Baron Blood (1972) Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga (original title)

Director:

Mario Bava

Writers:

Vincent Fotre (screenplay)
Vincent Fotre (story)

Release Date:

27 October 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

He sought the ultimate in HUMAN AGONY... with instruments of TORTURE ghastly beyond belief!

Plot:

A young man, Peter, returns to Austria in search of his heritage. There he visits the castle of an ancestor...

Plot Keywords:

Torture | Curse | Gothic Horror | Supernatural Horror | Witchcraft

Cast

Joseph Cotten	...	Baron Otto von Kleist / Alfred Becker
Elke Sommer	...	Eva Arnold
Massimo Girotti	...	Dr. Karl Hummel
Rada Rassimov	...	Christina Hoffmann
Antonio Cantafora	...	Peter Kleist
Umberto Raho	...	Inspector (as Humi Raho)
Luciano Pigozzi	...	Fritz (as Alan Collins)
Dieter Tressler	...	Mayor Dortmundt
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Pilar Castel	...	Madeleine, the doctor's assistant (uncredited)
Gustavo De Nardo	...	Dr. Werner Hessler (uncredited)
Nicoletta Elmi	...	Gretchen Hummel (uncredited)
Irio Fantini	...	(uncredited)
Rolf Hädrich	...	Auctioner (uncredited)
Kathy Leone	...	Woman on the aircraft (uncredited)
Maurice Poli	...	Land surveyor (uncredited)
Helena Ronee	...	Elisabeth Hölle (uncredited)
Valeria Sabel	...	Martha Hummel (uncredited)

Directed by
Mario Bava

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Vincent Fotre		screenplay
Vincent Fotre		story

Produced by
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	executive producer
Alfredo Leone	....	producer

Original Music by
Les Baxter		(US version)
Stelvio Cipriani

Cinematography by
Mario Bava		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Carlo Reali

Art Direction by
Enzo Bulgarelli

Makeup Department
Rossana Gigante	....	hair stylist
Silvana Petri	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Bruno Frascà	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lamberto Bava	....	assistant director

Special Effects by
Franco Tocci	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Emilio Varriano	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Other crew
William A. Bairn	....	script (US version)
Franco Tocci	....	effects double: Baron Blood (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion (co-production)
• Euro America Produzioni Cinematografiche

Distributors

• Jumbo Cinematografica (1972) (Italy) (theatrical)
• American International Pictures (AIP) (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Cinevision Films (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (1972) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1976) (USA) (TV)
• Elite Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1996) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Raro Video/Nocturno (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• e-m-s the DVD-Company (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Starz Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Control Productions (????) (Australia) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Lamberto Forni Film (LF) (????) (Italy) (VHS)
• Redemption Films (????) (UK) (VHS) (as Redemption Video)

Also Known As:

"Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga" - West Germany (original title)
"The Torture Chamber of Baron Blood" - , USA (long title)

Runtime:

Italy:98 min | USA:90 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

West Germany | Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG | Australia:M | Italy:VM14 | Norway:16 (cut) | UK:15 (video rating) | USA:Unrated (uncut video version) | Germany:16 | Argentina:18 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Vienna, Austria

Company:

Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion

Trivia:

The production was shot in six weeks, finishing three days ahead of schedule and under the budget as well.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Peter comes to Eva's rescue at the castle, it is clearly broad daylight. Eva begs Peter to take her home, which he does, but now as we see him drive up to her student dorm, it is pitch black outside.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Out of this World Super Shock Show (2007) (V)

Heavily flawed Bava masterpiece

Mario Bava is one of the best Italian horror directors, his name is synonymous with terror! He influenced the "Friday the 13th" series, "Halloween", and countless other films, inside and outside of the genre. "Baron Blood" is a lesser-known opus from Bava and is one of his least watchable.

Bava regular Elke Sommer is top-billed with Joseph Cotton, who are both usually great, but Sommer overacts in her hysterics and Cotton isn't very sinister. None of the acting of the film is very good except underrated child actress Nicoletta Elmi. The real stars of the film are Bava's cinematography, set (a real Austrian castle), and lighting techniques. The highlight of the film is a chase scene in a courtyard maze lit by blue and yellow lights, simply breathtaking! Other scenes worthy of note include a coffin lined with nails, the final (rather tame) scenes in the baron's torture chamber, dead bodies impaled on the castle's towers, a witch feeling the wraith of the Baron, Elmi being chased by the Baron in the woods, and a chase scene through the halls of the crumbling castle. Fabulous! But, it is too tame for Bava, holds very little actual intelligent in the plotline and execution, and is too tedious, grabbing little attention for the entire film. Budding Bava fans should be steered towards "Black Sunday", "Bay of Blood", or "Lisa and the Devil"; "Baron Blood" should be a last resort to new and old Bava fans.