I love this movie so much

Fantastic!

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

I read the reviews for this Movie carefully ... very carefully. Since this is the only historical Film made for the Balkans and whole Eastern Europe regarding Ottoman invasion in Europe - i.e., "Time of Violence" (1988) deserves consideration. See, dude, I don't get paid for writing this stuff and could as well have abstained from opinion. But we don't want Third World War with Islam now in the 21st century, don't we!Besides that bullshit called Brexit in the United Kingdom have shaken everyone deeply. On both sides of Atlantic Ocean NATO doesn't seem to be enough guarantee for world piece. After all, Islamic Turkey is within the military bloc and this country is the primer treat for Western Civilization.Second, Soviet Union or Russia is without the NATO machinery which poses the question which Christian forces would fight the Turks - symbolically or not, Russia as Slavic State didn't existed when Ottomans invaded the Balkans and Eastern Europe in 15th-16th century. Furthermore, Communist Russia doesn't exist anymore. It is dormant, they say, because former Communists became militant Islamist and now they threaten world piece. Strange logic!I am not Incarnation of Devil and I read the Bible. Unfortunately, I read the Koran also and think that "God Almighty" is relic from the past. That doesn't mean that Church shouldn't exist, we shouldn't pay alimony to Popes or Monarchy should be abolished. Things like that only lead to more Chaos and ultimately to War. Let the Globalization proceed smoothly and gradually. We'll see whether man evolved evolutionary from Ape or is God's creation capable of Jihad!The Movie itself is mild cinematography achievement. The Socialist Cinema from late 1980s was pale product compared to Western and American Cinema. For instance, "America, America" (1963) by Elia Kazan and "Mayrig" (1991) by Henri Verneuil depict the avaricious Turk in better and realistic way. Get rid of here ...P.S. Whether the plot in "Time of Violence" (1988) is fact or fiction becomes an obsolete question. There is enough written literature that indicate who the Turks are - they are Asiatics that came in Europe by means of their fanatic religion Islam. They were well armed and had good military leaders (most of them converted Christians). Everything else is matter of Psychology not Valiance.

I attended the North American premiere of this film at the Seattle International Film Festival in 1989. It remains 20 years later as one of my fondest cinematic experiences.This is film making at its best. An epic with intensely drawn characters and exceptionally memorable scenes. Essentially, the Bulgarian Lawrence of Arabia and a film worthy of comparison to Lean's masterpiece.Many of the comments about this film are from Bulgarians, and I cannot personalize the film in the same manner that they have done so. To me, as an American, the film explored the issue of why Christianity and Islam were in inherent conflict when they are in many respects similar. When I saw the film in 1989 this was purely an interesting intellectual question. After 9/11 the film has taken on a whole new dimension for me. Clearly with 9/11, the wars that have followed and the wave of Islamic terrorism across the globe, the issue remains well worth exploring.If anyone out there can tell me how to get a copy of the film, please email me.

The movie is indeed one of the biggest Bulgarian classics. As they say, if you're Bulgarian, you must have watched it. And if your heart doesn't tremble when you watch it, you're not a Bulgarian.On the other hand, I like very much one quote from one of its resumes: "The film is painted on a large, sweeping canvas, with many characters and subplots, all cleverly woven into a single story. And, surprisingly, this isn't a "vile Turk" story. Director Ludmil Staikov has much more ambitious goals, including an examination of the power of religion and of the destructiveness of violence and fanaticism. Not all of the Christians are good, nor all of the Muslims bad." And I agree with this, the movie is not black and white - neither in real colour, nor in character's colour. Even the "most evil characters" have their inner struggles and their reasons, while even the "nicest characters" have their flaws and weaknesses. Like all human beings...So, the script is great, the acting is great, the music is touching, the scenery is magnificent - no wonder this is one of the very few Bulgarian movies (if not the only one), which have foreign subtitles in its DVD set.P.S. Indeed, the movie is definitely not for minors, not only because of the scenes of violence, but also because they would hardly understand its true meaning.

Totally disagree that the movie is not representing a true story. Even a slight research about the topic can give the same answers, only not so well described. And sure a Turk would say it wasn't true but...don't forget the movie is about Ottoman Empire, not Turkey, don't kill the work of Ataturk who struggled so much to bring Turkey back to the modern life and far from EXACTLY this. Whether it was successful or not is not a subject of the movie. The movie is historical and is showing the events of that time. Apart from the truth in the topic, the movie is a legend in the Bulgarian movie industry, the book is even more touching! Recommending the movie to everyone just know that after watching it, you would probably feel very strange and wondering how such things were allowed to happen. The actors' play in excellent too.