Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

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Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Wuchak RELEASED IN 1971-1972 and directed by Peter Sasdy, "Countess Dracula" chronicles events in medieval Hungary where the aging Countess Elisabeth (Ingrid Pitt) cruelly reigns with her Steward, Captain Dobi (Nigel Green). She discovers that washing in the blood of maidens makes her youthful and orders her servants to apprehend victims. Pretending to be her daughter, Ilona, the Countess seeks the affections of a young Lieutenant, Imre Toth (Sandor Elès). Maurice Denham plays the wise old scribe of the castle, Master Fabio, while Lesley-Anne Down appears as the real Ilona, held captive by a mute peasant.The real Elizabeth Báthory lived in Cachtice Castle, which was surrounded by a village and crop lands (and still is), bordered by bluffs of the Little Carpathians in Hungary. Her chief servant was into witchcraft and encouraged Bathory in her diabolic endeavors. Patience Collier plays this role in the movie, but she's not a witch.More than 300 witnesses testified to Bathory's atrocities with Priests, noblemen and commoners being questioned. Her crimes included cruel beatings, burning of hands, mutilation, biting the flesh off of faces, as wells as limbs and other body parts, freezing to death or starving. Her early targets were serving girls 10-14 years old, the kin of local peasants, who were usually lured to the castle as well-paid servants. She later was said to have apprehended daughters of the lesser nobility, which was the beginning of the end.In those times Hungarian nobles were allowed to reprove their servants by whatever means they saw fit, even death, and were not reprimanded for it, which obviously facilitated Bathory's offenses. Three of four of her closest servants were executed and she was under house arrest limited to one room the last four years of her life. She died at 54 in 1614. While some argue that she was politically set-up, and that's always a possibility, there's just too much documentation verifying her crimes to dismiss them. The incredible number of her victims (650) is probably exaggerated and the bathing-in-blood angle is likely just lore emerging well after her death.The film's cheesy title is figurative because there's no vampirism; "Dracula" was a hot item at the time and producers simply hoped to capitalize on the name. Yet there is the supernatural element of becoming young & beautiful again. It's an engaging theme because most aging women (and men) long to restore the beauty of their prime. Have you ever seen a woman in her late 50s or whatever acting like she's a college girl on spring break? It's pathetic.In any case, this is a quasi-historical drama with gothic horror. I love the castle & sets, the costumes and torch-lit hallways. It brings to life the late/post Medieval Age. Some parts are predictable (e.g. the outcome of the closing wedding), but the story is compelling and gives you a good taste of feudal life in central Europe back then.On a side note, Lesley-Anne Down was one of the most beautiful women to walk the earth in the 70s-90s and she was only around 16.5 years-old during shooting. While her screen time is scant in the first two acts, she comes to the fore in the final act and is definitely a highlight.THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 33 minutes and was shot in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England. WRITERS: Jeremy Paul (screenplay) and Alexander Paal (story) inspired by Valentine Penrose's book "The Bloody Countess: Atrocities of Erzsébet Báthory."GRADE: B+

JohnHowardReid Copyright 1970 by Hammer Film Productions Ltd and The Rank Organisation Film Productions Ltd. U.K. release through Rank Film Distributors: 14 February 1971. U.S. release through 20th Century- Fox: October 1972. Banned in Australia. 8,356 feet. 93 minutes. SYNOPSIS: The aged Countess Elizabeth goes on a killing spree after discovering the rejuvenating power of blood.MY VIEW: Although not highly regarded by Hammer fans, "Countess Dracula" features a strong performance by Ingrid Pitt in the title role (aided by reasonably convincing make-up), but provides little else of interest, aside from a few glimpses of Andrea Lawrence. Fans of Nigel Green will feel especially aggrieved. Our hero is not only cast in a lackluster role, but he's given precious little footage. He doesn't even play second fiddle to Ingrid, but joins Patience Collier and the lovely Lesley-Anne Down on third. Maurice Denham, despite the handicap of a woeful costume, even steals a scene or two from him. No wonder Nigel looks pained and disgruntled and seems aimlessly to wander through the film as if fighting a severe attack of indigestion. Despite some attractive settings, the production looks scrappy and second-rate. The men's wardrobe has a hand-me-down air, the editing is slack and the sets are not sufficiently Gothic to be either frightening or atmospheric. Although colorful enough, the photography is often inappropriately over-lit. The script also presents a number of entertainment obstacles. Ill-constructed, it makes little or no attempt to paper over several gaping holes in the narrative, fails to add flesh to the characters, yet frequently employs marking-time dialogue to spin the scenario out to feature length. Worst of all, however, is Peter Sasdy's ruthlessly inadequate direction. Judging from his totally inept approach, I would estimate that he learned his trade (such as it is) in the bleakly undemanding world of British television with its slip-shod acting, its over-use of mechanical close-ups, and its total disregard for pace, suspense and atmospheric build-up.

AaronCapenBanner Peter Sasdy directed this (loosely) based on fact historical account of the Countess Elizabeth(played by Ingrid Pitt) an aging ruler who discovers the secret of youth by bathing in the blood of innocent young women, which restores her own youthful beauty, and inspires her take on younger men as lovers, much to the consternation of her loyal lover Captain Dobi(played by Nigel Green). The number of missing young women draws the wrath of the village, who begin a revolt, but Elizabeth only cares about herself, which will encourage Captain Dobi to abandon her, and leave her to face the consequences of her murderous actions. Good cast and direction, but film is lurid and unoriginal; ultimately a misfire, though Pitt certainly makes it semi-watchable at least.

gavin6942 In medieval Europe aging Countess Elisabeth (Ingrid Pitt) rules harshly with the help of lover Captain Dobi. Finding that washing in the blood of young girls makes her young again she gets Dobi to start abducting likely candidates.The film was produced by Alexander Paal and directed by Peter Sasdy, Hungarian émigrés working in England. They wanted to bring something Hungarian to Hammer, but they wanted a British writer to make it accessible to wider audiences, hence the recruitment of Jeremy Paul, who had been writing for television since the early 1960s. Sasdy created this, his second feature, "Countess Dracula", to fulfill that desire.Ingrid Pitt, though not Hungarian, was Polish-born and maintained her accent throughout her life. This Eastern European origin made her well-suited to be Elisabeth Bathory (a figure she knew nothing about when she was cast).Peter Jeffrey appears as Captain Balogh the Chief Bailiff. Although not the household name Pitt is, he had a good (albeit short) run in horror, appearing in both "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" (1971) and "Dr. Phibes Rises Again" (1972) as Inspector TroutDonald Guarisco calls this "one of the more underrated films from the latter days of the Hammer Films dynasty." Is he right? Well, on the surface, he might be. It is currently getting 5.7 on the IMDb, which seems low for a Hammer film; one would think it could manage a 6.7. But yet, is it all that underrated? Ingrid Pitt and "Countess Dracula" have achieved a much wider audience than many of Hammer's works.The audio commentary on the MGM disc is incredible, with the director (Peter Sasdy), writer (Jeremy Paul) and actress (Ingrid Pitt) all sitting in.