Bathory: Countess of Blood (2008)

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... See full summary »

Director:

Juraj Jakubisko

Writers:

Juraj Jakubisko, John Paul Chapple (additional script material written by)

Stars:

Anna Friel, Karel Roden, Vincent Regan

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anna Friel	...	Erzsébet Báthory
Karel Roden	...	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	...	Peter
Jirí Mádl	...	Cyril
Monika Hilmerová	...	Countess Czobor
Lucie Vondrácková	...	Lucia
Jaromír Nosek	...	Miklós Zrínyi (as Míra Nosek)
Marek Majeský	...	Gábor Báthory
Marek Vasut	...	Bethlen
Jana Olhová	...	Dora

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 men's aspirations for power and wealth.

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Plot Keywords:

virgin blood | aging | violence | torture | character name as title | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Error: Near the end of the film, as the Countess speaks with the monk, she lights the five candles at the foot of her bed before putting out the flame. Each time the candles appear again on screen, a different number are lit.

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Connections

Version of Lust of the Vampire (1957)

User Reviews

A myth-buster with a "legend" all its own

Lavish, romanticized account of the life and times of 16th century Hungarian countess Erzsébet Bathory, history's most prolific serial killer...

BATHORY, a would-be epic with nice period detail, aspires to myth-buster status by painting the "Bloody Countess of Čachtice" as a victim of political chicanery in a male-dominated society but all it accomplishes is a "legend" of its own by white-washing history, facts be damned. Here, as a wealthy woman who's vast holdings could turn the tide in a power struggle between Catholics and Protestants as they fight off a Muslim invasion, Countess Bathory is more sinned against than sinning and framed for crimes she never committed. Yeah, right. Valentine Penrose & Alexander Trocchi's well-researched "The Bloody Countess: Atrocities Of Erzsébet Bathory", offers a significantly different account based on historical records:

"Descended from one of the most ancient aristocratic families of Europe, Erzsébet Bathory bore the psychotic aberrations of centuries of intermarriage. From adolescence she indulged in sadistic lesbian fantasies where only the spilling of a woman's blood could satisfy her urges. By middle age she had regressed to a mirror-fixated state of pathological necro-sadism involving witchcraft, torture, blood-drinking, cannibalism and, inevitably, wholesale slaughter. These years, at the latter end of the 16th century, witnessed a reign of cruelty unsurpassed in the annals of mass murder with the Countess' depredations on the virgin girls of the Carpathians leading to some 650 deaths. Her many castles were equipped with chambers where she would hideously torture and mutilate her victims, becoming a murder factory where hundreds of girls were killed and processed for the ultimate youth-giving ritual: the bath of blood..."

In Juraj Jakubisko's film, Erzsébet Bathory is depicted as an intelligent woman ahead of her time and a Protestant preyed upon by the Catholic Church as well as her late husband's covetous best friend although she still finds time for a passionate affair with the Italian painter Caravaggio (!) as her subjects try inventing spring-powered roller skates, phonographs, still photography, and primitive airplanes a la Leonardo Da Vinci. The tale, a de-fanged poison valentine to renaissance Hungary, is served up on a grand scale but twists the truth into a monumental mis-carriage of injustice that's recommended to revisionists only. What's next, JEFFREY DAHMER -THE MUSICAL?

Details

Country:

Slovakia Hungary Czech Republic UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 2008 (Slovakia)

Also Known As:

Bathory: Countess of Blood

Filming Locations:

Austria

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,005,528

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jakubisko Film Slovakia, Eurofilm Stúdió, J&J Jakubisko Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

141 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1