Customer Reviews

Countess Dracula/The Vampire Lovers (Midnite Movies Double Feature)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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a rather good moment involving a hairpin that stands out in terms of the Hammer films (this DVD package was temporarily withdrawn because "Countess Dracula" was erroneously rated "PG" and you can only wonder how many children were exposed to Pitt's self ministrations).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.

This double feature, of two of Ingrid Pitt's early films; in which she looked quite good, has a strange mix of horror and sex. She was quite good, and has always struck me as quite enigmatic (but I think her voice might have been dubbed on one, as she has a quite strong accent). The second featured the late, great, Peter Cushing as a nobleman. There was quite a bit of nudity (for the '70's), particularly on Ms. Pitt's part, and a strange reading of "Carmilla", by Ms. Pitt, on the second feature of this double-sided disc. Also, production stills from the movie, under "special features". It also features "Hammer" beauties Dawn Addams and Kate O'Mara. Not cinematic horror "classics" but not a bad pair of movies to see.

MGM has done a fantastic job restoring Hammer Film "Vampire Lovers". Snippets of gore and nudity have been rightfully reinserted. Although "Vampire Lovers" is worthwhile, Peter Sasdy's "Countess Dracula" is the FAR better film. The entire production from art direction, costumes, cinematography, direction, casting, script is superior. The commentary is also much livelier.

Being a self described Hammer fan, I must say that these two films are top notch later Hammer productions. Countess Dracula really doesn't have anything to do with DRACULA or VAMPIRES as an aging noblewoman finds the secret to eternal youth by bathing in the blood drained from virgins in the noblewoman's kingdom. No FANGS, no crosses, no stakes or drinking of blood- just bloody bathtime fun with Ingrid Pitt! The Vampire Lovers film (better of the two) with REAL vampire/dracula references and lots of weird lesbianism goin' on between Ingrid Pitt & the other young, nubile, (& unfortunate) women victims in the film. I would definitely recommend both films to anyone who likes classic horror and/or vampire tales...

The under-rated Vampire Lovers is one of the better late Hammer films. Strong direction from Roy Ward Baker (Quatermass and the Pit, Asylum) and a sterling performance from Ingrid Pitt combine to make this adaptation of LeFanu an eerie and sexy vampire film. It's much better than the previous Lust for a Vampire, which was sniggeringly directed by Jimmy Sangster, a great screenwriter but a lame director.

Countess Dracula was directed by the brilliant Peter Sasdy, the helmsman of the masterpieces Taste the Blood of Dracula and Hands of the Ripper. It seems that this film runs afoul of some rather superficial modern viewers who are amazingly impervious to its refined performances (Pitt is even more impressive here than in Vampire Lovers), intelligent script, and artistic and captivating direction: there are those who accuse both these films of possessing bad scripts, antiseptic cinematography, and perfectly awful acting. (Some viewers judge performances based on how believable the accents are. They must gush over Meryl Streep.) The measured pace may also throw some horror fans for a loop: for much of its running time, the film is more of a drama than a horror movie. While I don't rate Countess Dracula quite as highly as the Encyclopedia of Horror does, I have seen it only once and so I'm not in a position to compare it to the other two Sasdy films. That said, it is still the best movie meditation of the Elizabeth Bathory legend I've seen.

In short, this inexpensive DVD is a must for Hammer admirers.

Two wonderful Hammer films with a vampire theme.

Countess Dracula is not really about a vampire, but a retelling of Countess Bathory and the legend that she killed virgins so that she could bathe in their blood. In this story, the Countess accidently discovers the rejuvenating powers of blood. As she switches between crone and beauty, she must deal with court intrigue, lovers, suspicions and loyalty. Although the box claims this movie is rated PG, there is plenty of nudity.

The Vampire Lovers is a retelling of Sheridan Le Fanu's classic lesbian vampire tale Carmilla. Ingrid Pitt plays a vampire who keeps getting invited to stay at estates where she can prey on young daughters. Nicely told but with a few gaps in the story. We find out Carmilla's origin but who are her mother and the gentleman in black? Other than these two lapses, the rest of the story is beautifully done and I loved seeing how modern science slowly step out of the way of the occult.

Two nicely-done thrillers with beautiful sets and costumes (these are Hammer films after all) as well as decent casting. Good viewing fare for vampire film fans.

The Vampire Lovers, while certainly well made and acted, it didn't really live up to the hype of being Hammer's creative high of the 70s. The story has no sense of urgency or menance until the last 3 minutes, and even than it still manages to end with a whimper. On the bright side MGM Technical Services outdid themselves with a superb restoration of the video and audio. If only all catalogue titles received such lavish attention. The commentary is a little dry, but Pitt/Baker/Gates do provide some interesting factoids about the film and Hammer in general. The best feature, for me, is the excerpts of "Carmilla" read by Ingrid Pitt. Apart from the pleasure of hearing her lovely accent, which I adore, it's made me want to track down Le Fanu's original novella. Countess Dracula was more of a chore! Again it's nicely made and the actors all rise to the occassion, but the script pulls them right back down. Peter Sasdy and Jeremy Paul have obviously worked on too many genteel BBC production by this point, because Countess Dracula plays exactly like a plodding early television drama (With blood and ... of course!). Pitt/Sasdy/Paul provide a fairly standard commentary. We learn early on that both Sasdy and Paul have had very good educations, and while Ingrid remains mum for most of the time she does offer some historical notes on the real Erzebet Bathori. After hearing Mr. Sasdy accent on the commentary one wonders why he decided to dub Ingrid's in the film, as Pitt once mentioned in an interview, his could explode a banana! While enjoyable, The Vampire Lovers and Countess Dracula certainly aren't the creative reawakening Hammer would experience with Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter and Hands of the Ripper they are not without their own charms.

Don't let the PG rating fool you Countess Dracula has some great boob scenes!!! Unfortunately that's about the only reason to watch this excruciatingly dull flick. The best reason to buy this DVD is the inclusion of Vampire Lovers which despite the silly title is a very interesting and exciting film that has all of the fun and atmosphere of Hammer studios earlier vampire flicks starring Christopher Lee but with some interesting new twists. Oh! and it has better boob scenes too!!!!!!