Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Stevieboy666 Hammer's take on the real life Hungarian Countess Bathory, who tortured and murdered some 600 odd young girls, believing that their blood would retain her beauty. Needless to say we don't get anywhere near that number of deaths here, nor do we get any torture. Made in the early 1970's, when sex had become a big ingredient in vampire films, this stars the beautiful but sadly dubbed Ingrid Pitt in the title role. There's no Cushing, Lee or even a Michael Ripper here but the cast is good, in particular Nigel Green as the Countess's castle steward/lover, and also Maurice Denham as the elder castle historian provides some humour. This is a Hammer movie so production values are good. There is a fair amount of female flesh on show but the blood letting is rather restrained, and it all builds to a great, if predictable finale. I grew up watching Hammer movies and although this is far from their best it is still a good film, combining a love story with a different take on vampirism.

Leofwine_draca This unusual and stylish entry from Hammer studios is well worth a watch for those looking for a different kind of vampirism. This take on the legend of the infamous countess Elizabeth Bathory, who enjoyed torturing and mutilating hundreds of young virgins throughout her life, is actually rather muted when it comes to the violence. You would imagine lots of blood and guts on display here, but no, instead all we see are a few slashed wrists and a jumpy moment where an unsuspecting woman gets a hairpin jammed into her neck.For exploitational value, though, the film offers up ample naked flesh to satisfy any red-blooded male; indeed just about all of the female cast are required to lose their clothes at various intervals (Countess Dracula was one of the films to usher in the "new wave" of Hammer horror, along with THE VAMPIRE LOVERS: films which followed in their wake were made more appealing to the general public by the liberal inclusion of gore and nudity wherever possible). However, the main strength of this movie is its visual power; director Peter Sasdy gives it a unique style all of his own which effectively conveys moods of decay, regret and sadness.Physically, the movie is very colourful in places (when involving the young lovers), grey and gloomy in others; the photography is sharp and really helps to bring out the atmosphere of the castle in which this film is set. Incidentally, the sets were left over from a bigger production (of which the name escapes me) which accounts for the whole expensive look to this film. Add to this the authentic-looking costumes and village scenes, and you have a great-looking film.Sadly, however, this isn't a great movie. There are some great actors and scenes in it, yes, but as a whole it is flawed by the inclusion of some laughably cheesy love scenes between the wooden Eles and Pitt. At each of these moments, loud soapy music plays on the soundtrack. I was lucky enough to see this film on the big screen and the audience found these scenes very amusing indeed. Countess Dracula is also slightly too arty for its own good in places, and personally speaking I would have preferred to see some more traditional elements in the film (like more of the superstitious villagers, perhaps). There are some fine moments, like the opening where Pitt's cart rides over a peasant, crushing him to death, it's just a shame that there aren't more of these moments throughout the film.Ingrid Pitt is fine in the title role, although it's difficult to judge her entire performance as her voice is dubbed by another actress. However, she convincingly plays two versions of the same woman - the young and the old - and positively glows when appearing as the younger. The anguish that Elisabeth feels when she reverts to her proper age again is well done, only resorting to histrionics in one rather embarrassing scene where Pitt bangs her fists against the carpet. Pitt is ably supported by a distinguished cast. Leading this is Nigel Green (THE FACE OF FU MANCHU) who is very good indeed as the complex, lovelorn servant who worships Pitt but is snubbed by her every day. Maurice Denham is also on hand as an amusing librarian and makes a very atypical and interesting character out of his role.Sadly the younger performers are less convincing. Lesley-Anne Down is pretty but vapid as Pitt's daughter, while Sandor Eles is nothing more than a male pin-up, all looks but no brain; his dumb attitude threatens to have the whole film crashing down in places, and it's a good thing that the cunning Green is there to sort him out. One other actor I have to mention is the guy playing the moustachioed gamekeeper; he's one of the funniest bit-actors I've ever seen! Just check the moment where he attempts to lick a woman's shoe or the various amusing expressions on his face - classic!It seems to me that sometimes this film works at a purely soap-opera level, what with all the love triangles, lust, and passion on display. But underneath all this are subtle undercurrents about the price people are willing to pay to stay young and the dangers of hiding your true self from those you care about. Countess Dracula also has a superb ending, a simple freeze-frame on the horrible face of a decayed Pitt, which is both chilling and fascinating in equal measure. This marks the end of what has been an intelligent and highly interesting movie; although it lacks the pacing and excitement of a routine Hammer film, it more than makes up for this in terms of visual brilliance and an offbeat tone. Worth tracking down.

morrison-dylan-fan Despite having heard about her for years,I have somehow never caught a glimpse of Ingrid Pitt,which led to me deciding that it was time to meet the Countess.The plot:Attending the reading of her husbands will, Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy is sickened to find out that her husband has not left anything solely for her. Furiously pushing a maid aside, Nádasdy accidentally causes the maid's face to get cut. Splattered with blood, Nádasdy is shocked to find that the maid's virginal blood causes her to look decades younger.Killing the maid, Elisabeth decides to keep her daughter Ilona hidden from view,so that she can pretend to be her own daughter,as Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy thrust for purity grows.View on the film:Filmed on sets originally built for Anne of the Thousand Days,co- writer/(along with Jeremy Paul/ Alexander Paal & Gabriel Ronay) director Peter Sasdy and cinematographer Kenneth Talbot use restrained tracking shots to show the decaying walls of Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy's palace,with Sasdy also using very stylish reflective flames to show the pit that Elisabeth is placing herself in.Taking inspiration from Valentine Penrose's book The Bloody Countess,the screenplay attempts to cross Hammer Horror chills with elegant Costume Drama.Whilst the movie does well at continuing the studios major theme of the rich being the real monsters,the writers fail to build any sense of terror,due to any Horror edges being filed down by a disappointingly plodding Costume Drama elements.Despite getting her voiced dubbed over by Olive Gregg, (which led to her never talking to Sasdy again)the alluring Ingrid Pitt gives a wonderful performance as Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy,with Pitt creating a deep contrast between the "young" & old (which involved Pitt having to spend 3 hours getting the impressive make up effects on) Elisabeth,thanks to Pitt showing old Elisabeth to be a burnt out, psychotic witch,who tries to keep her old dark blood lust under wraps by transforming into a glamorous beauty,which leads to Elisabeth becoming a murderous youth in revolt.

BA_Harrison Today's beauty experts claim that super-concentrated amino-peptides are the way to go for younger looking skin, but ask Countess Elisabeth Nodosheen (Ingrid Pitt) and she'll tell you that nothing beats bathing in the blood of virgins. With loyal steward Captain Dobi (Nigel Green) and faithful servant Julie Sentash (Patience Collier) at her side to lure a steady stream of pure young women to her castle, the elderly Countess is able to keep wrinkles at bay and continue her love affair with handsome young soldier Lt. Imre Toth (Sandor Elès).Hammer's Countess Dracula is based on the real-life figure of Countess Erzsebet Bathory (1560–1614), who was responsible for the torture and deaths of over 600 virgin girls and, as legend would have it, bathed in the blood of her victims in order to retain her youth; surprisingly, given it's gore-drenched historical background, the film turns out to be a relatively 'dry' affair, director Peter Sasdy focusing his attention not on the more grisly details of the Countess's drastic beauty regime, but rather on its central character's controlling, self-obsessive nature and abuse of power. The result would be one of Hammer's less memorable movies, if it wasn't for the plentiful female nudity (Pitt's impressive norks even help me to turn a blind eye to her 'child-catcher' nose) plus the added amusement of some particularly large hats.