Also known by its full title Day of the Siege: September 11, 1683 or Bitwa pod Wiedniem (Battle of Vienna in Polish), it's a historical drama by Renzo Martinelli starring F. Murray Abraham. It depicts the famous Siege of Vienna, despite the title referencing the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York which took place the day the relief arrived. Word of God is that the connection was intentional as the promotional material states it wasn't a coincidence.
Tropes
- Big Damn Heroes: The Polish Winged Hussars. It wouldn't be a Siege of Vienna movie without them to swoop in and save the day, right?
- Christianity is Catholic: Most of the movie's Christian cast is Roman Catholic, which makes sense when one considers the Holy League was a Catholic-led effort, but in fact, it was an all-Christian coalition with Protestants from the Holy Roman Empire and Orthodox members from the Balkans. Likewise, the Ottoman forces seems to be completely Muslim when it had Christian forces among them as well.
- Darkest Hour: The story's whole point. The entirety of Christendom is in despair as the Ottomans approach to conquer Vienna, as that would open the strategic path to enter all of Europe. The Emperor is in constant Oh, Crap! mode and even as far away as Northern Italy, the populace are in absolute fear.
- Equal-Opportunity Evil: The Ottoman Army is not merely Turkish, but also included their Crimean Tatar vassals. Unfortunately for them, the Tatars desert them when the Poles arrive.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Kara Mustafa Pasha is the movie's main antagonist since he is the one pushing for the conquest of Vienna, but as an Ottoman general, the Sultan Mehmed IV is his superior.
- Supporting Protagonist: Marcio D'Alviano could be considered the closest thing to an protagonist as the movie starts with the sermons and follows him as he tries to inspire hope into the Christians. However, he is at the end of the day an observer and non-combatant who watches from the frontlines and doesn't take any direct action which makes sense, since he is a monk, not a soldier.
