Bathory: Countess of Blood (2008)
"Bathory" (original title)

Bathory is based on the legends surrounding the life and deeds of Countess Elizabeth Bathory known as the greatest murderess in the history of mankind. Contrary to popular belief, Elizabeth Bathory was a modern Renaissance woman who ultimately fell victim to mens aspirations for power and wealth.

Director:

Juraj Jakubisko

Writers:

John Paul Chapple (dialogue), Lubomír Feldek,

Stars:

Anna Friel, Karel Roden, Vincent Regan

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Friel	...	Erzsébet Báthory
Karel Roden	...	Juraj Thurzo
Vincent Regan	...	Ferenc Nadasdy
Hans Matheson	...	Merisi Caravaggio
Deana Horváthová	...	Darvulia (as Deana Jakubisková-Horváthová)
Franco Nero	...	King Mathias II
Antony Byrne	...	Pastor Ponicky
Bolek Polívka	...	Monk Peter
Jirí Mádl	...	Neophyte Cyril
Monika Hilmerová	...	Countess Czobor
Lucie Vondrácková	...	Lucia
Jaromír Nosek	...	Miklós Zrínyi (as Míra Nosek)
Marek Majeský	...	Gábor Báthory
Andrew Tiernan	...	Zavodsky
Marek Vasut	...	Bethlen

Storyline

Bathory is based on the legends surrounding the life and deeds of Countess Elizabeth Bathory known as the greatest murderess in the history of mankind. Contrary to popular belief, Elizabeth Bathory was a modern Renaissance woman who ultimately fell victim to mens aspirations for power and wealth.

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Plot Keywords:

bathory | countess | legend | blood | hallucination | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Fantasy | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and torture, sexuality and some graphic nudity

Details

Country:

Slovakia UK Hungary

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 2008 (Slovakia)

Also Known As:

Bathory: Countess of Blood

Filming Locations:

Austria

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eurofilm Stúdió, Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME), Jakubisko Film Slovakia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Famke Janssen was originally signed on for the part of Bathory, but for reasons unknown she backed out. Anna Friel read the script and fell in love with it and sent the director a letter convincing him to cast her. It was written in Slovak language, because her babysitter was from Slovakia and helped her writing it.

User Reviews

Damn you, Redbox!

Redbox got rights to this 2008 reject from Czech TV, and melted it down into a 3 hour movie that they tried to pass off with a horror sub-title, "Countess of Blood".

Instead, what you get is a Hungarian History lesson that is about as clear as Goolash. They take the notorious Blood Countess of Hungary, Erzabet Bathory, who was one of the influences for Dracula, and actually try to spin her in a positive light (Namely, that if she was brutal at all, she was brutal for the time she lived in.) A tighter, shorter movie would have worked better, without the unneeded characters like the two monks who come up with wacky steam-punk inventions.

I think the movie looks great and puts you in that time period pretty well... and it quickly touches on the politics of feudal Austria-Hungary. But it's really just too long and unfocused.