- Actors: Ingrid Pitt, George Cole, Kate O'Mara, Peter Cushing, Ferdy Mayne
- Directors: Peter Sasdy, Roy Ward Baker
- Writers: Peter Sasdy, Alexander Paal, Gabriel Ronap, Harry Fine, Jeremy Paul
- Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
- Number of discs: 1
- MPAA Rating:
- Studio: Fox Video
- Release Date: Aug 26 2003
- Run Time: 184 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00009PY48
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #14,414 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
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Product Description
From Amazon.com
Polish-born actress Ingrid Pitt's erotically supercharged presence is the highlight of this double bill of vampire chills from Hammer Films. In Countess Dracula, Pitt stars as an aging noblewoman (inspired by the real-life Erzebeth Bathory) who discovers the secret to eternal youth in the veins of young virgins, while in The Vampire Lovers (based on J. Sheridan LeFanu's "Carmilla"), Pitt's sensuous bloodsucker seduces Hammer starlets Madeleine Smith and Kate O'Mara and incurs the vengeful wrath of Peter Cushing. Countess is the more sober of the two films, with Jeremy Paul's script and Peter Sadsy's direction playing out more like an Old Dark House mystery than Hammer horror, while Lovers' aims for comic-book thrills with plenty of nudity and violence (much of which was trimmed from the American version, but reinstated here); in both cases, Pitt's sexy/scary performances make this DVD a memorably viewing experience for vintage and new-school horror fans alike. --Paul Gaita
Additional Features
Due to the enduring cult favorite status of these films and Ingrid Pitt, MGM's double-sided DVD offers a number of extras devoted to this sensuous star. Pitt is featured in audio commentary tracks for both films; on Countess (presented here in widescreen format), she's joined by director Peter Sadsy and screenwriter Jeremy Paul, while on the anamorphic widescreen Vampire Lovers, she is featured alongside director Roy Ward Baker and scripter Tudor Gates. Both tracks are filled with a wealth of production history, though Pitt's accent and fluctuating vocals occasionally make her contributions difficult to hear. Pitt is also heard on Vampire Lovers reading excerpts from the LeFanu short story "Carmilla," on which the film is based, over a battery of production stills. The discs are rounded out by original theatrical trailers for both films and optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles. --Paul Gaita
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A must see.....,
By
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This review is from: Countess Dracula/The Vampire Lovers (Midnite Movies Double Feature) (DVD)
Both movies are more gothic/dark than real horror. Not Sexploitation, but a blend of classy lust and atmospheric tension. Ingrid Pitt is casted in roles made for her. She can act circles around recent days starlets.Enjoyable.... Budget priced.... A no-miss. One drawback : I found the movies a bit on the long side.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
TWO GOOD HAMMER FILMS,
This review is from: Countess Dracula/The Vampire Lovers (Midnite Movies Double Feature) (DVD)
I had to order these two hammer horror films with the recent death of Ingrid Pitt and to add it to my hammer collection. Two great hammer films are here. I liked Countess Dracula. It is the better of the two.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The best, such as it is, of Ingrid Pitt's Hammer films,
By Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: Countess Dracula/The Vampire Lovers (Midnite Movies Double Feature) (DVD)
The commonality between these two Hammer films is that they both star Ingrid Pitt, which means they are both driven more by eroticism than horror. "Countess Dracula" is really a metaphorical title because we are not talking about a true member of the Dracula family (or even a vampire for that matter) but rather a figure clearly based on the historic figure of the Countess Elisabeth Bathory, a 16th Century noblewoman who bathed in the blood of virgins to preserve her youth and whose legend is frequently cited in the historical basis for vampirism. In this 1970 film set in medieval Europe, the aging Countess Elisabeth Nadasdy (Ingrid Pitt), is a cruel ruler who discovers that when she washes in the blood of young girls it makes her young again. So she orders her lover, Captain Dobi (Nigel Green) to go out and find more of them. However, when the Countess starts pretending to be her own daughter, Ilona (Lesley-Anne Down), so she can go out and enjoy the company of the younger Imre Toth (Sandor Eles), Dobi gets jealous. Then the Countess discovers that her rejuvenation requires the blood of only virgins, and Dobi's job gets a lot more difficult. The truth is that the main attraction here is Pitt's countess giving herself a bloody sponge bath, but there is a rather good moment involving a hairpin that stands out in terms of the Hammer films (this DVD package was temporarily withdrawn because "Countess Dracula" was erroneously rated "PG" and you can only wonder how many children were exposed to Pitt's self ministrations). How much you like this film will have to do with what you think about the makeup job on the Countess, because she keeps bouncing back and forth. The subplot with the young lovers Imre and Ilona generates no chemistry and therefore no real interest. In the end, what we keep coming back to is the bloody sponge bath, which becomes the raison d'etre for this film from director Peter Sasdy. This film has nothing to do with the Hammer Dracula series, but that hardly matters to those who like this film. Much the better of the pair, "The Vampire Lovers," directed by Roy Ward Baker in 1970, is the first in the Karnstein trilogy of Hammer films, all based quite loosely on Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's story "Carmilla." The Karnsteins are a clan of vampires, represented in this version by a bunch of scantily clad women. Pitt stars as Carmilla, who also goes under the anagram names of Mircalla and Marcilla at various points in the story (yes, there is a story). The last of her clan, Carmilla is trying to rebuild, turning first to Laura (Pippa Steele), the daughter of General Spielsdorf (Peter Cushing) and then Emma (Madeleine Smith), the daughter of Roger Morton (George Cole). Along the way she turns Mademoiselle Perrodon (Kate O'Mara) into a sexual slave. In the great tradition of Dracula and most other vampire films, Laura dies before anyone recognizes the marks of the vampire and then the goal is to save poor Emma from the same fate. There is a lot in "The Vampire Lovers" that never makes much sense. Who is the countess (Dawn Addams) who travels with Mircalla? What is up with the black-clad vampire (John Forbes Robertson) who keeps hanging around? Supposedly Mircalla is the last of her clan, but maybe not. Mircalla keeps saying she loves her victims, but they all end up dead, which certainly does not help out her clan much. In the end it is clear that Hammer, aided and abetted by American International in this instance, was making a flat-out lesbian vampire film. As such, I can honestly say that you are not going to find a better one out there. Ironically, "The Vampire Lovers" ends up being more erotic than the vast majority of films featuring heterosexual relationships between the undead and their victims.
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