Editing Vice and Steel (section)

===Movies===

''Dangerous Liaisons'' (1988, Directed by Stephen Frears): A truly gorgeous, electric movie of lust, seduction, and power that shows the protagonists destroying each other, and themselves, because they cannot contain or overcome their Vices. Probably the best single source for Vice and Steel – except possibly the novel that the movie is based upon. 

''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998, Directed by Marshall Herskovitz): Set in Venice during the Renaissance, and thus a little earlier in history than the other sources, this movie is an adaptation of the book ''The Honest Courtesan''. Telling the story of a courtesan with a heart of gold, a noble divided between love and duty, the inquisition and its sins, and the values of humanity it fits Vice and Steel perfectly despite being slightly out of chronological scope. 

''Amadeus'' (1984, Directed by Milos Forman): The story of Wolfgang Amadeus Motzart and Antonio Salieri is a masterpiece of film, deftly unweaving a story of jealousy, genius, and the human weaknesses that lead step by unavoidable step to death and madness. Though it’s a bit less swashbuckling than most of the other recommended sources it is one of the great examples of a story perfect for Vice and Steel in which a sword is never drawn nor royal plot ever foiled.