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TORONTO — Robert Lantos says his mission in producing a drama set in 15th century Europe was to create a visual spectacle that is a feast for the eyes.
Based on author Mór Bán’s historical novels, “Rise of the Raven” follows Hungarian soldier and noble John Hunyadi in his efforts against the Ottoman invasion — most notably during the Siege of the Belgrade in 1456. The series, created by Balázs Lengyel, also offers glimpses inside the harems of the Ottoman Empire, told through the eyes of a Serbian princess who later becomes the wife of Sultan Murad II.
In the 10-part series premiering on CBC Gem Friday, viewers are transported to the turbulent geopolitical times through elaborate sword-fighting scenes against the backdrop of towering castles and richly hued gowns worn by the Sultan’s concubines.
“We have to create a show that stands up to the most lavish period pieces of the kind that you’ve seen on HBO or Netflix, and I think (the series) compares favourably to all of them,” Lantos said in an interview earlier this month during the Toronto International Film Festival, where the series screened.
Speaking to The Canadian Press on a Sunday afternoon in his sunwashed midtown Toronto office, Lantos said he was drawn to the project after learning about Hunyadi’s role in defending Hungary — and, by extension, the rest of Europe — and discovering that the ringing of church bells at noon around the world is a tribute to his victory.
“I saw an opportunity to tell an enormously important story never told outside the confines of … Hungary,” said the Hungarian-born Canadian filmmaker, known for his collaborations with David Cronenberg on films including 1996’s “Crash” and 2022’s “Crimes of the Future.”
Having spent most of his life in Canada, Lantos said he “vaguely” knew the noon church bells had a connection to a Hungarian hero, but didn’t realize they were rung by papal order to honour Hunyadi until reading Bán’s books.
“I thought the specificity is what was interesting about it,” Lantos said of the story. “We have a bridge to it and now people might actually know what that bell is about.”
“So if Hemingway hadn’t pilfered the title ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls,’ that is what this would be called,” Lantos joked.
Filmed in Hungary, the series casts Gellért L. Kádár as Hunyadi, Vivien Rujder as Hunyadi’s wife Elizabeth Szilágyi and Franciska Törőcsik as Mara Branković.
It was Lantos’ first time casting Hungarian actors who spoke Hungarian onscreen.
“What I was determined to do is to tell the story and not in any way bastardize it by … making it look like it could be anywhere or played by North American actors,” Lantos said.
“I loved it — it was like a whole revelation,” Lantos said of working in his native language for the first time.
The series also features characters speaking Italian, German, Serbian and Turkish — something Lantos described as a logistical “jigsaw puzzle.” Several cast members ended up learning additional languages — Lantos said actors all had at least six months to learn — and the series also included translators as characters in some scenes, which Lantos said was written into the script.
“We came up with the idea to have an on-camera interpreter. For example, in the scene between the Sultan of Turkey and the … Ruler of Serbia, the Sultan has an interpreter. While the ruler of Serbia speaks, he whispers into his ear in Turkish and so it’s on camera so there’s a logic to it, because it would have been that way, they would have an interpreter,” he said.
There are two sides to the coin of ensuring a historical drama is accurate and engaging, Lantos said.
The show doesn’t change the outcomes of any battles, marriages or birth and death dates, but Lantos said he enjoyed a “free hand” in creating dialogues and extramarital relationships between some lead characters to give them more of a character arc — something Lantos said was “dramatically necessary.”
“We’re making the characters three-dimensional, not creating black and white; not creating saints and evil and devils, but rather flawed human beings, including our hero, who is himself quite flawed, but he rises above it,” Lantos said.
“The Rise of the Raven” hits CBC Gem on Sept. 19.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2025.
Cassidy McMackon, The Canadian Press
