Bathory: Countess of Blood

Just to clear any confusion,THIS DVD IS REGION 1, MEANING IT WILL PLAY ON DVD PLAYERS IN NORTH AMERICA AND IN AMERICAN TERRITORIES.Although the cover art may be reminiscent of a softcore porn taking place in Medieval times, this movie was great. When I first saw the DVD cover image, I seriously was appalled. The European version depicts the true essence of the film with the actual actress, Anna Friel,on the cover. The American DVD image is insulting and I can't help but think that this was a deliberate action to entice a "daft" American visual palette.With that one thing out of the way, I can certainly say that this movie is wonderful. It is artfully rendered, very dreamy and surreal, a true cinematic masterpiece. Such a gorgeous movie to watch. You can literally mute this film and watch it with stars in your eyes.Everything I've read about Bathory is elusive and this movie doesn't escape that. We will never know the true story of The Countess or what she did/did not do.This story takes a different approach to what we know about Countess Bathory, and I honestly was not expecting it. If you are hoping to see excessive amounts of blood and gore,this movie will certainly disappoint you. It's not at all over the top violent.Intelligent, poignant, romantic, and beautiful, Bathory:Countess of Blood is highly recommended if you just love a great story about love, life and the tragedies that befall us all.

This brilliant and beautifully filmed movie is now enhanced by Blu-ray. This movie that in many countries was released direct to DVD has within the few years of it's release become a huge cult classic. This movie supports the argument of the possible innocence of Erzabet Bathory of the supposed crimes that became her downfall. At the death of her husband, Erzabet was left a powerfully strong woman whose wealth and land ownership did not sit well in a greedy male dominated domain. The film explores ideas of how historically her story may have been miss-represented and set up by the other nobles who would profit from her downfall. Yes there are a few fantasy elements like the inclusion of the artist Caravaggio into her life and the delightfully priest with his brilliant yet anachronistic inventions but it all makes for a good strong story in the end.

reminded me of the grinch who stole xmas when whos are singing

This film will appeal those who believe that Countess Bathory may have been framed by men seeking her fortune. Maybe she wasn't the demon that history has labeled her .

I got the dvd today and was all excited to watch it, but as soon as I stuck it in the dvd player I found out the dvd was from the UK! They failed to mention it! I had to buy a multi regional dvd player the same day! Next time warn a person before they buy it!

This movie holds almost NO historical value. I like the view of her being framed to some extent, but that's it. Most of the facts are very easy to come by and just a few minutes of research would have greatly enhanced this movie. I own it, but won't watch it again. They couldn't even get the way she died right. It was a waste of time and money.I will say this, the acting was very good, but that's where my praise for this movie ends.

This is my second DVD on this subject. I must say it is the best. Not a super movie but I can watch anything that deals in Old World Europe….and long skirts.

Good movie watched it a few times

wont play in Canadian machine!

Great movie!!!

Interesting movie with different view of Countess Bathory.

A historical epic based on the life of Countess Bathory, who I’ve been fascinated by for a long time now. It’s not a horror film (despite how it’s advertised), though there are some violent, bloody scenes. It offers a different side to the legend, which is more sympathetic to the Countess, portraying her as a loving mother who mostly treated her servants well apart from occasional lapses in judgment or delusions caused by poisoning, and who was eventually betrayed by men who wanted a share of her wealth. I enjoyed this adaptation as it’s true that Elizabeth would have suffered hardships as a woman living in those times and her crimes were almost certainly exaggerated for political/financial gain. However, I think she is over-romanticised in this film as, given her status and the barbaric norms of the time, it's likely that she was still cruel to her servants even if she stopped short of mass murder. But I accept that her crimes and character are open to interpretation as we have very few unbiased accounts of what she was really like and what really happened. The film was slightly too long though and I think some of the battle scenes could have been cut out as Elizabeth herself wasn't involved in those; the parts about healing, herbs, witchcraft and anatomy were interesting, and I wish there had been more of that.

I watched this film twice in a week because i thought i needed to fully absorb the details i missed on first viewing. Nobody really knows the truth behind Countess Elizabeth Bathory and so much of whats been written about her are largely folklore and conjecture but this movie goes some way into addressing all the angles and presenting a different picture of a much misunderstood figure in history.You have to stay with it though as you will be mesmerised by the costumes, scenery and the sheer beauty of the women portrayed in this period. Anna Friel puts on a robust performance and is endearing as a countess and loving mother to her cherished daughters but things start going horribly wrong during her husband's long absences at war and the blood letting starts much later than i imagined.There is a conspiracy against her and her Protestant stance against an increasing Catholic uprising who eventually plunder the Bathory wealth and have her banished in a castle until her death. So the legend of 'history's most prolific serial killer' may somewhat be influenced by this. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie as it portrays a noble countess in a slightly different light and leaves the viewer perplexed as to her abominations of which she was alleged to have carried out!