You mean that you'll give me
this beautiful thing?
If Your Highness
would honor me.
Well, did you hear that?
And he doesn't even know me.
You have greatness of soul, Messer.
I will hang it in a place
of honor in my own bedroom...
where it will always recall your generosity
to me and to my good husband.
Well, Messer, have you nothing
appropriate to say?
Forgive my silence.
L- I was just thinking...
with envy and admiration
of your husband.
I was also deploring the fact that while
Your Highness has a memento of our meeting...
I have nothing.
You're not hinting
for a gift in return?
"Hinting" is hardly
the word for it.
But I-
There.
I will keep this as a saint's relic...
in memory of the divine hand
that wore it.
Master da Pavia, isn't it time
you presented this gentleman?
Magnifico Andrea Orsini, captain
to His Excellency, Duke Cesare Borgia.
Oh, then I know your kinsman.
- The cardinal, the duke of Gravina.
- Distant kinsman.
My family is of Naples.
My great uncle was Raimondo Orsini,
count of Nola.
Oh, indeed. Now, will you
please present me?
I have the honor to present
Camilla degli Baglioni...
wife of His Excellency,
Marc Antonio Verano...
lord of Citt del Monte.
Who is very pleased to have
exchanged souvenirs with you.
Would you do my husband and me
the honor of waiting on us?
Well, unfortunately,
I leave for Ferrara.
You go alone?
Armed with an olive branch.
- A pleasant journey, Messer Orsini.
- Madame. Messer.
How long have you known
this gentleman?
Oh, three years about.
What do you make of him?
A soldier who knows art...
an Orsini unrelated
to the Orsini...
a servant of the Borgias
going alone to Borgia's enemies.
He has too many faces.
I find him interesting.
I hope you may not find him dangerous,
Madonna. He drives a hard bargain.
Grazie.
- Don't be a fool! Don't be a fool!
- Fool to kill you?
If you kill me, you'll never
know why I attacked you.
Get up.
On your feet.
Walk in front of me
toward the light.
Ah, a face like yours
shouldn't be hidden in the dark.
- It's beautiful.
- It's been called everything but that.
Oh, only by the unartistic.
Oh, there's-
there's design in your face.
A hundred twisted
curves and anles...
tortured into a pattern
of exquisite evil.
And you have beautiful
and artistic hands.
That face, those hands,
your voice and manner of speaking.
You are, of course,
of gentle birth.
What does my birth
got to do with you?
I like to know something
about the people I deal with.
Why rake over the past
of a hired assassin?
Because it may determine
our future.
Now tell me, who employed you
to assassinate me?
- I never sell my wares until I know the price.
- How much is your life worth?
- Why?
- 'Cause that's all I promise to pay.
Now you're unarmed
and I'm not squeamish.
Besides, you deserve to die.
Well, I'm, uh- I'm waiting
for a fresh topic of conversation.
Did I hear you say Duke d'Este
paid you to draw my blood?
- In advance.
- How much?
- You were expensive.
- They paid without bargaining?
Yes. You're distinctly
not wanted in Ferrara.
Do you know why?
I never cut a throat without knowing
whose it is or why I'm cutting it.
The mere idea of a marriage between
Alfonso d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia...
blisters their pride.
The lady's had too public a life.
Well, having lost you one employment,
I should find you another.
Your game?
It amuses me to think
of entering Ferrara...
the master of the man
who was hired to kill me.
Such insolence is stimulating. But have you
thought of what will happen to me?
The same thing that'll happen to me.
We live or die together. And I intend to live.
I'll bear your service while the bond lasts,
and warn you when I'm quitting.
Fair enough.
Let's to bed. We leave
in the early morning for Ferrara.
There's a fine inn at Crespino
with a beautiful kitchen.
Would Your Lordship wish
to spend the night there?
No. That's a prosperous
looking farm.
[Man Scoffs
Why shouldn't it be?
That's the widow Zoppo's farm.
Why do you turn down
your nose at it?
Ah, to answer that
would be really a story.
There was the father,
a blacksmith...
and his good wife,
Mona Maria.
They had a son who
was more than bright.
So, the poor, foolish parents
saved their money...
to send him to Padua
to study with the great masters.
Some six years ago,
he disappeared.
The next we heard, he had become
a bandit down south in the Regno.
- The father's dead, huh?
- Yes, almost two years. They say from a broken heart.
The old lady lives alone?
Yes, and keeps her thoughts
to herself.
Only the old woman and God
know how much gold she has hid away.
Every ducat of it stolen
by her bandit son.
Where does she hide her gold?
Who knows where an old woman
hides her gold?
In pots buried in the earth...
in sugar bowls,
under her bed, in her skirts.
Women can find
always places to confound a man.
They spend their lives
confoundin us.
We'll stop tonight
at Crespino.
Yes, Your Excellency.
[Do Barkin
[Barkin Continues
Who is it?
What do you want?
Keep out of my house!
- Andrea.
- Oh, Mammina.
My boy!
My boy, my boy, my boy.
Thank God
you've come home to me.
Let me look at you.
Let me-
My goodness,
just like a gentleman...
with a sword...
and real fur on his collar
and a red hat.
So beautiful.
No, you're the one who's beautiful.
You haven't changed a bit.
No, thanks to you.
For six years
I worry and wait and wait.
Mammina, you're not going to waste
our precious time scolding me.
- How soon must you go?
- Sunrise.
- [Barkin
- Oh, Furio. Stop it!
- Someone outside?
- Oh, no. Rabbits, mice, cats.
A widow's dog never rests.
- I know, Mammina.
- He had great hopes for you.
If only he could have waited.
I do well now, I assure you.
- [Barkin
- Quiet, Furio! Stop it.
Come, sit down.
Do all painters wear swords
and red hats?
I live by a different art now.
Yes. People call me
the mother of a bandit.
Perhaps they're riht.
But at least no common bandit. I work
for one who dreams of stealing all Italy.
His name is Cesare Borgia.
You devil.
Why didn't you tell me that before?
Because you would have taken the money
I sent you and come to Rome to see me.
- Are you ashamed of your mother?
- No, but you'd never have found me.
- Why not?
- Well, I have another name now.
Why?
Names are important, Mammina,
to open certain doors.
The one I took belongs
to the dead branch of a famous family.
What name?
I can't tell you that yet.
But it's brought me good luck.
I am at home
in many great palaces.
There's a title in the offin...
a great marriage, the founding
of a princely house.
What do you say to that?
When you, my son, Andrea Zoppo,
painted this Madonna...
you were depending on yourself
and the light God gave you.
Now, to be a grand signore,
you depend on sham and trickery.
Oh, Mammina,
you don't understand.
Times have changed.
A new world is being born.
Sham and trickery
are only weapons of policy.
We live or die, succeed
or fail, by only one law:
The end justifies the means.
- Holy Mother of God, forgive him this blasphemy.
- Mammina-
Stop him from following this sinful path,
even if you must wither his legs-
- Mammina.
- Or blind his eyes.
- Stop it! Stop it!
- Stop him even if you must-
Stop that idiotic nonsense,
or I swear I'll never come here again.
Nor do I want you
to come back...
unless it be as my true son,
Andrea Zoppo.
And I suppose you'll reject
the money I send you too.
I don't want your money.
- Forgive my son, Blessed Mother.
- [Barkin
[Alfonso
Note the reinforcin of the breach.
My lord father, I have offset
the softness of the bronze.
[Man
Your Grace.
One Messer Mario Belli requests
an audience with Your Lordship.
Bring him here.
Dismiss these men.
Return to the foundry. Go.
Go on back, all of you.
And you, Roberto.
This is a rare assassin.
You bring me news?
Come closer.
Who is the man
you bring with you?
It, uh-
It's a long story, my lord.
Then as to your mission,
answer a simple yes or no.
I have the honor to present
to Your Excellencies...
the lord Andrea rsini.
I am honored to be in
the presence of Your Excell-
Guards, arrest this man!
You-You will hang by
the heels for this!
I beg Your Lordship not to be offended
by Messer Belli's regrettable failure.
- You are impudent, sir!
- Shall we say "tolerant"?
You will not live to
return to your master.
One must be practical
about these things, Your Grace.
My lord Cesare's forces,
600 lancers, 10,000 foot...
are even now within strikin distance
of your peaceful duchy.
This is hardly the time for one
to murder his emissary...
even if he had thought
it necessary to send one...
for other than the most
affectionate of reasons.
My lord father,
this Messer Orsini has a rare spirit.
Then you enjoy it!
You are not welcome here,
Messer Orsini.
I advise you to leave
as quickly as possible.
Guards, back to your posts.
- As for you-
- Messer Belli comes with me...
and is also under the protection
of Cesare Borgia.
Do not try my patience too far.
It's always best to do
as my lord father commands.
I beg a moment, my lord.
- I have long looked forward to this meeting.
- Why?
As a soldier to bow
before Your Lordship's genius.
Your Grace is a man of fame.
The whole world waits with anxious wonder
for your next invention.
From highest castle to humblest hut,
the question is ever the same:
What new type of cannon will
the genius Alfonso d'Este next devise?
Why? Because upon cannon
depends the future of war.
And upon war depends
the future ofhistory.
Who then can deny that history
may well nominate Alfonso d'Este...
as the reatest man ofhis ae?
You're a man of intelligence.
I'll show you something
that'll make your blood run cold.
Then I'll show you something
that'll make yours run hot.
Who builds this first
may well own the world.
Each of those tubes, a gun.
In each gun, a shot.
All to be sent against
the enemy in rapid fire.
It is absolutely irresistible.
Ne hundred thousand ducats,
and that's not all.
There's steel as well as gold in this dowry-
the lances of Duke Cesare-
enough to protect the rights
of Ferrara against any state.
But the supreme dowry
is herself.
Her beauty and the love
she bears Your Excellence.
What love?
She's only seen me once...
and then she was little
more than an infant.
Childhood impressions
are the most lasting...
especially when they are fed
to maturity by constant curiosity.
You are her first
and only love.
I, um- I risk my life
when I tell you this.
But it was she who said to me
one day, and I quote...
"It might very well be that Alfonso d'Este
with his brilliant mind...
fits the role of Italy's supreme ruler
better than my brother Cesare. "
One stroke of the pen, my lord...
and you have brought glory
to Ferrara and joy to your bed.
Two hundred thousand.
Amend the document
and sign, my lord.
And I'll wager that your noble father
is as unable to resist that heroic figure...
as the beautiful Lucrezia
is unable to resist yours.
[Band Playin
I am very, very pleased
with myself, Andrea.
I'm a man of
extraordinarily fine judgment.
Shall I tell you
how I know this?
Because I chose you
to go to Ferrara.
And you did well-
remarkably well.
I congratulate myself.
This new problem...
it will be more profitable
for you and more amusing.
What you win is yours,
subject to my control, of course.
And it includes a rare jewel.
[Continues
- My lord.
- My garden is filled with beautiful women...
and you stand here
like a brooding nemesis.
- I was thinking.
- Good. Practice makes perfect.
You should listen though.
You might learn something. Come along.
- [Ends
- [Applause
The obvious is always a deceitful temptation
in the world of practical affairs.
For example, the obvious solution to
the problems I am about to present to you...
might be an assassin's blade...
in the back of that
gentle old man.
As a matter of fact, your ood friend
Don Esteban has already suested it.
- Then I question its wisdom.
- Oh, it has value...
except that it's premature.
Now, there's thejewel.
Imagine all that beauty wasted on a husband
old enough to be her grandfather.
- That one?
- Mm-hmm.
Sprin in the lap of winter.
But you're the man
to correct that.
However, you will have
to climb high to get to her.
Their duchy is an eagle's nest
sitting atop a mountain.
- Citt del Monte.
- Is there anything about which you're uninformed?
- Your plans for Citt del Monte.
- Very simple.
I want it by next spring.
Your Lordship plans to invade
the Marches in the summer.
You see, Captain,
what a quick mind he has?
Now, where do we start
our conquest of Citt del Monte, hmm?
The husband.
An old wall is more easily breached.
Our illustrious hostess designated
the noble Messer Orsini...
to be our guide and mentor
while we're in Rome.
From what I know
of the noble Messer Orsini...
there should be no one more
competent to guard us from evil than he.
You've met before, Madonna?
Have we, Messer Orsini?
An unfair question, Madonna.
I could play the gallant
and answer...
"Yes, a thousand times,
each time I've looked on beauty. "
R I could be cautious
and sly and say that...
"Madonna's memory
will guide my answer. "
You would not be easy to forget.
A man's ego demands that he
be completely remembered if ever met.
Therefore, in self-defense,
I must assume...
Madonna means that
we have never met.
There you have a perfect illustration
of the language of diplomacy.
If somebody asked me now
if these two have ever met...
and I assure you,
I couldn't answer yes or no.
- Does it really matter, my lord husband?
- Of course not.
Begging Messer Orsini's pardon...
one meets and forgets thousands
of people in the course of a lifetime.
It is my pleasure
as well as my duty...
to make our association
in Rome a memorable one.
We came to Rome for our souls' sake
and in God's keeping...
and we ask for
no better protection.
Nevertheless, it is gratifying to know that
we have Your Excellency's protection as well...
if only against those who think
themselves beyond God's will.
But there's been no link between us
to create friendship and trust.
We must correct that.
We must exchange ambassadors.
- Well-
- It's the only solution.
I will appoint an ambassador
before Your Lordship leaves Rome.
As a matter of fact, I appoint him now-
Messer Andrea Orsini...
one of the most amiable
of all my youn men.
We shall welcome you to our court
as a friend, Messer Orsini.
I am dedicated to Your Signore's service
from this moment on.
The journey has been fatiguing.
May we have Your Lordship's
permission to retire?
- The problem suits you?
- Uniquely.
It will not be easy, eh?
I will deliver to Your Magnificence
Citt del Monte...
and the loyalty
of its people by spring.
To be taken
by romantic conquest.
We Borgias are not sentimentalists.
First, Citt del Monte,
then your marriage.
With Madonna Camilla
somewhere in between.
We'll worry about her
when the time comes.
You promised we would be married
on his return from Ferrara.
Marriage is a formality
which can be accomplished at any time.
Problems of state come first.
- Is this agreeable to you?
- My lord commands. I obey.
I'll reason with her. Once you've made
the old man's wife love you...
it ought not to be too difficult for your ensign,
Belli, to make a widow of her.
I'm told he's quite
a subtle rascal.
- Messer Andrea.
- Your Excellency.
Women are the gauge
of a man's weakness.
You are an artist, Belli.
You have the touch of the courtier.
The breeding of a gentleman.
You were born for great enterprise.
- Why-
- Sit, my friend.
You-You overrate me
a thousandfold, my lord.
Nor could you have allied yourself
with a more promising patron...
than Captain Orsini.
He's a brilliant young man.
But the flesh is proverbially weak.
Vicissitudes occur.
It's always well to take precautions.
Thus, if the noble
Orsini remains faithful to my service...
you will continue to serve me
by serving him.
But... if, God forbid,
he should...
waver... for any reason...
you will continue to serve me.
There you are-
200 ducats.
Your Graciousness has made me wealthy
beyond my most impossible dreams.
Hmm. Have no illusions
about my generosity.
Knowledge is always
a good investment.
I also know when
I have made a bad bargain.
Good night.
[Ends
I would like to say a few words.
Captain Orsini comes to us
as Cesare Borgia's ambassador.
That is good. Perhaps the duke
will learn through his ambassador...
that if we prosper,
it is because we live in peace.
And that if we enjoy peace...
it is because we want only
friendship and understanding...
of our neighbors
and of each other.
I depend on you all
to help Captain Orsini...
to send this message
to his illustrious master...
Captain the lord Orsini.
[Applause
My lord Verano. Signori.
I am a professional soldier.
If you should see me climbing your walls,
know that I am studying your defenses.
But know also that
I was not sent here for that.
My wise and illustrious master,
Duke Cesare...
has already told me
that your defenses are impregnable.
He has also told me that one citizen
of Citt del Monte...
is worth 500 mercenaries.
In his wisdom, Duke Cesare
has identified your strength...
as loyalty.
I am here to spy
on that loyalty...
to learn for him the secret
of how it works.
I am already learning.
Please help me to learn more.
[Man
Bravo!
[Rchestra
We must talk alone.
Lady Beatrice will fetch you later.
Madonna Camilla is in the chapel.
Will you please wait here?
Yes. Thank you.
I know that Borgia sent you here
for some evil purpose.
I've asked you here
to give you warning.
- My husband is-
- Your husband again?
If any harm should come
to my husband through you...
I will hate you
until the death.
I promise you,
I know how to hate.
Or love, the twin of hate?
Do not betray his hospitality.
- There will be peace between us, so long as you act peaceably.
- [Door Closes
So you've found our chapel.
Lovely, isn't it?
I come here every night.
It makes my sleep more peaceful.
Sometimes I end by wishing
that old age were slower in coming.
If old age brings wisdom such as yours,
my lord, it comes too slowly to suit me.
You find my wife attractive,
don't you?
Only with the deepest respect,
Signore.
- Words!
- I regret that Your Lordship thinks ill of me.
- I think ill of no one.
- Your Lordship is tolerant.
I am tolerant of nothing that
might affect Madonna's honor.
But the certainty I have of her excludes
jealousy, suspicion and such claptrap.
Mind you, she's a Baglioni.
Her blood's hot enough.
She's as capable of going
to the devil as any other of her house.
But I'm certain of this. If she does go,
she won't sneak about it.
She'll tell me first.
That's my certainty and my pride.
No, I don't think ill of you.
I've lived 70 years, and I know
that in spite of the poets...
youth is not the happiest season.
I'll not detain you longer.
Incidentally, I'll return this to her.
I can hardly wait till spring
to see what they look like.
Each year we tolerate winter...
because it brings us
the new flowers of spring.
Some-
Will you excuse me, my dear?
Give me a thousand men
and enough food and ammunition...
I could hold this place until the enemy
either starved to death or died of old age.
But the way it's left
unguarded now.
Good morning, my lord.
Good morning.
Of all Citt del Monte,
this is my favorite place.
Whenever I'm troubled, whenever
I need to work out a difficult problem...
I come here, and always
I find the solution.
- It's frightening. A loose pebble,
a gust of wind and-
Are you afraid of death?
Well, I can't say that I have
any great affection for it.
Look below you, my friend.
For 70 years,
I've watched the seasons change.
I've seen the vibrant life of summer,
the brilliant death of fall...
the silent grave of winter.
And then, I've seen
the resurrection of sprin-
the glorious birth of new life.
And my father and my father's father
have seen it before me.
Nothing ever dies, my friend.
You don't believe that,
do you?
I don't have your wisdom,
my lord.
I believe that I was born
and that I must die...
and that I must make the best of what
lies between the two extremes.
My lord, the ardeners have finished
and are waitin for further instructions.
No need for you to run uphill
to tell me that.
We haven't much time before winter
sets in. Won't you come along now?
Excuse me.
Perfect.
Absolutely heaven-sent.
Whenever we wish, we give
the old man a problem to think out.
He comes up here and-
I thought a courtier and cavalier
left daubing with paint to the craftsmen.
Your lord husband finds pleasure in work
one usually leaves for gardeners.
His roses
are the most beautiful in Italy.
It's not for me to say
the same for my painting.
You have a certain skill.
Fair for an amateur.
I try, Madonna. I try.
One can do no more.
[Camilla
You've missed none of the evil in his face.
[Andrea
judas Iscariot was evil.
I imagine you find
painting beauty more difficult.
I paint what I see
and feel, Madonna.
If one is beautiful inside
as well as out...
my brush can neither take from
nor add to that beauty.
Actually, it's quite good.
Are you as good with women?
I have been very successful
with women.
Perhaps-
When you have finished this...
perhaps you would do
some of my ladies.
That is, if you have
nothing else to do.
Perhaps Madonna herself.
Perhaps.
I will need to ask
my lord husband.
[Door pens
Ah, come in, come in,
Messer Orsini.
- Thank you for coming.
- Your Lordship is ill?
Hibernating, my friend.
Hibernating.
Let those who will
play winter games.
I'm for enjoying the snow
by reading a book in a warm room.
And you, I'm told,
pass the time in painting.
Daubing's a better name for it.
Come closer.
Do sit down, please.
Why do you paint?
- Helps to pass the time.
- Do you love it?
I can't say that I love it.
It amuses me.
Are you afraid
of the word "love"?
No, I'm not afraid of it, my lord.
It's just that I- I have no use for it.
- And yet you dream of ruling men and nations.
- My lord presumes.
A prerogative of age.
But don't misunderstand me.
I'm no sentimentalist about love.
I'm not even as romantic
about it as I used to be.
But I believe one cannot
understand anything properly...
until one has learned
to love it.
It's true of my roses
and it's true of people.
I'm afraid I haven't sufficient knowledge
to debate the subject.
You're lying.
Your Lordship speaks carelessly.
You're lying, not to me,
but to yourself.
There is something
that you love...
something beyond...
this deceitful and murderous game
you're playing now.
It is better if I assume
Your Lordship is ill.
With Your Lordship's permission.
Wait!
While you're brooding over
my delirious ravings...
I'd appreciate it
if you'd do a portrait of my wife.
She tells me you have
an extraordinary understanding...
of the art of painting
and a great talent for it.
She's too kind.
[Door pens, Closes
But there is news, Magnifico!
Cesare moves on Capua,
blood flows again in Faenza...
Naples trembles and
Florence sounds with alarms.
All sure signs of spring.
Does no one notice the return of the birds
or the budding of fruit trees?
Your Lordship speaks
as one afflicted with lovesickness.
A woman's ailment, eh, Belli?
Unworthy of men...
and certain death for politicians.
I'll see you later.
When may I look?
You sat patiently for so many months,
Madonna. Have you no more patience?
A woman's entitled
to a reasonable curiosity.
How do I know but what
you've made me ugly as a witch?
Then my brush would lie.
Why should I expect the truth?
The portrait is finished, Madonna.
Do I look like that?
As I see you.
And I thought you were only
a maker of compliments...
a lord of ambitions
and dark schemes.
And now, in my own portrait,
I see something else.
There's a great artist in you,
Messer Orsini.
I have much to learn.
You speak now with humility.
What's happened to all
your quick, easy words?
Everything I know is stale. L-
I must find a new language to fit new
definitions. Please don't say anything.
Your portrait, Madonna.
What is troubling you?
The change of season.
Spring is here.
And what was planted in the winter
must soon begin to grow.
Well, there's no question
about it. Spring is here.
[Ends
It appears that Cesare Borgia...
has decided to launch
an attack against Camerino.
I am required to afford passae
for his troops...
and to levy a thousand men
for his service.
He assumes that I shall welcome this
opportunity of showing my devotion to him.
I must think about this.
It concerns others besides myself.
- Show the captain to his quarters.
- Yes, my lord.
I hope you will be comfortable.
The vacation is over, eh, Orsini?
We'll see now which is more effective-
pretty words or a sharp blade.
[Man
If Your Lordship will please follow me...
I'll show you to your quarters.
Magnifico,
soon you'll have everything-
wealth, position, fame,
even love, greatness too.
You've sweated for this
how many years?
All my life it seems.
And now only one last hurdle-
a small one at that.
Speak up, Magnifico.
Give me your orders.
Could you kill that old man?
Consider it done.
[Door Closes
Belli.
Signori, my course is plain.
Honor as well as duty...
forbids me to give aid
to this Cesare Borgia...
a man I consider evil,
false and perjured.
Therefore, I shall refuse
to assist him in this matter.
However, I have no riht
to condemn you...
and your families
to the miseries of war.
You must decide for yourselves
which you value more-
liberty or life.
I shall accept your choice.
Your Excellency,
you speak of liberty or life.
Life is cheap to Cesare Boria.
To us, it is the most
we have to ive.
Is it livin to be a slave?
Are not life and liberty
one and the same?
I say it is!
We will not have it said...
that while others defied
the power of Cesare Borgia...
we meekly fixed his yoke
on our necks.
Come to your senses.
You're throwing away fortune,
success, life itself...
for the sake
of moonshine sentiments...
that no enlightened man
would take seriously.
Do you consider yourself
an enlightened man, Belli?
Enough to know there's no profit
in fighting lost causes.
I'm not so sure about that.
- I am!
- [Man And if it be suicide-
I give you notice now
I'm withdrawing from your service.
You've betrayed not only
Cesare Borgia, but me.
- I'll not forget that.
- And to all those people, let them-
Nor will you forget what you have
seen here at Citt del Monte.
...who chose death to slavery.
Let them say
we who lived in honor...
knew also how to die in honor.
[Crowd Cheerin
I offer one more sword
against Cesare Borgia.
- Bravo! Bravo!
- [Crowd Cheerin
[Hammer Poundin
We must strip the farms
of everything edible.
We'll need all the food we can get
to withstand a long siege.
- And Borgia's troops won't be able to live off the land.
- We'll not have time.
We'll make what time we can.
I know Borgia's technique.
First he'll send mounted troops.
Artillery will follow.
If Your Lordship agrees, we won't
wait for him to attack the city.
We are not strong enough
to meet Borgia's army in open battle.
But, my lord, does the wolf charge
headlong at the bull?
No. He waits his chance, and then rushes in
from the side to escape the long, sharp horns.
And he strikes
at the weakest part-
always the weakest part.
Wear this, my lord husband.
My love and my prayers
for your safety.
My lord rsini...
this talisman for you,
with my gratitude.
Thank you, Madonna.
[Bells Rinin
I once had a friend-
he was a saint in honor
and justice...
and he passed those virtues on
to his only child.
When he died, she needed a refuge
from the enemies of her family.
I married her
to assure her that refuge.
He was my friend,
and I made her my daughter.
And as I tend the beauty
of my roses...
so I must always care for the beauty
and the happiness of her soul.
[Horse Whinnyin
They're coming into the wood.
They're coming into the clearing.
We're ready for your orders,
Your Lordship.
Charge!
[Men Shoutin
We did it! We did it!
After them!
Follow them into the woods!
[Andrea
Cut them from behind! After them!
Andrea.
How is it with the battle, Andrea?
We've thrown them back to Fabriano.
The dogs should be
straightly followed.
Give them no pause, Andrea.
- We're on their heels, Excellence.
- Good.
Am I alone?
No, my lord.
I'm here with Messer Andrea,
your good friend.
Give me your hand, Andrea.
You've both been true to me.
I have understood.
Now be true to each other...
and- and the people-
always the people.
[Bell Rins
[Men Shoutin
Direct your cannon fire
closer to the wall.
The hot oil!
The hot oil!
Hot oil! Hot oil!
[Bule
Madonna, we have held out
for three months.
Now we've come to the end.
The people are dying
of pestilence and starvation.
One more assault and we're done.
It remains only to provide
measures for your safety.
- What measures?
- There's a secret exit from the city.
While Borgia's men pillage,
you'll escape into the open...
then on to Perugia, Venice
or wherever you wish.
I marvel at you, Andrea.
No doubt.
A sad rogue.
I marvel that you think
so badly of me.
I could not sneak off and beg for refuge
while you and my people die.
Heroism is a shallow thing, Madonna,
if it isn't rooted in wisdom.
I don't intend to be wise.
I can only be what I am.
Then I ask you to leave for my sake.
How can my leaving...
serve you?
The book is closing for me, Madonna.
I have failed in all points-
in art, in politics, in war.
But if you are safe,
I'll know at the very end...
that my life was to some purpose.
It's been strange...
our road together...
and yet not together.
Please go.
- [Man Captain rsini.
- What is it, Fabio?
There are three Borgia men
under a flag of truce at the city gates.
Do you know what they want?
Did they say what they want?
Yes, sir.
They say a parley.
A parley? Mattia, escort them
to the council hall.
- Yes, sir.
- Fabio, call all our men into the square.
- Let it be swarming with soldiers.
- And leave the walls undefended?
Never mind. They must judge
our strength by what they see.
- Hurry!
- Yes, sir.
If haggling's their game, our road
may be longer than we thought.
Always the fox.
With a few tricks left.
Come, Madonna.
You must change your gown.
Wear your prettiest dress.
Hurry.
As commanding officer of the benevolent Duke
Cesare Borgia's forces engaged before your city...
I am authorized by His Excellence...
to make certain proposals
to Your Illustrious Signore...
that he believes you
will find to your advantage.
Does our fierce resistance
force him to offer...
- what he had not first intended?
- Hold your tonue, madame!
- Watch your words, Esteban!
- Captain Orsini.
We cannot deny that the duke
offers these terms...
as a tribute to
Your Excellency's courage.
It would be a shame to Italian chivalry
should harm come to you.
A thousand thanks, Signore.
Proceed with the terms.
First, in return
for the surrender of your city...
my lord duke engages
to restrain his soldiers from looting...
and take no vengeance on the people.
- What security does he offer?
- His illustrious word.
- The next?
- Second...
my lord duke engages to permit the noble
Madonna Camilla to remain here...
provided that only a captain
appointed by the duke...
shall command the arrison and
assist her in the overnment.
And the next?
Third, these terms shall be
considered null and void...
unless the traitor calling
himself Andrea Orsini...
be delivered alive into the hands
of Duke Cesare's officers...
to be dealt with
as His Excellence may determine.
Go back to your duke with my answer.
Tell him...
I will set torches to the city...
rather than accept
the conditions he offers.
- Madonna Camilla, I beg you to recons-
- I have spoken.
[Balioni Your ladyship's refusal
does credit to your courae.
But for this, many will suffer and die
and this good city be laid waste.
How long do these terms stand?
[Esteban
Until tomorrow. Sunrise. Madame...
understand the Duke Cesare will permit me
to make no compromise regarding this gentleman.
I ask nothing...
from your illustrious assassin...
except that he withdraw...
and leave us in peace.
I shall convey your answer
exactly as you have phrased it.
[Man
Attenti!
Well, so much for that.
- We'll renew the defense.
- It will be our last.
I'm not afraid.
[Balioni
Captain Esteban!
Enter, Baglioni.
I bring Your Lordship a prisoner.
A good haul, Baglioni.
A very good haul.
I ask to be taken
to Duke Cesare Borgia.
By his orders, I sit in his seat.
Well, sit lightly, my friend,
lest you damage your brains.
You've a good tongue for cutting.
Since I'm not one for recriminations,
Messer Andrea...
I'll not review the history
of your treason.
There is only the matter
of a fitting punishment.
What's the difference, since to all intents
and purposes, I'm dead already?
A reasonable deduction.
And yet, like so many dead ones,
I can still influence the living.
- You've surrendered, yet you intimate terms.
- Only one.
That you honestly fulfill
those you have already offered.
What if I take your life now and
do as I please about the terms?
You will conquer a dead city.
Every building
will be razed by fire.
Every man, woman and child
will be a corpse.
[Andrea
There will be even less lory than loot.
I will fulfill the terms.
- Put your promises in writing.
- My word-
Is not good enough to convince
the noble Madonna Camilla...
who, unfortunately,
does not know you as well as I.
It will be in writing.
Scrivener.
Write this.
I, Don Esteban Ramirez...
in the name of Cesare Borgia,
Duke Valentino and duke of Romagna...
in exchane for the immediate
surrender of Citt del Monte...
- promise faithfully-
- [Andrea And on my honor.
[Esteban And on my honor
to fulfill the followin obliations.
[Marchin Band
[Ends
[Door pens
[Cesare
Madonna Camilla...
I come from Rome,
not as a conqueror...
but as one who would create
a bond of affection between us.
Is there something I can do
to accomplish this?
I ask only one thing...
but you would not grant it.
Ask and find out.
Grant the lord Orsini
life and freedom.
I will obey your least wish
and thank you with every breath.
This is most touching.
No, no, Madonna Camilla.
You must not kneel.
Such love is indeed rare,
and I respect it.
What you ask is not impossible.
All will come right in the end.
I promise... you'll be surprised.
[Middle Eastern
Your Signora's not eating.
I have no taste for food.
I promised to consider the case
of the noble Orsini.
Since it concerns him,
should we not invite him to table?
I haven't words to thank
Your Grace for this mercy.
Don't-
Don't speak of it. Esteban!
Enough of this.
Get out!
Guard, bring in the Messer Orsini.
There he is.
What do you think of him?
Look at him, Madonna. I'm showing him
to you out of masquerade...
in the clothes proper
to his station and birth.
No, Madonna.
You'll stay here.
You need to be informed
about this noble Orsini...
who stands before you
stripped of fraud...
a peasant who posed as a noble.
Still want to marry
this lying impostor?
I love and honor the lord Orsini.
The lady's swallowed
his hook to the gills.
Well, he always had a glib tongue.
At least before he lost his voice.
You slander him when he has
no voice to call you a liar with!
I've done all
I could for you, my lady.
Now I must protect my own
reputation for truthfulness.
Don Esteban, see to it.
Yes, Your Magnificence.
Guard, bring in the woman.
Messer Belli will see to it that the lady
does not leave her chair.
Yes, Magnificence.
And you were his friend.
Friend?
Messer Belli trades in friends,
Madonna.
And this Messer Belli
has come up in the world.
He wears lace and brocade,
carries a jeweled sword...
and sits at Cesare Borgia's table.
Nor has there ever been a more
successful judas than this Messer Belli.
As this peasant, Zoppo,
can tell you.
Shh!
Oh.
Andrea, my boy.
What have they done to you?
Water.
- Water.
- Let her be.
You, bring a chair.
Drink, my son.
Drink slowly.
Oh.
Oh, my boy.
[Andrea
h, Mammina.
Mammina.
Merciful God.
They've almost killed you.
Why has he been tortured?
Why is he in chains?
You'll be informed
in good time, woman.
- Is this your son?
- Yes.
Have you nothing to say
to your true love now?
You need not have lied to me.
You love him less
because he's a peasant.
Huh!
His peasant birth
gave him something more...
than all you highborn thieves
and assassins could ever give him.
I cursed him once
for this worthless fraud.
But I curse you even more
for what you have done to him.
- L-
- No, wait. Cesare Borgia...
you will live after I am dead.
Let me thank you for this-
last of all the things
that you have taught me.
There is no victory
in power, no-
no honor in deceit,
no future in living as-
as you will live-
hated and despised by everyone.
Mammina, forgive me. L-
I've caused you great pain.
He's a lord of nobility and honor...
to whom I offer all my love.
The comedy is finished.
My sentence, Andrea Zoppo-
Be merciful, my lord,
as you hope for God's mercy.
- Take this woman out of here.
She has served her purpose.
Oh, no! No!
My sentence, Andrea Zoppo...
is that tomorrow you shall be exposed
in a cage on the castle tower.
There to remain
as a spectacle and a warning...
until your bones drop apart.
I protest Your Lordship's judgment!
This ungrateful peasant turned
against Your Loving Highness...
caused the death of hundreds
of good troops...
created vast expenses
and endanered future revenues.
I've never seen
a more notable treason!
You think I am being
too merciful, Belli?
What punishment is there for a half-dead
carcass to rot in a cage? Nothing.
- Let him think on his sins.
- You suggest a dungeon?
No, my loving lord,
something blacker.
Gouge out his eyes.
Blind him and set him on the road
with his hag mother to lead him.
And wherever he wanders, let him be
a warning of the justice of your magnificence.
My friend, you're a man in a thousand.
I accept your advice.
Have sharpened stakes prepared and carry
out the sentence. Remove the prisoner.
Wait, my lord!
What need is there of stakes
when I have my two good thumbs?
Gouging's the thing.
And what need to remove him
when I can pop his eyes out...
right here for the amusement
of this worshipful company?
Look now.
A quick pressure of the thumbs
and out squirts the jelly.
- This ought to be a show
worth watching, eh, Madonna?
Oh, don't be squeamish, Madonna.
You're as curious as I to see what a peasant's
eyes look like out of their sockets.
Proceed, Messer Belli.
We'll all be grateful to you.
Guards, seat him
and tie him to the chair.
Camilla, look at me.
Let me fill my eyes.
Take a good look at me.
[Belli
I'm the last thin you'll see.
Scream! Do you understand? Scream! Scream!
Stop him! Stop him!
You devil, stop it!
The eyes of an artist and traitor!
Look! Pretty, aren't they?
They belong to Your Greatness.
Take that carrion away.
Hand him over to his mother.
He's had his fill of palaces. Let him grope
his way back to a hovel. Come along, woman.
God pity him.
He was a gallant soldier.
There's no victory
in this kind of war.
I shall continue to rely on you,
Captain Belli.
Your Magnificence has no more
faithful servant than I.
Then my future is assured-
depending on which one of us
is hanged first.
Hmm?
Better, Mammina.
[Furio Barkin
[Barkin Continues
- Go, go. Lie down.
- [Knockin
[Andrea
Why, Belli!
Magnifico.
- Oh, Belli.
- Magnifico.
- Why did you wait so long-
- I have bad news for you.
- Huh?
- Madonna Camilla tried to follow after you.
- She was stopped, imprisoned in a cell.
- By Borgia?
No, Don Esteban. Borgia's gone with
his army to move against Camerino.
But he left a strong garrison.
L- I can plan an ambush fast enough,
use a knife or garrote with the best...
but I have no brain for this.
It seems to me we're lost,
completely helpless.
All the more reason then for settling down
to the life God meant you to live.
There is a way of retaking Citt del Monte
if the people are willing.
I won't let you go back
to this murdering.
The Borgia terror
must stop somewhere.
Now one small spark will start a fire that
will eventually burn down his house.
But I must get to the people.
You think they'll follow you?
You the peasant, Zoppo, against Cesare Borgia?
As they followed their own lord Verano.
I'll take an oath on that.
But the whole thing must be
very carefully planned.
Success will depend upon
stealth and exact timing.
Now, first we need to-
to bring Mattia, Fabio...
and some of the other leaders
from Citt del Monte here to Cresp-
How did you know to come here?
Who, me?
Speak up, Belli.
- Why, I- I've been here before.
- When?
On our return from Ferrara.
Then you knew all along
that I was an impostor.
Naturally I profited from it-
a thousand ducats.
I simply can't stand
being loyal to one side.
I'm a born traitor.
The truth, Belli.
- I detest fine sentiments.
- Mmm. And yet?
I've discovered the devil
doesn't always pay best.
This whole thing pleases me.
Who betrayed who,
and where did it start? No matter.
It shall be said among my fellow
practitioners in double-dealing...
that I was the greatest of them all.
[Andrea This can only be accomplished
with accuracy and precision. Fabio.
- Yes, sir?
- You will lead your men into the piazza.
- Mattia.
- Yes, sir?
You will take your group into
the garrison area behind the cathedral.
- Men must cover every guard post in the city.
- But we have no arms.
Use axes, sickles, anything.
But your most powerful weapon
will be surprise.
Each must choose a man
and wait until the right time.
- When do we strike?
- When you hear the tower bell.
It will be a signal that Madonna Camilla
is safely out of the castle.
- Strike then, and not a second before.
- Who will bring her out?
I will. Messer Belli
will give us another miracle.
He will open the right window
at the right time for me.
Remember the signal. Madonna Camilla must
be out of the castle before you strike.
And listen for the tower bell.
That will tell you
that she's safely out.
When the tower bell rings, it means
Madonna Camilla is outside the castle.
Each choose a man.
When the bell rings, strike.
When the bell rings, strike.
All clear.
[Door pens
Orsini.
Guard!
Guard!
Guard!
[Door pens
In the garden- beautiful girls.
What's this?
Why, he's drunk.
That's all.
Wait. Let's see.
If a man can't
hold his wine, I-
In his back!
Come with me.
Camilla.
Andrea. Andrea.
One guard stabbed. The other
with a garrote around his throat.
- Ring the bell. Awaken the garrison.
- No! Not yet.
Do that and you'll warn whoever
is here. Let's find them first.
The door to the secret passage's open.
Do as I command. Ring the bell!
It's not yet time!
I mean, we shouldn't
frighten whoever they are.
This is no doubt a clever scheme
to rescue Madonna Camilla.
Everyone involved will be executed.
Sound the alarm.
To ring that bell now
would be a serious mistake.
- Why?
- That's a chance I'll take.
[Bell Rinin
Something's gone wrong.
We must run for it.
Orsini!
Yes, Esteban.
It's me, Orsini.
- You're not blind!
- Maybe it's a miracle...
but I see you, Esteban.
How I've prayed for this moment,
Don Esteban.
My hands are free now,
not tied behind my back.
Orsini.
Get up.
I've killed enough for the Borgias.
Now is the time to ring the bell.
Ring the bell!
[Andrea's Voice Sometime, somewhere,
the Boria terror must stop.
Ne small spark will start a fire
that will eventually burn down his house.
- [Priest With this rin-
- "With this ring"-
- I thee wed-
- "I thee wed"-
- and pliht unto thee-
- "and pliht unto thee"-
- my troth.
- "My troth. "
[Whisperin
This Alfonso d'Este, do they say how bi he is?
Yes. They say he's over six feet tall.
A giant of a man.
A respectful silence is the least
you can offer your dead husband.
[Priest Speakin Latin
[Choir Sinin In Latin
Would you say the dead man
made a reluctant corpse?
A loose tongue soon
loses its mouth, Captain Orsini.
A wise tongue never needs
to repeat itself, Don Esteban...
nor does
a competent assassin.
- [Sinin Continues
- [ran Continues
Duke Cesare.
We have suffered
a most tragic loss.
My dear sister Lucrezia's
broken with grief.
The court will observe
a proper period of mourning.
- How long, de Lorqua?
- One year, my lord Cesare.
One month.
The dead must not place
too great a burden on the living.
It's my belief that everything,
even death, can be turned into profit.
Our armies hold Pesaro,
Rimini, Forli.
We're on the road
to Urbino, Bologna, Siena.
All Tuscany, the center of Italy
from coast to coast will be ours.
Then inevitably, Milan...
and Venice.
But this devil-begotten Ferrara
stands blocking our progress.
You, Gravina,
you're the military genius.
- How would you take it?
- Perhaps with 10,000 troops.
Or a woman.
We will walk into Ferrara
through a bedroom.
By arranging a marriage between
my recently widowed sister Lucrezia...
and, uh, Alfonso,
the servant of Duke d'Este.
Your Lordship knows that Duke d'Este is
negotiating such a marriage with the French king.
Alfonso's a blacksmith.
He needs a lusty woman...
not one of those
frail, French birds.
And who will convey
this delicate information?
Who?
Who but a man
as quick at deceit as a fox.
He must have the grace of a dancer,
the wrist of an assassin.
He must have little regard
for good faith.
Yet by his astuteness,
be able to confuse men's minds.
He must have confidence
in himself...
yet not permit that confidence
to render him incautious.
He must charm
as a snake charms a bird...
yet he must make no friends...
except those that can
be of use to him.
And for the same reason,
although we make use of love...
he must not love.
You may go now,
all of you, except...
Andrea Orsini.
You question me?
Then go!
You're pleased
with my choice?
I have never questioned
Your Lordship's judgment.
- Don Esteban was annoyed.
- Don Esteban is easily annoyed.
Don't underestimate him, Andrea.
Remember,
that in this race for glory...
he's always just behind you ready to pass
you if you should lose a single step.
I have learned that if my wits are quick,
my feet will be quick enough.
You've learned
something else today?
Why your sister's husband
was sent to another world.
One life is little enough
to pay for all Ferrara.
So long as it's not mine.
Drink.
You are a complete rogue.
I need someone
that can follow my mind...
who can keep his eyes
fixed on the ultimate goal- one Italy...
one kingdom, one king-
Cesare Borgia.
Think of it-
chief minister to a great new kingdom.
What prize on earth
could equal it?
But the great
know only one law-
the outcome justifies the act.
Have you the stomach
for greatness?
The stomach and the appetite.
Then bring me Alfonso d'Este's
promise to marry Lucrezia...
and I'll be certain of it.
Your Lordship will find me
a most efficient Cupid.
Try some of your shafts
on my cousin, Angela.
She's waiting for you.
No.
That way.
De Lorqua.
Captain Orsini leaves
tomorrow for Ferrara.
He travels by way of Venice.
Arrange the necessary passage.
Yes, Duke Cesare.
Angela.
Oh, Angela, my love. I've been commissioned
to leave immediately for Ferrara.
Yes, I know.
It will take you away from me,
and yet you are pleased.
Only because
the reward is great.
Oh, I love you.
I love you, Andrea.
But I don't trust you.
You're too ambitious.
If I'm ambitious, it's only to make
myself worthy of your love.
For without your love,
I'm nothing.
[Man Sinin In Italian
[Andrea
What do you think of that?
Good. Very good.
It's not signed.
Did you paint it?
Would it be any better
if it were signed Leonardo da Vinci?
- It would be worth more.
- Never mind.
It's not for sale.
I need it in my business.
But...
what do you think of this?
Ah. A gem!
A rare gem!
- It's not signed either.
- It doesn't need to be.
Will you sell it?
I might.
I will, uh, risk, uh, 50 ducats.
I risked my life.
- Let Cesare Borgia pay for that.
- He does, in opportunities.
How I die is his problem.
How I live is my own.
- Uh, 60.
- I'm a poor man on an expensive mission.
Seventy-five,
and that's my last offer.
My lowest price is 100 ducats,
and only out of love for you.
- Ninety.
- It's worth more than that to me.
[Woman
I'll buy your paintin.
Madonna Camilla.
What an honor!
What a delight. Your Signora
drops like an angel from heaven.
To find you bargaining
like a fishwife.
Not for myself,
but for a client.
Oh, then it's worth the price?
No doubt, if beauty
has a price.
Will you let me have this
for 100 ducats?
Please?
Accept it as a tribute
to your own beauty.
You mean that you'll give me
this beautiful thing?
If Your Highness
would honor me.
Well, did you hear that?
And he doesn't even know me.
You have greatness of soul, Messer.
I will hang it in a place
of honor in my own bedroom...
where it will always recall your generosity
to me and to my good husband.
Well, Messer, have you nothing
appropriate to say?
Forgive my silence.
L- I was just thinking...
with envy and admiration
of your husband.
I was also deploring the fact that while
Your Highness has a memento of our meeting...
I have nothing.
You're not hinting
for a gift in return?
"Hinting" is hardly
the word for it.
But I-
There.
I will keep this as a saint's relic...
in memory of the divine hand
that wore it.
Master da Pavia, isn't it time
you presented this gentleman?
Magnifico Andrea Orsini, captain
to His Excellency, Duke Cesare Borgia.
Oh, then I know your kinsman.
- The cardinal, the duke of Gravina.
- Distant kinsman.
My family is of Naples.
My great uncle was Raimondo Orsini,
count of Nola.
Oh, indeed. Now, will you
please present me?
I have the honor to present
Camilla degli Baglioni...
wife of His Excellency,
Marc Antonio Verano...
lord of Citt del Monte.
Who is very pleased to have
exchanged souvenirs with you.
Would you do my husband and me
the honor of waiting on us?
Well, unfortunately,
I leave for Ferrara.
You go alone?
Armed with an olive branch.
- A pleasant journey, Messer Orsini.
- Madame. Messer.
How long have you known
this gentleman?
Oh, three years about.
What do you make of him?
A soldier who knows art...
an Orsini unrelated
to the Orsini...
a servant of the Borgias
going alone to Borgia's enemies.
He has too many faces.
I find him interesting.
I hope you may not find him dangerous,
Madonna. He drives a hard bargain.
Grazie.
- Don't be a fool! Don't be a fool!
- Fool to kill you?
If you kill me, you'll never
know why I attacked you.
Get up.
On your feet.
Walk in front of me
toward the light.
Ah, a face like yours
shouldn't be hidden in the dark.
- It's beautiful.
- It's been called everything but that.
Oh, only by the unartistic.
Oh, there's-
there's design in your face.
A hundred twisted
curves and anles...
tortured into a pattern
of exquisite evil.
And you have beautiful
and artistic hands.
That face, those hands,
your voice and manner of speaking.
You are, of course,
of gentle birth.
What does my birth
got to do with you?
I like to know something
about the people I deal with.
Why rake over the past
of a hired assassin?
Because it may determine
our future.
Now tell me, who employed you
to assassinate me?
- I never sell my wares until I know the price.
- How much is your life worth?
- Why?
- 'Cause that's all I promise to pay.
Now you're unarmed
and I'm not squeamish.
Besides, you deserve to die.
Well, I'm, uh- I'm waiting
for a fresh topic of conversation.
Did I hear you say Duke d'Este
paid you to draw my blood?
- In advance.
- How much?
- You were expensive.
- They paid without bargaining?
Yes. You're distinctly
not wanted in Ferrara.
Do you know why?
I never cut a throat without knowing
whose it is or why I'm cutting it.
The mere idea of a marriage between
Alfonso d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia...
blisters their pride.
The lady's had too public a life.
Well, having lost you one employment,
I should find you another.
Your game?
It amuses me to think
of entering Ferrara...
the master of the man
who was hired to kill me.
Such insolence is stimulating. But have you
thought of what will happen to me?
The same thing that'll happen to me.
We live or die together. And I intend to live.
I'll bear your service while the bond lasts,
and warn you when I'm quitting.
Fair enough.
Let's to bed. We leave
in the early morning for Ferrara.
There's a fine inn at Crespino
with a beautiful kitchen.
Would Your Lordship wish
to spend the night there?
No. That's a prosperous
looking farm.
[Man Scoffs
Why shouldn't it be?
That's the widow Zoppo's farm.
Why do you turn down
your nose at it?
Ah, to answer that
would be really a story.
There was the father,
a blacksmith...
and his good wife,
Mona Maria.
They had a son who
was more than bright.
So, the poor, foolish parents
saved their money...
to send him to Padua
to study with the great masters.
Some six years ago,
he disappeared.
The next we heard, he had become
a bandit down south in the Regno.
- The father's dead, huh?
- Yes, almost two years. They say from a broken heart.
The old lady lives alone?
Yes, and keeps her thoughts
to herself.
Only the old woman and God
know how much gold she has hid away.
Every ducat of it stolen
by her bandit son.
Where does she hide her gold?
Who knows where an old woman
hides her gold?
In pots buried in the earth...
in sugar bowls,
under her bed, in her skirts.
Women can find
always places to confound a man.
They spend their lives
confoundin us.
We'll stop tonight
at Crespino.
Yes, Your Excellency.
[Do Barkin
[Barkin Continues
Who is it?
What do you want?
Keep out of my house!
- Andrea.
- Oh, Mammina.
My boy!
My boy, my boy, my boy.
Thank God
you've come home to me.
Let me look at you.
Let me-
My goodness,
just like a gentleman...
with a sword...
and real fur on his collar
and a red hat.
So beautiful.
No, you're the one who's beautiful.
You haven't changed a bit.
No, thanks to you.
For six years
I worry and wait and wait.
Mammina, you're not going to waste
our precious time scolding me.
- How soon must you go?
- Sunrise.
- [Barkin
- Oh, Furio. Stop it!
- Someone outside?
- Oh, no. Rabbits, mice, cats.
A widow's dog never rests.
- I know, Mammina.
- He had great hopes for you.
If only he could have waited.
I do well now, I assure you.
- [Barkin
- Quiet, Furio! Stop it.
Come, sit down.
Do all painters wear swords
and red hats?
I live by a different art now.
Yes. People call me
the mother of a bandit.
Perhaps they're riht.
But at least no common bandit. I work
for one who dreams of stealing all Italy.
His name is Cesare Borgia.
You devil.
Why didn't you tell me that before?
Because you would have taken the money
I sent you and come to Rome to see me.
- Are you ashamed of your mother?
- No, but you'd never have found me.
- Why not?
- Well, I have another name now.
Why?
Names are important, Mammina,
to open certain doors.
The one I took belongs
to the dead branch of a famous family.
What name?
I can't tell you that yet.
But it's brought me good luck.
I am at home
in many great palaces.
There's a title in the offin...
a great marriage, the founding
of a princely house.
What do you say to that?
When you, my son, Andrea Zoppo,
painted this Madonna...
you were depending on yourself
and the light God gave you.
Now, to be a grand signore,
you depend on sham and trickery.
Oh, Mammina,
you don't understand.
Times have changed.
A new world is being born.
Sham and trickery
are only weapons of policy.
We live or die, succeed
or fail, by only one law:
The end justifies the means.
- Holy Mother of God, forgive him this blasphemy.
- Mammina-
Stop him from following this sinful path,
even if you must wither his legs-
- Mammina.
- Or blind his eyes.
- Stop it! Stop it!
- Stop him even if you must-
Stop that idiotic nonsense,
or I swear I'll never come here again.
Nor do I want you
to come back...
unless it be as my true son,
Andrea Zoppo.
And I suppose you'll reject
the money I send you too.
I don't want your money.
- Forgive my son, Blessed Mother.
- [Barkin
[Alfonso
Note the reinforcin of the breach.
My lord father, I have offset
the softness of the bronze.
[Man
Your Grace.
One Messer Mario Belli requests
an audience with Your Lordship.
Bring him here.
Dismiss these men.
Return to the foundry. Go.
Go on back, all of you.
And you, Roberto.
This is a rare assassin.
You bring me news?
Come closer.
Who is the man
you bring with you?
It, uh-
It's a long story, my lord.
Then as to your mission,
answer a simple yes or no.
I have the honor to present
to Your Excellencies...
the lord Andrea rsini.
I am honored to be in
the presence of Your Excell-
Guards, arrest this man!
You-You will hang by
the heels for this!
I beg Your Lordship not to be offended
by Messer Belli's regrettable failure.
- You are impudent, sir!
- Shall we say "tolerant"?
You will not live to
return to your master.
One must be practical
about these things, Your Grace.
My lord Cesare's forces,
600 lancers, 10,000 foot...
are even now within strikin distance
of your peaceful duchy.
This is hardly the time for one
to murder his emissary...
even if he had thought
it necessary to send one...
for other than the most
affectionate of reasons.
My lord father,
this Messer Orsini has a rare spirit.
Then you enjoy it!
You are not welcome here,
Messer Orsini.
I advise you to leave
as quickly as possible.
Guards, back to your posts.
- As for you-
- Messer Belli comes with me...
and is also under the protection
of Cesare Borgia.
Do not try my patience too far.
It's always best to do
as my lord father commands.
I beg a moment, my lord.
- I have long looked forward to this meeting.
- Why?
As a soldier to bow
before Your Lordship's genius.
Your Grace is a man of fame.
The whole world waits with anxious wonder
for your next invention.
From highest castle to humblest hut,
the question is ever the same:
What new type of cannon will
the genius Alfonso d'Este next devise?
Why? Because upon cannon
depends the future of war.
And upon war depends
the future ofhistory.
Who then can deny that history
may well nominate Alfonso d'Este...
as the reatest man ofhis ae?
You're a man of intelligence.
I'll show you something
that'll make your blood run cold.
Then I'll show you something
that'll make yours run hot.
Who builds this first
may well own the world.
Each of those tubes, a gun.
In each gun, a shot.
All to be sent against
the enemy in rapid fire.
It is absolutely irresistible.
Ne hundred thousand ducats,
and that's not all.
There's steel as well as gold in this dowry-
the lances of Duke Cesare-
enough to protect the rights
of Ferrara against any state.
But the supreme dowry
is herself.
Her beauty and the love
she bears Your Excellence.
What love?
She's only seen me once...
and then she was little
more than an infant.
Childhood impressions
are the most lasting...
especially when they are fed
to maturity by constant curiosity.
You are her first
and only love.
I, um- I risk my life
when I tell you this.
But it was she who said to me
one day, and I quote...
"It might very well be that Alfonso d'Este
with his brilliant mind...
fits the role of Italy's supreme ruler
better than my brother Cesare. "
One stroke of the pen, my lord...
and you have brought glory
to Ferrara and joy to your bed.
Two hundred thousand.
Amend the document
and sign, my lord.
And I'll wager that your noble father
is as unable to resist that heroic figure...
as the beautiful Lucrezia
is unable to resist yours.
[Band Playin
I am very, very pleased
with myself, Andrea.
I'm a man of
extraordinarily fine judgment.
Shall I tell you
how I know this?
Because I chose you
to go to Ferrara.
And you did well-
remarkably well.
I congratulate myself.
This new problem...
it will be more profitable
for you and more amusing.
What you win is yours,
subject to my control, of course.
And it includes a rare jewel.
[Continues
- My lord.
- My garden is filled with beautiful women...
and you stand here
like a brooding nemesis.
- I was thinking.
- Good. Practice makes perfect.
You should listen though.
You might learn something. Come along.
- [Ends
- [Applause
The obvious is always a deceitful temptation
in the world of practical affairs.
For example, the obvious solution to
the problems I am about to present to you...
might be an assassin's blade...
in the back of that
gentle old man.
As a matter of fact, your ood friend
Don Esteban has already suested it.
- Then I question its wisdom.
- Oh, it has value...
except that it's premature.
Now, there's thejewel.
Imagine all that beauty wasted on a husband
old enough to be her grandfather.
- That one?
- Mm-hmm.
Sprin in the lap of winter.
But you're the man
to correct that.
However, you will have
to climb high to get to her.
Their duchy is an eagle's nest
sitting atop a mountain.
- Citt del Monte.
- Is there anything about which you're uninformed?
- Your plans for Citt del Monte.
- Very simple.
I want it by next spring.
Your Lordship plans to invade
the Marches in the summer.
You see, Captain,
what a quick mind he has?
Now, where do we start
our conquest of Citt del Monte, hmm?
The husband.
An old wall is more easily breached.
Our illustrious hostess designated
the noble Messer Orsini...
to be our guide and mentor
while we're in Rome.
From what I know
of the noble Messer Orsini...
there should be no one more
competent to guard us from evil than he.
You've met before, Madonna?
Have we, Messer Orsini?
An unfair question, Madonna.
I could play the gallant
and answer...
"Yes, a thousand times,
each time I've looked on beauty. "
R I could be cautious
and sly and say that...
"Madonna's memory
will guide my answer. "
You would not be easy to forget.
A man's ego demands that he
be completely remembered if ever met.
Therefore, in self-defense,
I must assume...
Madonna means that
we have never met.
There you have a perfect illustration
of the language of diplomacy.
If somebody asked me now
if these two have ever met...
and I assure you,
I couldn't answer yes or no.
- Does it really matter, my lord husband?
- Of course not.
Begging Messer Orsini's pardon...
one meets and forgets thousands
of people in the course of a lifetime.
It is my pleasure
as well as my duty...
to make our association
in Rome a memorable one.
We came to Rome for our souls' sake
and in God's keeping...
and we ask for
no better protection.
Nevertheless, it is gratifying to know that
we have Your Excellency's protection as well...
if only against those who think
themselves beyond God's will.
But there's been no link between us
to create friendship and trust.
We must correct that.
We must exchange ambassadors.
- Well-
- It's the only solution.
I will appoint an ambassador
before Your Lordship leaves Rome.
As a matter of fact, I appoint him now-
Messer Andrea Orsini...
one of the most amiable
of all my youn men.
We shall welcome you to our court
as a friend, Messer Orsini.
I am dedicated to Your Signore's service
from this moment on.
The journey has been fatiguing.
May we have Your Lordship's
permission to retire?
- The problem suits you?
- Uniquely.
It will not be easy, eh?
I will deliver to Your Magnificence
Citt del Monte...
and the loyalty
of its people by spring.
To be taken
by romantic conquest.
We Borgias are not sentimentalists.
First, Citt del Monte,
then your marriage.
With Madonna Camilla
somewhere in between.
We'll worry about her
when the time comes.
You promised we would be married
on his return from Ferrara.
Marriage is a formality
which can be accomplished at any time.
Problems of state come first.
- Is this agreeable to you?
- My lord commands. I obey.
I'll reason with her. Once you've made
the old man's wife love you...
it ought not to be too difficult for your ensign,
Belli, to make a widow of her.
I'm told he's quite
a subtle rascal.
- Messer Andrea.
- Your Excellency.
Women are the gauge
of a man's weakness.
You are an artist, Belli.
You have the touch of the courtier.
The breeding of a gentleman.
You were born for great enterprise.
- Why-
- Sit, my friend.
You-You overrate me
a thousandfold, my lord.
Nor could you have allied yourself
with a more promising patron...
than Captain Orsini.
He's a brilliant young man.
But the flesh is proverbially weak.
Vicissitudes occur.
It's always well to take precautions.
Thus, if the noble
Orsini remains faithful to my service...
you will continue to serve me
by serving him.
But... if, God forbid,
he should...
waver... for any reason...
you will continue to serve me.
There you are-
200 ducats.
Your Graciousness has made me wealthy
beyond my most impossible dreams.
Hmm. Have no illusions
about my generosity.
Knowledge is always
a good investment.
I also know when
I have made a bad bargain.
Good night.
[Ends
I would like to say a few words.
Captain Orsini comes to us
as Cesare Borgia's ambassador.
That is good. Perhaps the duke
will learn through his ambassador...
that if we prosper,
it is because we live in peace.
And that if we enjoy peace...
it is because we want only
friendship and understanding...
of our neighbors
and of each other.
I depend on you all
to help Captain Orsini...
to send this message
to his illustrious master...
Captain the lord Orsini.
[Applause
My lord Verano. Signori.
I am a professional soldier.
If you should see me climbing your walls,
know that I am studying your defenses.
But know also that
I was not sent here for that.
My wise and illustrious master,
Duke Cesare...
has already told me
that your defenses are impregnable.
He has also told me that one citizen
of Citt del Monte...
is worth 500 mercenaries.
In his wisdom, Duke Cesare
has identified your strength...
as loyalty.
I am here to spy
on that loyalty...
to learn for him the secret
of how it works.
I am already learning.
Please help me to learn more.
[Man
Bravo!
[Rchestra
We must talk alone.
Lady Beatrice will fetch you later.
Madonna Camilla is in the chapel.
Will you please wait here?
Yes. Thank you.
I know that Borgia sent you here
for some evil purpose.
I've asked you here
to give you warning.
- My husband is-
- Your husband again?
If any harm should come
to my husband through you...
I will hate you
until the death.
I promise you,
I know how to hate.
Or love, the twin of hate?
Do not betray his hospitality.
- There will be peace between us, so long as you act peaceably.
- [Door Closes
So you've found our chapel.
Lovely, isn't it?
I come here every night.
It makes my sleep more peaceful.
Sometimes I end by wishing
that old age were slower in coming.
If old age brings wisdom such as yours,
my lord, it comes too slowly to suit me.
You find my wife attractive,
don't you?
Only with the deepest respect,
Signore.
- Words!
- I regret that Your Lordship thinks ill of me.
- I think ill of no one.
- Your Lordship is tolerant.
I am tolerant of nothing that
might affect Madonna's honor.
But the certainty I have of her excludes
jealousy, suspicion and such claptrap.
Mind you, she's a Baglioni.
Her blood's hot enough.
She's as capable of going
to the devil as any other of her house.
But I'm certain of this. If she does go,
she won't sneak about it.
She'll tell me first.
That's my certainty and my pride.
No, I don't think ill of you.
I've lived 70 years, and I know
that in spite of the poets...
youth is not the happiest season.
I'll not detain you longer.
Incidentally, I'll return this to her.
I can hardly wait till spring
to see what they look like.
Each year we tolerate winter...
because it brings us
the new flowers of spring.
Some-
Will you excuse me, my dear?
Give me a thousand men
and enough food and ammunition...
I could hold this place until the enemy
either starved to death or died of old age.
But the way it's left
unguarded now.
Good morning, my lord.
Good morning.
Of all Citt del Monte,
this is my favorite place.
Whenever I'm troubled, whenever
I need to work out a difficult problem...
I come here, and always
I find the solution.
- It's frightening. A loose pebble,
a gust of wind and-
Are you afraid of death?
Well, I can't say that I have
any great affection for it.
Look below you, my friend.
For 70 years,
I've watched the seasons change.
I've seen the vibrant life of summer,
the brilliant death of fall...
the silent grave of winter.
And then, I've seen
the resurrection of sprin-
the glorious birth of new life.
And my father and my father's father
have seen it before me.
Nothing ever dies, my friend.
You don't believe that,
do you?
I don't have your wisdom,
my lord.
I believe that I was born
and that I must die...
and that I must make the best of what
lies between the two extremes.
My lord, the ardeners have finished
and are waitin for further instructions.
No need for you to run uphill
to tell me that.
We haven't much time before winter
sets in. Won't you come along now?
Excuse me.
Perfect.
Absolutely heaven-sent.
Whenever we wish, we give
the old man a problem to think out.
He comes up here and-
I thought a courtier and cavalier
left daubing with paint to the craftsmen.
Your lord husband finds pleasure in work
one usually leaves for gardeners.
His roses
are the most beautiful in Italy.
It's not for me to say
the same for my painting.
You have a certain skill.
Fair for an amateur.
I try, Madonna. I try.
One can do no more.
[Camilla
You've missed none of the evil in his face.
[Andrea
judas Iscariot was evil.
I imagine you find
painting beauty more difficult.
I paint what I see
and feel, Madonna.
If one is beautiful inside
as well as out...
my brush can neither take from
nor add to that beauty.
Actually, it's quite good.
Are you as good with women?
I have been very successful
with women.
Perhaps-
When you have finished this...
perhaps you would do
some of my ladies.
That is, if you have
nothing else to do.
Perhaps Madonna herself.
Perhaps.
I will need to ask
my lord husband.
[Door pens
Ah, come in, come in,
Messer Orsini.
- Thank you for coming.
- Your Lordship is ill?
Hibernating, my friend.
Hibernating.
Let those who will
play winter games.
I'm for enjoying the snow
by reading a book in a warm room.
And you, I'm told,
pass the time in painting.
Daubing's a better name for it.
Come closer.
Do sit down, please.
Why do you paint?
- Helps to pass the time.
- Do you love it?
I can't say that I love it.
It amuses me.
Are you afraid
of the word "love"?
No, I'm not afraid of it, my lord.
It's just that I- I have no use for it.
- And yet you dream of ruling men and nations.
- My lord presumes.
A prerogative of age.
But don't misunderstand me.
I'm no sentimentalist about love.
I'm not even as romantic
about it as I used to be.
But I believe one cannot
understand anything properly...
until one has learned
to love it.
It's true of my roses
and it's true of people.
I'm afraid I haven't sufficient knowledge
to debate the subject.
You're lying.
Your Lordship speaks carelessly.
You're lying, not to me,
but to yourself.
There is something
that you love...
something beyond...
this deceitful and murderous game
you're playing now.
It is better if I assume
Your Lordship is ill.
With Your Lordship's permission.
Wait!
While you're brooding over
my delirious ravings...
I'd appreciate it
if you'd do a portrait of my wife.
She tells me you have
an extraordinary understanding...
of the art of painting
and a great talent for it.
She's too kind.
[Door pens, Closes
But there is news, Magnifico!
Cesare moves on Capua,
blood flows again in Faenza...
Naples trembles and
Florence sounds with alarms.
All sure signs of spring.
Does no one notice the return of the birds
or the budding of fruit trees?
Your Lordship speaks
as one afflicted with lovesickness.
A woman's ailment, eh, Belli?
Unworthy of men...
and certain death for politicians.
I'll see you later.
When may I look?
You sat patiently for so many months,
Madonna. Have you no more patience?
A woman's entitled
to a reasonable curiosity.
How do I know but what
you've made me ugly as a witch?
Then my brush would lie.
Why should I expect the truth?
The portrait is finished, Madonna.
Do I look like that?
As I see you.
And I thought you were only
a maker of compliments...
a lord of ambitions
and dark schemes.
And now, in my own portrait,
I see something else.
There's a great artist in you,
Messer Orsini.
I have much to learn.
You speak now with humility.
What's happened to all
your quick, easy words?
Everything I know is stale. L-
I must find a new language to fit new
definitions. Please don't say anything.
Your portrait, Madonna.
What is troubling you?
The change of season.
Spring is here.
And what was planted in the winter
must soon begin to grow.
Well, there's no question
about it. Spring is here.
[Ends
It appears that Cesare Borgia...
has decided to launch
an attack against Camerino.
I am required to afford passae
for his troops...
and to levy a thousand men
for his service.
He assumes that I shall welcome this
opportunity of showing my devotion to him.
I must think about this.
It concerns others besides myself.
- Show the captain to his quarters.
- Yes, my lord.
I hope you will be comfortable.
The vacation is over, eh, Orsini?
We'll see now which is more effective-
pretty words or a sharp blade.
[Man
If Your Lordship will please follow me...
I'll show you to your quarters.
Magnifico,
soon you'll have everything-
wealth, position, fame,
even love, greatness too.
You've sweated for this
how many years?
All my life it seems.
And now only one last hurdle-
a small one at that.
Speak up, Magnifico.
Give me your orders.
Could you kill that old man?
Consider it done.
[Door Closes
Belli.
Signori, my course is plain.
Honor as well as duty...
forbids me to give aid
to this Cesare Borgia...
a man I consider evil,
false and perjured.
Therefore, I shall refuse
to assist him in this matter.
However, I have no riht
to condemn you...
and your families
to the miseries of war.
You must decide for yourselves
which you value more-
liberty or life.
I shall accept your choice.
Your Excellency,
you speak of liberty or life.
Life is cheap to Cesare Boria.
To us, it is the most
we have to ive.
Is it livin to be a slave?
Are not life and liberty
one and the same?
I say it is!
We will not have it said...
that while others defied
the power of Cesare Borgia...
we meekly fixed his yoke
on our necks.
Come to your senses.
You're throwing away fortune,
success, life itself...
for the sake
of moonshine sentiments...
that no enlightened man
would take seriously.
Do you consider yourself
an enlightened man, Belli?
Enough to know there's no profit
in fighting lost causes.
I'm not so sure about that.
- I am!
- [Man And if it be suicide-
I give you notice now
I'm withdrawing from your service.
You've betrayed not only
Cesare Borgia, but me.
- I'll not forget that.
- And to all those people, let them-
Nor will you forget what you have
seen here at Citt del Monte.
...who chose death to slavery.
Let them say
we who lived in honor...
knew also how to die in honor.
[Crowd Cheerin
I offer one more sword
against Cesare Borgia.
- Bravo! Bravo!
- [Crowd Cheerin
[Hammer Poundin
We must strip the farms
of everything edible.
We'll need all the food we can get
to withstand a long siege.
- And Borgia's troops won't be able to live off the land.
- We'll not have time.
We'll make what time we can.
I know Borgia's technique.
First he'll send mounted troops.
Artillery will follow.
If Your Lordship agrees, we won't
wait for him to attack the city.
We are not strong enough
to meet Borgia's army in open battle.
But, my lord, does the wolf charge
headlong at the bull?
No. He waits his chance, and then rushes in
from the side to escape the long, sharp horns.
And he strikes
at the weakest part-
always the weakest part.
Wear this, my lord husband.
My love and my prayers
for your safety.
My lord rsini...
this talisman for you,
with my gratitude.
Thank you, Madonna.
[Bells Rinin
I once had a friend-
he was a saint in honor
and justice...
and he passed those virtues on
to his only child.
When he died, she needed a refuge
from the enemies of her family.
I married her
to assure her that refuge.
He was my friend,
and I made her my daughter.
And as I tend the beauty
of my roses...
so I must always care for the beauty
and the happiness of her soul.
[Horse Whinnyin
They're coming into the wood.
They're coming into the clearing.
We're ready for your orders,
Your Lordship.
Charge!
[Men Shoutin
We did it! We did it!
After them!
Follow them into the woods!
[Andrea
Cut them from behind! After them!
Andrea.
How is it with the battle, Andrea?
We've thrown them back to Fabriano.
The dogs should be
straightly followed.
Give them no pause, Andrea.
- We're on their heels, Excellence.
- Good.
Am I alone?
No, my lord.
I'm here with Messer Andrea,
your good friend.
Give me your hand, Andrea.
You've both been true to me.
I have understood.
Now be true to each other...
and- and the people-
always the people.
[Bell Rins
[Men Shoutin
Direct your cannon fire
closer to the wall.
The hot oil!
The hot oil!
Hot oil! Hot oil!
[Bule
Madonna, we have held out
for three months.
Now we've come to the end.
The people are dying
of pestilence and starvation.
One more assault and we're done.
It remains only to provide
measures for your safety.
- What measures?
- There's a secret exit from the city.
While Borgia's men pillage,
you'll escape into the open...
then on to Perugia, Venice
or wherever you wish.
I marvel at you, Andrea.
No doubt.
A sad rogue.
I marvel that you think
so badly of me.
I could not sneak off and beg for refuge
while you and my people die.
Heroism is a shallow thing, Madonna,
if it isn't rooted in wisdom.
I don't intend to be wise.
I can only be what I am.
Then I ask you to leave for my sake.
How can my leaving...
serve you?
The book is closing for me, Madonna.
I have failed in all points-
in art, in politics, in war.
But if you are safe,
I'll know at the very end...
that my life was to some purpose.
It's been strange...
our road together...
and yet not together.
Please go.
- [Man Captain rsini.
- What is it, Fabio?
There are three Borgia men
under a flag of truce at the city gates.
Do you know what they want?
Did they say what they want?
Yes, sir.
They say a parley.
A parley? Mattia, escort them
to the council hall.
- Yes, sir.
- Fabio, call all our men into the square.
- Let it be swarming with soldiers.
- And leave the walls undefended?
Never mind. They must judge
our strength by what they see.
- Hurry!
- Yes, sir.
If haggling's their game, our road
may be longer than we thought.
Always the fox.
With a few tricks left.
Come, Madonna.
You must change your gown.
Wear your prettiest dress.
Hurry.
As commanding officer of the benevolent Duke
Cesare Borgia's forces engaged before your city...
I am authorized by His Excellence...
to make certain proposals
to Your Illustrious Signore...
that he believes you
will find to your advantage.
Does our fierce resistance
force him to offer...
- what he had not first intended?
- Hold your tonue, madame!
- Watch your words, Esteban!
- Captain Orsini.
We cannot deny that the duke
offers these terms...
as a tribute to
Your Excellency's courage.
It would be a shame to Italian chivalry
should harm come to you.
A thousand thanks, Signore.
Proceed with the terms.
First, in return
for the surrender of your city...
my lord duke engages
to restrain his soldiers from looting...
and take no vengeance on the people.
- What security does he offer?
- His illustrious word.
- The next?
- Second...
my lord duke engages to permit the noble
Madonna Camilla to remain here...
provided that only a captain
appointed by the duke...
shall command the arrison and
assist her in the overnment.
And the next?
Third, these terms shall be
considered null and void...
unless the traitor calling
himself Andrea Orsini...
be delivered alive into the hands
of Duke Cesare's officers...
to be dealt with
as His Excellence may determine.
Go back to your duke with my answer.
Tell him...
I will set torches to the city...
rather than accept
the conditions he offers.
- Madonna Camilla, I beg you to recons-
- I have spoken.
[Balioni Your ladyship's refusal
does credit to your courae.
But for this, many will suffer and die
and this good city be laid waste.
How long do these terms stand?
[Esteban
Until tomorrow. Sunrise. Madame...
understand the Duke Cesare will permit me
to make no compromise regarding this gentleman.
I ask nothing...
from your illustrious assassin...
except that he withdraw...
and leave us in peace.
I shall convey your answer
exactly as you have phrased it.
[Man
Attenti!
Well, so much for that.
- We'll renew the defense.
- It will be our last.
I'm not afraid.
[Balioni
Captain Esteban!
Enter, Baglioni.
I bring Your Lordship a prisoner.
A good haul, Baglioni.
A very good haul.
I ask to be taken
to Duke Cesare Borgia.
By his orders, I sit in his seat.
Well, sit lightly, my friend,
lest you damage your brains.
You've a good tongue for cutting.
Since I'm not one for recriminations,
Messer Andrea...
I'll not review the history
of your treason.
There is only the matter
of a fitting punishment.
What's the difference, since to all intents
and purposes, I'm dead already?
A reasonable deduction.
And yet, like so many dead ones,
I can still influence the living.
- You've surrendered, yet you intimate terms.
- Only one.
That you honestly fulfill
those you have already offered.
What if I take your life now and
do as I please about the terms?
You will conquer a dead city.
Every building
will be razed by fire.
Every man, woman and child
will be a corpse.
[Andrea
There will be even less lory than loot.
I will fulfill the terms.
- Put your promises in writing.
- My word-
Is not good enough to convince
the noble Madonna Camilla...
who, unfortunately,
does not know you as well as I.
It will be in writing.
Scrivener.
Write this.
I, Don Esteban Ramirez...
in the name of Cesare Borgia,
Duke Valentino and duke of Romagna...
in exchane for the immediate
surrender of Citt del Monte...
- promise faithfully-
- [Andrea And on my honor.
[Esteban And on my honor
to fulfill the followin obliations.
[Marchin Band
[Ends
[Door pens
[Cesare
Madonna Camilla...
I come from Rome,
not as a conqueror...
but as one who would create
a bond of affection between us.
Is there something I can do
to accomplish this?
I ask only one thing...
but you would not grant it.
Ask and find out.
Grant the lord Orsini
life and freedom.
I will obey your least wish
and thank you with every breath.
This is most touching.
No, no, Madonna Camilla.
You must not kneel.
Such love is indeed rare,
and I respect it.
What you ask is not impossible.
All will come right in the end.
I promise... you'll be surprised.
[Middle Eastern
Your Signora's not eating.
I have no taste for food.
I promised to consider the case
of the noble Orsini.
Since it concerns him,
should we not invite him to table?
I haven't words to thank
Your Grace for this mercy.
Don't-
Don't speak of it. Esteban!
Enough of this.
Get out!
Guard, bring in the Messer Orsini.
There he is.
What do you think of him?
Look at him, Madonna. I'm showing him
to you out of masquerade...
in the clothes proper
to his station and birth.
No, Madonna.
You'll stay here.
You need to be informed
about this noble Orsini...
who stands before you
stripped of fraud...
a peasant who posed as a noble.
Still want to marry
this lying impostor?
I love and honor the lord Orsini.
The lady's swallowed
his hook to the gills.
Well, he always had a glib tongue.
At least before he lost his voice.
You slander him when he has
no voice to call you a liar with!
I've done all
I could for you, my lady.
Now I must protect my own
reputation for truthfulness.
Don Esteban, see to it.
Yes, Your Magnificence.
Guard, bring in the woman.
Messer Belli will see to it that the lady
does not leave her chair.
Yes, Magnificence.
And you were his friend.
Friend?
Messer Belli trades in friends,
Madonna.
And this Messer Belli
has come up in the world.
He wears lace and brocade,
carries a jeweled sword...
and sits at Cesare Borgia's table.
Nor has there ever been a more
successful judas than this Messer Belli.
As this peasant, Zoppo,
can tell you.
Shh!
Oh.
Andrea, my boy.
What have they done to you?
Water.
- Water.
- Let her be.
You, bring a chair.
Drink, my son.
Drink slowly.
Oh.
Oh, my boy.
[Andrea
h, Mammina.
Mammina.
Merciful God.
They've almost killed you.
Why has he been tortured?
Why is he in chains?
You'll be informed
in good time, woman.
- Is this your son?
- Yes.
Have you nothing to say
to your true love now?
You need not have lied to me.
You love him less
because he's a peasant.
Huh!
His peasant birth
gave him something more...
than all you highborn thieves
and assassins could ever give him.
I cursed him once
for this worthless fraud.
But I curse you even more
for what you have done to him.
- L-
- No, wait. Cesare Borgia...
you will live after I am dead.
Let me thank you for this-
last of all the things
that you have taught me.
There is no victory
in power, no-
no honor in deceit,
no future in living as-
as you will live-
hated and despised by everyone.
Mammina, forgive me. L-
I've caused you great pain.
He's a lord of nobility and honor...
to whom I offer all my love.
The comedy is finished.
My sentence, Andrea Zoppo-
Be merciful, my lord,
as you hope for God's mercy.
- Take this woman out of here.
She has served her purpose.
Oh, no! No!
My sentence, Andrea Zoppo...
is that tomorrow you shall be exposed
in a cage on the castle tower.
There to remain
as a spectacle and a warning...
until your bones drop apart.
I protest Your Lordship's judgment!
This ungrateful peasant turned
against Your Loving Highness...
caused the death of hundreds
of good troops...
created vast expenses
and endanered future revenues.
I've never seen
a more notable treason!
You think I am being
too merciful, Belli?
What punishment is there for a half-dead
carcass to rot in a cage? Nothing.
- Let him think on his sins.
- You suggest a dungeon?
No, my loving lord,
something blacker.
Gouge out his eyes.
Blind him and set him on the road
with his hag mother to lead him.
And wherever he wanders, let him be
a warning of the justice of your magnificence.
My friend, you're a man in a thousand.
I accept your advice.
Have sharpened stakes prepared and carry
out the sentence. Remove the prisoner.
Wait, my lord!
What need is there of stakes
when I have my two good thumbs?
Gouging's the thing.
And what need to remove him
when I can pop his eyes out...
right here for the amusement
of this worshipful company?
Look now.
A quick pressure of the thumbs
and out squirts the jelly.
- This ought to be a show
worth watching, eh, Madonna?
Oh, don't be squeamish, Madonna.
You're as curious as I to see what a peasant's
eyes look like out of their sockets.
Proceed, Messer Belli.
We'll all be grateful to you.
Guards, seat him
and tie him to the chair.
Camilla, look at me.
Let me fill my eyes.
Take a good look at me.
[Belli
I'm the last thin you'll see.
Scream! Do you understand? Scream! Scream!
Stop him! Stop him!
You devil, stop it!
The eyes of an artist and traitor!
Look! Pretty, aren't they?
They belong to Your Greatness.
Take that carrion away.
Hand him over to his mother.
He's had his fill of palaces. Let him grope
his way back to a hovel. Come along, woman.
God pity him.
He was a gallant soldier.
There's no victory
in this kind of war.
I shall continue to rely on you,
Captain Belli.
Your Magnificence has no more
faithful servant than I.
Then my future is assured-
depending on which one of us
is hanged first.
Hmm?
Better, Mammina.
[Furio Barkin
[Barkin Continues
- Go, go. Lie down.
- [Knockin
[Andrea
Why, Belli!
Magnifico.
- Oh, Belli.
- Magnifico.
- Why did you wait so long-
- I have bad news for you.
- Huh?
- Madonna Camilla tried to follow after you.
- She was stopped, imprisoned in a cell.
- By Borgia?
No, Don Esteban. Borgia's gone with
his army to move against Camerino.
But he left a strong garrison.
L- I can plan an ambush fast enough,
use a knife or garrote with the best...
but I have no brain for this.
It seems to me we're lost,
completely helpless.
All the more reason then for settling down
to the life God meant you to live.
There is a way of retaking Citt del Monte
if the people are willing.
I won't let you go back
to this murdering.
The Borgia terror
must stop somewhere.
Now one small spark will start a fire that
will eventually burn down his house.
But I must get to the people.
You think they'll follow you?
You the peasant, Zoppo, against Cesare Borgia?
As they followed their own lord Verano.
I'll take an oath on that.
But the whole thing must be
very carefully planned.
Success will depend upon
stealth and exact timing.
Now, first we need to-
to bring Mattia, Fabio...
and some of the other leaders
from Citt del Monte here to Cresp-
How did you know to come here?
Who, me?
Speak up, Belli.
- Why, I- I've been here before.
- When?
On our return from Ferrara.
Then you knew all along
that I was an impostor.
Naturally I profited from it-
a thousand ducats.
I simply can't stand
being loyal to one side.
I'm a born traitor.
The truth, Belli.
- I detest fine sentiments.
- Mmm. And yet?
I've discovered the devil
doesn't always pay best.
This whole thing pleases me.
Who betrayed who,
and where did it start? No matter.
It shall be said among my fellow
practitioners in double-dealing...
that I was the greatest of them all.
[Andrea This can only be accomplished
with accuracy and precision. Fabio.
- Yes, sir?
- You will lead your men into the piazza.
- Mattia.
- Yes, sir?
You will take your group into
the garrison area behind the cathedral.
- Men must cover every guard post in the city.
- But we have no arms.
Use axes, sickles, anything.
But your most powerful weapon
will be surprise.
Each must choose a man
and wait until the right time.
- When do we strike?
- When you hear the tower bell.
It will be a signal that Madonna Camilla
is safely out of the castle.
- Strike then, and not a second before.
- Who will bring her out?
I will. Messer Belli
will give us another miracle.
He will open the right window
at the right time for me.
Remember the signal. Madonna Camilla must
be out of the castle before you strike.
And listen for the tower bell.
That will tell you
that she's safely out.
When the tower bell rings, it means
Madonna Camilla is outside the castle.
Each choose a man.
When the bell rings, strike.
When the bell rings, strike.
All clear.
[Door pens
Orsini.
Guard!
Guard!
Guard!
[Door pens
In the garden- beautiful girls.
What's this?
Why, he's drunk.
That's all.
Wait. Let's see.
If a man can't
hold his wine, I-
In his back!
Come with me.
Camilla.
Andrea. Andrea.
One guard stabbed. The other
with a garrote around his throat.
- Ring the bell. Awaken the garrison.
- No! Not yet.
Do that and you'll warn whoever
is here. Let's find them first.
The door to the secret passage's open.
Do as I command. Ring the bell!
It's not yet time!
I mean, we shouldn't
frighten whoever they are.
This is no doubt a clever scheme
to rescue Madonna Camilla.
Everyone involved will be executed.
Sound the alarm.
To ring that bell now
would be a serious mistake.
- Why?
- That's a chance I'll take.
[Bell Rinin
Something's gone wrong.
We must run for it.
Orsini!
Yes, Esteban.
It's me, Orsini.
- You're not blind!
- Maybe it's a miracle...
but I see you, Esteban.
How I've prayed for this moment,
Don Esteban.
My hands are free now,
not tied behind my back.
Orsini.
Get up.
I've killed enough for the Borgias.
Now is the time to ring the bell.
Ring the bell!
[Andrea's Voice Sometime, somewhere,
the Boria terror must stop.
Ne small spark will start a fire
that will eventually burn down his house.
- [Priest With this rin-
- "With this ring"-
- I thee wed-
- "I thee wed"-
- and pliht unto thee-
- "and pliht unto thee"-
- my troth.
- "My troth. "