Three days ago,
my soul was free from thoughts of murder.
Like moths to the light, we run to war,
our future deeds mapped out before us in blood.
I had balanced my account with Heaven
and sought a peaceful life.
My bow rested.
But every road conducts us to our end.
We push onwards,
intent on our own business,
then are forced to change.
The sand is run.
I have killed again.
Now my trade is retribution.
Vengeance, my occupation.
Morning, Father.
- Ready to hunt? - Of course.
-Can I try the new bow? -Aye.
Here. Come here.
Burn them all!
Quickly, quickly!
Hey. Austrians.
The Wolfshot.
His tax is heavy and my purse is light.
Continue.
I shall return.
Your husband, where is he?
He's farming.
You're a little light.
Oh, it's not enough.
Well?
Ah, it'll rain ere long and we need shelter.
Arrange food for my men and prepare me
a bath.
Make it clean, Son.
We're huntsmen, not savages.
We learn our lessons in failure.
A storm is coming in.
Let's move down, take shelter in the village.
There you go, pig.
He's here somewhere!
Baumgarten!
Search everywhere!
The wind is too strong!
Bring the boats ashore!
Let's make haste! Protect the catch!
Bit more.
Thank you, my friend.
Are you for home?
Aye.
-Is all secure? -Aye.
-We bid you farewell. -Safe travels.
-Secure the catch! -Let's be gone.
Help! Help, they're after me!
I need this boat!
Who on earth are you?
I need this boat! Help me cast off.
The boat! Aid me across!
No man could steer against storm and wave!
Please! I have no other choice.
You'll die out there. Why such haste?
I am already dead, should they find me.
Speak, man! Who pursues you?
The Wolfshot's horsemen.
- Who are you? - My name is Baumgarten.
- I am a farmer. - You're bleeding.
I have settled him.
Who?
The Wolfshot. The tax collector.
You are mad.
He wronged my wife!
Then he took her life.
So I gave him a bloody benediction!
Now the Viceroy's troopers are upon my heels.
Please!
I beg of you,
in God's name, aid me across.
I'm not taking you.
The Austrians will hunt me down.
- I'm a father, with child. - And what of me?
A wife and child at home
- as well as you. - Hold!
No man can steer and row alone in this weather.
I say, put trust in God and help him in his need.
You can steer as well as any man, Tell.
There's the boat. Take it. Try you.
I am in your hands. Please!
Don't, Father. The winds are too strong.
Please. I beg of you.
They're close.
If we find him here among us, we are all dead.
Burn it, Tell. Burn it all!
I'll get him across.
Thank you. Thank you.
Run home to your mother.
We need horses brought to Ingenbohl.
Meet me at the waterfall
and remind her of my love. Go, go, go!
I will honour thy word, Father.
Godspeed!
Oi, you!
Stop in the name of the law!
Everyone, get inside now, quickly!
- Where is he? - Who?
-Where is he? -Who?
We pay our taxes in this village!
The Viceroy's taken his pound of...
Torch the village!
Where was he killed? In which canton?
A farm, in Unterwalden, my Lord.
To lose such a man is careless.
The tax collector was at fault. He was a fool.
He was our man, collecting our taxes.
No one should have touched him.
Reverse thy doom
and secure thy position, Gessler.
Let us move with caution.
Caution?
We need revenue and wealth from this land.
Show them no mercy.
My Lord, numbed earth is barren of all fruit.
Secure the killer and teach the Swiss a lesson.
The Wolfshot's murder is a crime,
but also an opportunity.
Now we have every right to defend ourselves with force
and under the guise of justice.
There is no justice in war.
That is where this is leading.
My Lord, do we want war?
Switzerland is surrounded by mountains.
Nature... is its own defence.
It is hard to attack from without.
We...
must control it...
and dominate the Swiss...
from within.
Ha!
What shall I do with you?
In the thickest of the storm.
Are you insane?
Is that him?
'Tis a marvel you escaped.
Had you no thought of wife and child?
I had, and therefore saved a father for his children.
He braved the lake in all its wrath,
and I thank him for it.
Yes, he's a kind and helping hand for all.
But when we are in straits, who then will come to our aid?
God grant, we never may stand in need of any help.
You have me.
Give him the horse and let us be gone.
Well?
I must see him safe.
A hero and a fool.
You have disturbed our peace.
May God forgive you.
I'll return soon.
Be home in time to feed the goats.
Go.
I have a friend in this region,
a nobleman.
We fought together in the Holy Land.
He'll hide you.
My Lady Bertha.
Gessler.
The King's valour and pride excel themselves in you.
He must be proud of his niece.
I hear the whispers.
It seems the King gains money in Switzerland
but loses hearts.
There is no progress without loss.
Good and bad run together.
There is no triumph in needless bloodshed.
And forget not, I have Swiss blood.
Our countries' fortunes are entwined.
As I hope are ours.
Good day, my Lord.
He moves me to rage.
The King is keen for your union.
And you would be wise to listen.
Do not mistake his purpose.
He does not love me. He just needs me.
Cousin, the King requests your time.
You truly are my brother's daughter.
And as wilful as he.
Spend time with Gessler.
Hunt, talk, learn.
Attraction will build.
-No, my Lord, I beg you. -You are a Habsburg.
And will marry an Austrian.
-My mother was Swiss. -And your father Austrian.
It is pity you're a woman.
You'd be useful in battle.
But we'll use you in marriage.
My Lord.
Rudenz.
Belted and plumed,
and all thy bravery on.
Thou art for the Austrians, boy?
Uncle,
your will?
Before you depart,
share with us the ancient custom
of our house. Come.
Walk with me.
There was a time I was with them in field and forest,
directing all their labours with my own eye,
just as my banner led them into battle.
Now I'm fit only to play the steward.
And so... I go
in ever-narrowing circles
to the narrowest
and the last...
where all life...
...comes to a stop.
I am but my own shadow.
Soon,
I will be but my name.
Come.
Come, Rudenz.
Now...
you know our pledge.
One cup, one heart.
Rudenz.
I must be away.
Wait!
- Leave us. - My Lord.
Why do you show such disrespect
to thine own people?
You know they suffer under the Austrian banner.
Why do you insult them further by refusing to take the cup?
Do you know what the Austrians call us?
"Peasant nobles."
A wiser course would be to bend in homage.
Only then can we prosper.
No, no. Do not shield thine eyes
and make them blind to your people's needs.
Our people need to secure the favour
of the Austrian King.
The world is his, Uncle.
His the markets, his the courts,
his, too, the highways.
We cannot protect ourselves against his growing power.
Where do you learn such things?
Mmm?
Rudenz, I have no sons!
One day, all this will be yours.
And what will I become?
The chieftain of a shepherd race?
Settling petty squabbles between the farmers of Schwyz
and the shepherds of Unterwalden?
The tempter's voice has truly caught thy willing ear.
No, no, there is no tempter, don't you see?
Here I am nothing,
but there,
aligned with Austria,
I can be something.
The tax collector was a brute,
and he deserved to die.
Do not accept this tax.
Be patient, my darling Gertrude.
We will not have to bear
this Austrian occupation much longer.
Change will come, as it always does.
Impetuous rulers...
have the shortest reigns.
Once we are Austria's, we are hers forever.
Yes, but come, my love.
Drink with me.
I have to feed the horses.
The horses can wait.
I cannot.
Thank you for the food.
Eat well. You are safe here.
We will secure you passage at dawn.
Aye.
But am I to be banished
and never see my children again?
'Tis better than hung.
You were brave, and you fought for your wife.
And now, we must fight for our country.
Gert...
Gertrude.
They are loyal.
We can all speak freely.
You speak with a fearless tongue, Gertrude.
I'm no stranger to the cost of war.
We have good men
who can wield a weapon as well as them.
Wife, you stir wild and perilous thoughts
from a time that my friend and I had
long since forgotten.
What choice do we have?
My darling...
this house that you love,
my family home that you have made your own.
Unrelenting war...
would burn it to the ground.
With my own hands,
I would hurl the kindling torch
would it set us free.
Let us go with God.
We've seen many men declare that pledge
and die.
So you have retired from battle?
One day,
just outside Jerusalem,
a land as hostile and strange as you can imagine,
I was cut off,
alone and desperate.
My horse was powerful,
easily outstripped the Turks who hunted me.
But to escape, I slashed a path through the woods
and thereby...
disturbed a nest
of bees.
The bees surrounded me
and settled on my mare.
And they so fiercely stung the beast,
it threw me to the ground...
and then writhed
and died...
before my eyes.
I sat for a moment,
very, very still...
and then saw how the bees began to die.
One...
by one.
So, yes, Gertrude, you can fire the people up.
But be careful what you ask of them.
They will sting for you...
but they will die.
Wait.
We have visitors.
Gessler.
Shh!
What should I do?
-Hide him. -Where?
Plain sight. There.
Right there.
- There. - Remove your apron.
Come on.
Please...
...come.
This is a grand house for a Swiss.
- Oh, plate. Plate. - Who is the owner?
It was given by God, sir.
Free and unfettered as the mountain air.
What brings you here, my Lord?
We search for a man
who did heinously slay my governor.
Have you seen a stranger pass through?
No, my Lord. Come.
Praise God, sir.
What an honour.
Search the house.
The eagle of weapons. Yours?
Aye.
May I?
Of course.
'Tis well crafted.
Many men can wield such a weapon, but...
few can master it.
Your name?
Wilhelm Tell.
Well, Tell,
like the eagle,
I too make my prey.
Soaring bird or a beast to chase...
makes no difference to me, for now...
I hunt a murderer.
With solemn reverence, our king...
has tasted grief.
He mourns not for the death of his governor. Instead...
he asked why.
"Do they not love me?
"Do they not want my allegiance...
"and the riches I can endow?"
"Worry not, sir", say I.
'Tis but the bloated blood of ignorance
that bleeds with such excess.
There is but one bad apple...
and we must rid it from the barrel.
So now I hunt.
My Lord.
Oh.
My Lord,
the house is clear.
Mmm, the house is clear.
Fair Swiss...
do not lose the life you've built
for men you do not know.
If there is something you need to say to me...
I'd say it now.
My Lord,
your unpleased manner is clear to all.
But you waste your time here.
The man you seek...
lies not here.
Sir, you tread upon our hearts. Come.
There is no foulness in this house.
Only love.
Only love?
Come, sir, please. Sit. Join us.
King's honour, friends.
After everything we have been through, Tell,
the horrors that we have seen,
am I to lose the life that I have built
to men like that?
They're lying. Let the pox damn them.
You were not sent here to fawn and coax
-these boors into submission. -'Tis no matter that they lie.
Skulk and hide amongst these peasants.
Find out all you can about that man Tell.
-Let me take him now. -Mark him tight.
Let him think himself safe.
I will bring such a scourge to these...
people.
Then I'll leave them naked and trembling before me.
Enough of this.
We must gather allies!
Few will act
for fear of consequence.
Go to Altdorf and meet with Furst, the priest.
There are many who agree with us.
Furst connects the cantons.
He's crucial to the cause,
and his mind is sharp and alert to all philosophy.
Tell, will you make the introduction?
He is wary of strangers.
What you expect of me is too much.
The town is beset with spies. They follow his every move.
We need you to help.
I will take you to him.
But if you meet with Furst, he will inspire you.
And then you will plot.
And from there, my friend...
from there, there will be no return.
Your Highness, may I present him?
Prince Rudenz of Attinghausen.
Young Prince,
it takes courage for you to come before us today
and bond the Attinghausen name to the Habsburg court.
You fool.
You shouldn't be here.
Unless I bend the knee, we cannot be together.
I understand there is private difference
betwixt you and your uncle.
He taught me to know the face of right,
in that I trust.
He simply misunderstood my purpose, that is all.
And you trust us?
I trust that it is better
that both our houses work together.
I am in love with the man that you are today,
not the man that you think you should become.
I have nothing to offer thee.
Fame hath not stamped me yet,
nor have I proved myself
amidst the courtly throng of knights.
Proved what?
You do not need to sell yourself to Austria.
-Wear your freedom with pride! -And lose you?
There is no profit in war.
He forfeits his own blood, that spills another.
But do you work with us or for us?
For you.
Caution. You do not commit a fault you cannot correct.
Your indiscretion is plain for all to see.
-Wait, my lord... -Set aside
that you're spoken for.
The more these so-called Swiss nobles
pay respect to us, the easier our task.
So, for now...
humour him.
Please, let me go!
Stay there, Father.
That's my bull!
- Move back now! - That's my animal!
No!
Father, we need to leave.
You go before it's too late.
They won't care about me.
Go, Son. Go.
Go, go, go.
Swiss!
Get down.
What in God's name
-has happened here? -Get down.
Who did this?
Speak!
Speak, old man!
-I'll kill these pigs myself! -Hold.
- Who did this? - Hold still.
Help him.
Who slaughtered my men?
Free him from his pain.
Kill... Kill him.
Straight ahead! Straight ahead, men!
-Take him to the horses. -No!
- No! No! - Take him. Take him!
There's no time for a mad battle.
- You'll be killed. Come. - Take him!
And now it begins.
There! Go!
Kill them!
I know what worries you, Tell,
but listen.
My sword has been resting,
and I hoped it would remain so.
But this...
is about our families,
our freedom.
I violated an oath over there,
and I'm stained in blood.
It haunts me now and it will forever.
Yes, but that was over there.
I feel your enthusiasm for the fight,
but hot thoughts beget hot deeds,
and hot deeds can destroy us all.
Are you ready for that?
We must go!
Do they control the town now?
Seems so.
Go with the workers.
It will allow you to pass the guards. Go!
I know this man. He worked on my house.
-A true craftsman. -My Lord.
Did not expect to see you here.
How fare you, sir?
I am a prisoner in my own land.
Why such haste to prepare the town for war?
I know not.
Many have fled, but the town still breathes.
Are they arming the town to keep us in or keep us out?
They fear rebellion.
If you could see the dungeons that they have built.
Swiss!
Back to work on the ramparts!
I must return.
Good evening to you.
This is no longer our town.
-No. -Find Furst.
How many killed?
A dozen.
And where are the Swiss corpses?
Just the old man.
First, the tax collector,
and now this!
They neither fear nor respect us.
Until we find the men responsible,
let others pay the price.
-I want arrests! -Yes, sir! Yes, sir!
Tell is mired in this mud.
Give me license, sir?
For what?
Make them bend the knee.
Make it public.
Aye.
Put a thorn through their soul and see how they break.
Yes, sir.
"Yes, sir."
Well, in the meantime,
I have more...
country matters to attend to.
The King has requested I teach his niece...
how to hunt.
Where are you sending God's wealth?
To safety.
Dangerous times.
-Greetings, Furst. -Welcome. Thrice welcome.
What seek you here in Altdorf?
The olden times.
-The olden Switzerland. -Ah.
Well, let us hope you bring them with you.
News of Baumgarten precedes you.
There was much excitement.
Tell me, is he safely hid?
He is here in Altdorf,
along with my old comrade Stauffacher
and another caught up in this.
They seek your counsel.
The men of Schwyz and Unterwalden
both seek the counsel of God?
'Tis not the counsel of God they seek,
but your subversive mind.
What frightens you so?
We should be stopping a war,
not starting one.
And yet you bring me men who seek rebellion.
The Austrian throne is not secure.
The pomp and ceremony of their court is
neither just nor chivalrous.
It hides a savage intent
that presents itself in naked violence.
We can outstrip them.
But not if we are divided.
Many have spoken to me.
Few have had the courage to act.
But I see before me now men who are ready.
Well, we are more than ready.
Then the time is right.
Unite the cantons. Bring the Swiss together.
Work as one.
Stauffacher, your task now is to rouse our leaders
- from their slumber. - Aye.
I will use the church
and rally friends here in Altdorf.
I will go back to Unterwalden.
I have comrades there.
What of the clan chief, the Baron of Attinghausen?
I hear he shares our views and will be crucial.
And yet, his nephew, Rudenz, bends the knee.
But Attinghausen does not.
He is old Swiss.
His name alone will rally thousands to our cause.
What of you, Tell?
Each man shall have the post
that fits his power.
And I'm nothing but a humble huntsman.
A dozen dead Austrians would disagree.
March!
I, in the King's name,
give ear!
People of Altdorf,
it is the Lord Viceroy Gessler's good will
that the helm shall be given honour
as the King himself.
Hear ye!
All those who pass by
shall give it reverence
with bended knee.
Down to a helm on bended knee?
- Only then... - This is madness.
...will the King know
who are his true and loyal subjects.
It is not safe for you to be seen together.
Back to work!
Gessler's man.
Come, my friends. Speak with your brothers.
We shall meet on the morrow's night.
At Ruetli, on the left bank of the lake,
a hidden cave lies.
If we want peace,
prepare for war.
Aye.
There's a tide in the affairs of men,
which, taken at the flood, can lead to victory,
but I know not where this current leads us.
Whether we will swim...
or drown.
Father.
Is the farmer safe?
For now.
My fool is back.
Go feed the goats.
Pleasure to see you, too.
Come here.
Come on.
You're home, but your thoughts are not.
You think we're safe here?
We're damned if we fight and damned if we don't.
Violence is such a fearful thing, my love,
even in a righteous cause.
I know better than most
the scars that invaders can inflict.
Our boy will know danger either way.
What is it you propose?
I can hold the sword
-as well as any man. -No, no.
-We will go together. -No.
I have such slaughterous thoughts
that tear my soul.
I have done more than I should.
Look at me.
Our very love was spawned from murder.
A very different time.
Do you want to relive that?
What you did back then was noble
and just. Look at me.
What you do now will be the same.
But we will do it as one.
Your beauty conquered me...
the first moment I saw you.
My life with you is my sole joy.
Without it, I am nothing.
The faith and trust I place in you is sacred.
You will never be without.
I kiss your health,
my lady.
You exert yourself for your own pleasure.
Not yours?
You think that fighting like a dog in the mud,
cur to cur, is a display that will melt my heart?
I have other ways.
You promised me a hunt.
'Tis past dawn, the boar will slip away.
How shall we proceed?
There are other things to hunt.
You seem upset, my dear.
I am, and I wish to return.
Then let me persuade you to stay.
The King has proposed our union...
for good reason.
We should embrace
his blessing.
To present harsh rage does not greatness show.
You will never win my heart like that.
And you will lose the hearts of the Swiss
if such governance continues.
Emotion...
clouds your judgment. How sweet...
you are.
My Lord!
A moment, my lady.
My blood is boiling.
God, I want to rut with her.
-Is it done? -Aye, sir.
Firmly in place in the square.
How formed is their plan?
Hard to say, but I can find out.
Furst is easily apprehended.
The cleric?
His death is long overdue.
But he's too prominent to arrest without cause.
Torture is unreliable. They confess to anything.
Tell is at the heart of this.
He was brazen about his friendship with Furst,
and they...
they plotted openly.
Aye.
That toad, Gessler, fouls you with his touch.
You're clearly more familiar with him than I thought.
I do not choose to be the wife of that parasite.
You seem happy to let the King dictate
the disposal of your hand.
The same lust of conquest
that would rob you of your liberty endangers mine.
Your love cannot rescue me.
Well, then what can?
Fight for thy land.
Do not make this about me or us.
This is about our country's soul.
Apart from you,
my country's welfare is all I wish for.
Round your head a tangling net is wound.
How can I hope to win you
if I take up arms against the King?
The King would have me deceive thee.
He believes it would hold thee closer to the court.
I must pretend a love for thee that is no pretence...
whilst pretending an affection for a man I loathe.
So the King plays me.
And has me for a fool.
And you?
-Do you play me? -I have no play.
Only love.
Fill the position
you were born to fill.
And stand by your people.
Burn it, Tell! Burn it all!
Go! Go! Run!
Tell! This way.
No. No. No.
No. Stay. Safe. Safe.
-Stay. Stay here. -Tell, we must leave.
Kill them! Kill them all!
Kill them!
Kill them! Kill them!
Leave them there!
Burn it!
Burn them all!
The boy. The boy!
No! No.
Take it.
We have to leave now. We have to leave now!
Move! Move! Move!
Your orders are clear.
Arrest all those who pass without bending the knee.
Well, this cannot be Walter.
- Furst. - How you've grown.
-Are you well? -Yes. You?
Listen.
I must speak with your parents.
Here is some coin.
Skimble-skamble, young man. Make yourself busy.
Salaam alaikum.
Greetings, Suna.
Have the others returned?
Yes, everyone we need is in the chapel.
Then we have much to discuss.
But not here.
Shall we join them?
Yes.
Hey.
Come along, children.
Come now.
Watch the boy.
Are we to arrest the child?
The father.
I'll go.
Walter, come. Let's be gone.
Father, why is there a helm upon this pole?
It's no matter to us. Come.
Stand.
I command you, in the King's name.
-You've broken the mandate. -Suna.
You must kneel before the helm.
Er...
- Kneel, you say? - Kneel.
Your child, too. Or you will be arrested.
- Friends... - Go to the chapel.
There you will find some men. Tell them to come here.
-Make haste. -Be calm.
Kneel, or to prison you shall go!
-Prison? Father. -No.
Don't move.
To threaten me is one thing,
to scare my child is another.
He said kneel.
You hear that, Swiss?
You kneel.
Sir?
Sir, please.
Just...
Just let me take my son. He's but a boy.
This man is an enemy to the King.
You're a traitor.
Will?
Wilhelm, no!
Tell, no!
A traitor?
Stop! This is Wilhelm Tell.
An honest man and a worthy citizen.
- Let go of me, Tell. - Stand back!
Or you and your family will be put to death.
Stay back, or I swear to God
you'll regret it!
Take him away to prison.
No!
- No! - Back!
Back away or face the sword!
Back!
Why do you take this man?
He has challenged the King's sovereign power.
- And for this, to prison? - Come, my friend,
have God's mercy and let him go.
Hence with you. Take him away to prison!
Try, if you dare, to take this man away from us.
How dare you challenge the Governor's command!
Come on!
Move! Make way for the Viceroy!
Stay back! Stay back!
Move back, now!
Move back!
My Lord!
This man was apprehended
for passing the helm without obedience!
We need to take him in quickly.
The crowd is growing hostile.
And waste a show?
Fortune has smiled upon us. If he bows...
they will all bow.
Guards!
This does not bode well.
Keep those people under control!
Keep them in order!
- Move back! - Move back!
Weapons at the ready!
Tell, do you so lightly hold our King
that you refuse the greetings to the helm?
No, sir.
The action sprung from inadvertence,
not from disrespect.
If you forgive me now, as is in your gift,
I will go
and not offend again.
Then kneel.
I bend the knee to no man.
Yeah!
'Tis dangerous to carry deadly weapons, and yet...
you flaunt yours before us.
I hear you are a master
with that bow.
Do you deny
that this...
is yours?
Or do you deny you are the archer
they say you are?
He is a master archer, my lord!
Is that boy thine, Tell?
Aye.
A mongrel boy.
-Come here. -No.
No, sir, please!
- No, sir, please! - No. No.
Walter!
No! Walter!
Not the boy!
How good an archer is he?
-At a hundred yards... -Oh, louder!
At 100 yards, he'll shoot an apple off the tree.
Right.
Then you shall prove thy skill.
Take the bow that thou wears so proudly
and make thee ready to shoot an apple from...
your son's head.
-What? -No!
Tell!
Look well to thine aim,
for should you miss,
thy head
and thy wife's
shall pay the ultimate forfeit.
What monstrous thing is this you ask?
How can you play with a child's existence?
Your challenging tongue tests my patience.
Know your place, woman.
I am my mother's son and my father's too.
-I will wear the apple. -No! No!
Walter, you know not what you do!
I command you to shoot an apple from his head!
I would rather die.
Thou must shoot, or with thee dies the boy.
Enough of this.
Do not jest, my Lord, with these poor souls.
Who says that I jest, my lady?
Huh?
Get on your knees I ask you,
and beg the Viceroy to spare your life
and the life of your family.
Do it for your son.
-My Lord... -How dare you speak
before your counsel is asked.
In the name of God, let me pass.
I'm a man of God.
Ah.
Let this suffice, sir.
Let justice yield to mercy here.
Sir, I beg you,
-in the name of God... -Don't.
...spare a father this unnatural doom.
Do not kneel to him.
Come here.
- Come here! - No! No!
- Put him against that pole! - He's but a child!
- No! Please! - No.
Leave him be!
Here!
Here is the apple!
Commander,
pace out the distance from that pole to the mark.
Twenty paces as the custom is. Off you go.
Clear the way!
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
Seven.
Don't do it!
Eight.
I cannot raise my bow to my son.
Gessler, release me from this shot.
Here.
Here's my heart.
Summon thy troops and have them strike me down.
No.
I do not want thy life.
I want...
Gessler!
You outstep your powers!
I owe reverence to the King.
He sanctions not this cruelty.
Thou growest bold!
To be silent longer is
to be a traitor to my King and country both.
Friends, I have been dumb to the oppressions
-I was doomed to see. -Silence!
The King is my Lord.
Not you!
Let him go!
Halt!
You peasant churl.
The King will hear of your treachery. Seize him.
Here is the spot!
Tell,
I apologise.
Yes, you helped
the wretch Baumgarten across the lake
and...
he has slayed my men in Schwyz.
This is madness!
It is I you seek!
I killed the Wolfshot.
I alone should bear the guilt.
Release Tell.
Let this bloody business be done.
Hold him.
You!
You are Baumgarten. I should have known.
Well...
you shall not make poor of our power again.
Wear your guilt in blood.
No!
Hold!
No more blood!
Take the shot or more will die!
I will take the shot!
No.
I will take the shot!
Thou has shaken me from any hope of peace,
turned the milk of humankind
as to rankling poison in my breast.
Whatever the outcome of this day,
it is on you.
Load thy bow.
Forgive me, Son.
The apple.
Fetch me a seat.
Tell. Tell?
Please.
Take the knee,
please.
Oh.
Yes.
Here we are, Tell.
Don't disappoint us.
The shot was good.
Woe to him who drove a man to tempt God by such a feat.
Look to yourself, Bertha, and learn obedience.
Take her away!
I am the King's niece!
You have no authority over me!
- Tell! - Get off me!
Tell! Wow! What a shot indeed!
Wow! Tell...
Thou didst place the second arrow in thy belt.
I saw it well, I see it now.
What was thy purpose with it?
Whatever it may be,
I promise thee thy life.
Wherefore the second arrow?
Well, if you promise not to take my life,
I will take you at your word and speak the truth.
Had my child been struck down,
the second arrow was
for you.
- Arrest him. - How dare you!
How dare you!
Take him away.
You can't do that!
- Stop! - How dare you!
Help!
I will never forget how fearless you were today.
Take this.
Rudenz! Go back to your uncle, raise an army.
Meet us at Ruetli.
Go, Rudenz, to the horses! Go!
Sir, we must move him hence.
What was 50 is now 100 and will soon be more.
We cannot control this crowd, my Lord.
Then take him. Entomb him in the dungeons.
By road?
If we parade him through the towns and villages,
it will do nothing but encourage revolt.
Take him by boat. Stussi, he is in your charge.
Tell! Tell! Tell!
Why not kneel, huh?
Such a small gesture.
You hear my brethren roar.
Do you think the people will kneel now?
When you die...
these people, they will not be shouting for you then.
There will be no martyr's grave.
Your history...
will never be written.
Go on.
Go on!
Take him!
Tell! Tell! Tell!
Why?
You betray me...
and you betray your King.
The King whom you have failed?
What will he say when he learns of today?
Your heavy hand has created a hero.
He will congratulate me
for killing
the Wolfshot's murderer
and arresting the rebellion's leader.
All that is left...
is to decide your fate.
So I'm your prisoner?
Or my bride.
Obedience is not in my nature.
Mmm.
Well...
there is no dark mystery to being a wife, but...
you will learn that.
Get off me, you animal! Get off me!
Touch me again and see where this blade ends up.
A prisoner it is,
you sanctimonious whore.
Oh, I fear I am too late.
Rudenz.
My boy.
Uncle.
Forgive me.
I am here,
chastened but wiser,
ready to proclaim my loyalty to our house
and fight for what is ours.
A heart that sees and owns its error...
claims my trust.
Henceforth...
this castle shall bear your name.
Oh, it is not just your lands that I inherit.
Your heart and your spirit live on in me.
My friends,
in shame,
I offered service to the Austrian King.
No more!
With this cup,
in the name of Attinghausen,
I vow to strike at the throat of our enemy.
One cup, one heart!
These priests of my Order will stand the watch
and let us know if anyone approaches.
Follow me.
Give them your hands.
You are all welcome.
You, sir, is there not a suit between us
about a piece of land of ancient heritage?
We are enemies at court,
but here we can be one.
Reconcile your differences in peace.
I regret we are forced to meet here in secret
to plot crime and black conspiracy.
What is woven in the gloom of night
shall free and boldly meet
the morning light.
Halt!
Who goes there?
- Friend or foe? - Hold!
Hold your swords, my friends.
I am a Swiss,
and I will act as one with my whole heart and soul.
You bent the knee.
No more!
He is ancient Swiss. We must respect his title.
The Baron of Attinghausen is dead.
What?
He now bears his name.
I was deaf to my uncle's voice,
as I was blind to my country's need.
But if you cannot accept my presence here,
I shall leave.
If the new Baron of Attinghausen wants
to join our fight, then we should welcome him.
Our work tonight is to make partnership,
to bring our tribes together.
Sir!
We must turn back!
Gessler's orders were clear!
Sail on!
Rage on, winds!
Lightnings, flash your fires!
This is nature's revenge
for making me raise my bow against my son!
Gessler will summon an army from the King.
If that happens, we are finished.
We must strike. We must surprise them
before they realise we are united.
Then who shall lead? There are three cantons here.
Let Uri take the sword.
Unterwalden will not take orders from Uri.
Enough!
Enough.
I will not have
petty squabbles break our resolve.
My husband is in chains.
And while we argue, he suffers.
And they win!
Friends...
we are born of one blood.
Our children of one common home.
We're all one heart.
Brothers...
sisters...
form a ring of steel.
Draw.
Plant your swords of power within the ground.
The nations around us have yielded
to a foreign conqueror.
But we here alone,
we have kept our freedom.
So tonight,
we form a bond.
Port side!
Fasten that rope!
Come on, faster! Move!
- Captain! - Brace!
The key!
There!
Tell!
Tell.
With his own good sword.
True brothers and sisters never to part, in danger...
...or in death!
In danger or in death!
Oh. Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Rest. Rest.
-Are you well? -Yes, yes.
Tell!
Come. Come.
- Tell, it's Kuoni! - Calm.
The Lord has manifestly wrought a miracle
on thy behalf.
We can scarce credit our own eyes.
What are you doing out on such a night?
Well, we saw the shipwreck and came to aid.
And aid I need.
I must track Gessler.
We spotted his troops earlier on the road to Küsnacht.
He must pass through the gorge of Küsnacht.
You can take him there.
There's only one way in, one way out.
It is too treacherous for you to travel on the public road.
It is patrolled by soldiers.
There's another way through the mountains.
Few know it, but I can show you.
-I hunt best alone. -I know these woods!
I stayed here as a child.
They were my castles and playgrounds.
Very well. You guide me.
We're all with you, Tell.
We are confederates all.
My friends,
I need your bows.
It is clear Tell is not a man of...
empty words.
Now I pay the price for not having killed him
when I had the chance.
Misfortune favours my every move.
My Lord.
Sir.
-My Lord. -Hold your tongue.
You have damned me.
Listen, sir.
He will strike you in the gorge outside Küsnacht.
No, you listen!
How can I trust this not to be false?
These men,
they met him last night after the storm.
Oh.
The princess was present.
To lose Tell is bad,
but to lose her too?
And now I am messenger to the King,
and we all know...
what happens to messengers, don't we, Stussi?
That does not have to be the message, sir.
If you bring him Tell's head, it will save your own.
Now, we must be cautious,
but we can trap him.
When he takes his shot at you, sir, we will have him.
-So now I'm bait. -'Tis only you he wants.
Then a target he shall have. See it done.
Stussi,
go to the castle at Sarnen and take command.
Hold it.
We take Sarnen, we cut off their supply lines.
- Mmm. - Then we can take Altdorf.
We hold our honour higher than ourselves,
and we seek no praise for this peril we suggest.
But the best way to take Sarnen
is by stealth.
By stealth?
The harvest feast is fast upon us.
'Tis custom for the serfs
to bring gifts to the Governor.
Some 10 or 12 women can easily hide amongst them,
their weapons concealed.
Once inside, they can secure the gates.
The men can wait in the nearby woods,
and once we're in and the gates are secured,
you can launch the attack.
Are we agreed?
Aye.
The rest of the army will camp at Altdorf.
We pray for your success in taking Sarnen.
Once it's ours,
Altdorf is next.
May God's grace be with us.
It is an honour to fight beside you.
The honour is mine.
Our duty is served, my Lord.
Accept our gifts.
Kill them all!
We need to go.
Down in the gully there, see?
We're expected. They know we're here.
Take it.
- Where is he? - Well, he's there somewhere.
You find me a way out.
I have to get closer.
Pull up!
Hold. Hold!
- Wait for the second carriage. - Yes, sir!
You bastard!
Where is he?
Oh, you bastard, Tell!
Tighter!
- Where is he? - Fall in!
- Yes, sir! - You missed, Tell!
Stick together, men!
Split the troops and surround him.
- Move! - Yes, sir!
Where is the bastard?
Start fleeing, Tell!
He is one man!
Find him!
Move!
- Up there! - Fire!
Yes!
After him!
Tell!
Take this.
Nothing shall content me till I'm even'd with him.
Too much blood,
too little brain.
Revenge might drive you, but it also blinds you.
What know you of such things?
I know that anger blunts your power.
He missed you by how much?
By a breath of air.
Feel the pain.
It dwarfs what you will feel if you fail us.
Your ignorant abuses have increased resistance,
allowed them to organise.
And you lost my niece!
Kneel.
God,
arm this man with the thunder of your church
and lead him to victory.
So where do we go from here?
We must move forward.
I face exile.
I have nothing to lose.
Then bring proportion to your thoughts.
Go to the King, use all your wits and grace
to dissuade him from helping Gessler. Hmm?
I will try.
But do something for me.
Return to your people.
This is no longer about our hate for one man.
Plan.
Organise.
Fight for our country.
God...
give me purpose and will
to secure the force of the Lord.
I hope he listens to you.
Return to Altdorf.
Hold it until I can raise an army.
Tell! Tell! Tell!
Father!
I feared I'd never see you again.
What's wrong?
- Tell. - My love.
My heart.
The attack failed.
We were betrayed.
They were waiting for us.
Open the gates!
One of our own told Gessler's men our plan.
We stood no chance.
Kill them all!
No!
I'm here. I'm here.
- Shield! Shield! - Cover!
No!
We are broken.
Bring us together.
Make us believe again.
What was over there
is now here.
There is a law in each well-ordered nation
that curbs us from our savage appetite.
And that law is God's law.
But God has long forgotten us.
And that law is no more.
Fight for her.
Fight for us.
With my own breath,
I will keep that faith.
With my own hands, I will avenge,
but I need you strong.
Today, we are neither farmer nor peasant,
nor gentleman or noble.
Today, we are Swiss.
Yes!
But, friends, we are in hell.
We need to claw our way out.
We need to show the men of grosser blood
that we are ready...
to fight.
Yes!
For many years, I hunted and killed alone.
I never wanted part of any group.
I now know this course leads to nothing but despair.
I failed!
I failed.
I failed to kill the man
who made me raise my bow against my son.
And I failed to understand
that true brotherhood bonds us...
makes us stronger.
But, friends, in war,
there's no margin for error.
One false whisper, one late fist,
one missed arrow, and you are...
dead.
Tomorrow there will be no error.
Tomorrow we will take back our homes,
our town, and our country.
And how will we do this?
Yes, we will summon up our rage.
Yes!
We will summon up our skills in battle!
- Yes! - And we will teach our enemy
how we war!
But most importantly,
we will be willing
to die.
Yes.
Whoever is willing
to die wins any fight.
So I want you to look at the person next to you.
Look that person in the eye
and ask that person,
"Are you willing to die for me?"
Do it. Do it.
Ask that person,
"Are you willing to die for me?" Do it.
Do it, everybody.
Do it. Do it.
Do it. I want to see everybody do it.
Do it! Do it.
Look that person in the eye and ask them,
"Are you willing to die for me?"
"Are you willing to kill for me?"
I say yes! Yes!
Yes, they are!
Now raise your weapons to the sky!
Climb out of hell
and claim back God!
King!
King! King! King!
Stain the virtue of your enterprise with blood,
and melt the spirit of their people
with the hot sword of vengeance.
Their youth shall die in the field,
victim to your serried lances.
Let your will,
- mass, and might... - Stop!
- ...carry the Habsburg name. - Halt!
This must stop now!
I beg you, please, stop this madness.
The Habsburg House is not united in this cause!
Grant me a moment of your time, my Lord.
Silence! What mean you by this disruption?
You cannot rule like this!
You are feared more than loved.
Good men die in your name,
and each morn new widows howl.
I will hear no more of this.
She's unwell
and embarrasses herself.
Dispatch her!
Go forth
- and march to Altdorf! - No!
King!
Should we attack, the town will burn.
- And our people? - Gessler.
He will kill them all.
A frontal attack
will mean their certain death.
Well, then we must get men inside
and attack from within.
How?
You.
Did you help the Austrians fortify the town?
Aye, sirs. But not out of choice.
The town is sealed. How did you get out?
There is a small tunnel, sir.
Leave.
On the morrow, you will be dead.
By your own hand.
They will discover you in this room,
bled out from the wrists.
And your shame will then be complete.
Either you do it, or...
You will.
I must protect my future.
Your future?
Know that he mocks you in private...
and your inheritance is dust.
From you...
From you I expected more.
Are you happy to watch him take my life?
I know you.
We played together as children.
Then take it. Take it and do it yourself.
Where is he?
Oh, you chant and cry war, yet...
you have not the troops to take the town.
Neither you to defend it. You steal our air, Gessler.
Your air.
Should one arrow fall upon these walls,
I will burn this town to the ground
and all within it.
And you will burn with it.
Yes, I am a bastard in mind and deed.
Born the very worst of men.
What may you have within that you kill with such ease?
For all who take the sword shall die by the sword.
I, too, am prepared to die!
That...
I just might live.
You're a coward, Gessler.
You abuse the innocent,
use them as a shield.
-Let them go. -No, no, no, no, no.
The King's troops will be here soon.
You can't get into the town.
If you try,
you will kill your own good people.
Those "good" people are camped out here in full view
and grow in number every day.
Why not take us?
Best to keep distance from the acrid smell of Swiss.
It's disgusting!
Tell, enough of this.
These peasants...
their passion...
Hide until first light.
...does not match their skill...
-And then we take the gates. -...in battle.
My army will not attack the town.
By sunrise, you will let my people leave,
and I will let you...
live.
That's it.
They'll be in by now.
-They're inside, sir. -Well observed.
I should cut you now,
and wash you in blood, you servile little shit!
Who are you? Who sent you?
You're not meant to be up here.
Sir!
They're dressed as priests!
Man the gates, both of you.
- Now! - Sir.
Man the gates!
And kill all the priests!
Now!
Look out!
Take cover!
Protect yourselves!
Get that gate open! Hurry!
I'm trying!
Stay tight!
Fire!
Get back in line! Stay there!
- Formation! - Formation!
Formation!
Forward! We need that gate open!
Come on!
Charge!
Easy.
Rudenz!
Gessler!
Finally.
Let him bleed.
Come here.
Help me!
Stauffacher, help me!
Help me!
Stauffacher!
- Tell! - Walter.
-Keep moving forward. -Walter!
Forward!
Keep pushing!
Walter!
Wait.
Take one more step, and they will all burn.
Guards!
Tell, your life is intact
and your son's too.
If you want him...
and these people to live, you will let us leave.
Lay down your bow
and order your men to do the same.
Shoot him.
I cannot raise my bow to my son again.
Do it!
Look. Yes.
See that, Tell?
An army comes for you.
Lay down your weapons!
Lay them down, you Swiss dogs!
- Lay them down. - Hold.
- Now. - Hold.
You are lost!
You're finished!
Your heads will be on pikes.
Surrender now!
Now!
Retreat!
The King is dead!
Look!
The army is retreating!
No, no, no, no, no. No! No!
Stussi, stay. Stay with me.
Stussi, wait. Wait!
Pick up your weapons now. Do not surrender.
Stay with me!
Hold strong!
Do not lower your weapons!
Do not drop your weapons!
Stay with me!
Take them!
Walter! Walter! Come here! Come to me!
You...
You live a deadly lie, Tell.
You promised your flock freedom and redemption,
yet you've given them nothing but blood.
Go on, kill me.
There'll be another Gessler,
and you will never...
outgrow your hunger for rage.
You are a poison.
And you will leave this world...
unsaluted.
And one...
less Gessler...
is a victory...
I'll take for now.
Move away, Son.
We are huntsmen, not savages.
What is this?
Is this pity?
Huh? Mercy?
Huh?
Tell?
Tell!
Amen.
Farewell, my friends.
The graves of war have yawned
and yielded up their dead.
My heart...
is broken.
You refused to let tyranny rage,
and you made steel of our valour.
Now you are...
no more.
But, God,
answer me this.
When will this bleeding business of war
be done?
Hyah!
God,
I am no longer woman.
I ask you to unsex me here,
then arm me with the thunder of the church.
I seek righteous vengeance for my father's blood.
And I vow before you, God,
to kill all those who rallied against him.
- Their servants... - Tell.
...their children, and children's children.
I vow
to slaughter whole generations upon his tomb
and bathe in their blood as in the dew of May.
We feared you dead.
Many want it so.
Is it true?
I could think of no other option
that would make his army turn around.
Our country owes you.
Come, join us.
But you must know this.
Even now, the cruel Queen Agnes comes.
She is protected
by the foul righteousness of the cross...
and seeks your head, Tell...
and all you know.
Queen!