mercersk I was very disappointed in this movie. I won't give away the plot, so I won't comment on the actual content of the movie except to say that it was a completely false portrayal of this terrible woman.The truth is that Elizabeth Bathory was a sadistic, psychopathic murderer who tortured and killed hundreds of young girls, so many in fact that the surrounding towns literally ran out of young women. It was only when she kidnapped and killed the daughter of a nobleman that she was finally stopped. I think the producers did a great injustice to everyone in making this movie. It is little more than a collection of fancy costumes and poor acting that contains virtually no historical fact.

wewilsons The period history is exceptionally done. The amount of effort it took to portray the often brutal, calculating undercurrent and intrigue of the time was an excellent work. Visuals and acting is also mostly excellent. I was surprised how enthralled I became watching the very difficult and cruel life they lived. Costumes are excellent. Sets are excellent. Props and carriages and towns are excellently done.What are a little odd for me are Elsebeths dreams. Even though I now recognize the coloration changes indicating her dreamstate it was sometimes hard to determine when she was dreaming and when not. This may have been intended as she had the same difficulty. The thing that did not belong at all in this movie was a very minor comic relief (yes comic relief) from the 2 monks who for some crazy reason had rollerskates, key wound power shoes and other technology that had no bearing on this movie at all. While the film is Czech and possibly "different" ,whomever had the idea to do this did not belong.What was done nicely was the wrap up at the end of that Elsebeth was likely framed by the Hapsburgs. That to me is the most believable explanation of what she was accused of. To have killed 650 or even 50 maidens and bathed in their blood while everyone feared Gods wrath at every corner and everyone in the town would have know is a pretty ludicrous idea. It is more likely she was innocent and framed for her wealth and power. Worth watching for any history buff, but be forewarned, it is a long ride.

maliksigns Bathory tells the interesting story of Bathory, which they say, she killed young women for her own health and youth. The story has so so much potential, to make a good film of it, but they really ruined it.What comes in my mind, when I think about the way, they made the film? MTV! First you see how Bathory is promised CUT suddenly you are on her marriage - CUT you are on a battlefield - CUT, CUT, CUT.No scene really gives you a deeper seek into the story. You just hop from here to here, there to there and back again. SO you really cannot identify someone with yourself or feel with someone from the film. It is really a crappy MTV style.The story is interesting although. SO, please someone, who knows to make good films should read in the old tellings of the story and make a good film of it. Bathory really deserves that.In my mind, the film was a big waste of time.

homespun13 I saw this movie in Czech. It was obvious that some of the dialog was dubbed. However, this was a minor issue. I am well acquainted with the story of Elizabeth Bathory, having read books and various write ups about her, including the exact testimonies given at the time by her contemporaries, 3 women and 1 man I believe. I expected a movie worthy of this true life story, and I was most definitely disappointed. While I started watching with a lot of interest, this movie was more a series of disjointed events than a cohesive story. Nothing made sense. If the viewer did not have some prior knowledge of the story, you would never figure it out from the movie. I was told that the movie presented a new view of this myth. This view being that the murders were completely invented by those who wanted to take possession of the countess's property. I did not find this in the movie myself. After about 30-45 minutes the movie became numbingly dull and I gave up completely on trying to make any sense of the nonsensical dialog and weird happenings. The movie was way too long, confusing, and there seemed to be no cohesive storyline. It was not even clear that large numbers of young girls were killed at the castle and if so, how or why. I fought to stay awake in the second half of the movie. I learned nothing about the political situation in that part of Europe at that time. All that was shown were wars, but it was unclear who was fighting whom and why. Some narrative would have gone a long way in helping the viewer understand all these issues, but obviously an historical perspective was not this movie's focus, but rather it was one of those "artsy" movies that perhaps only the makers understand. Overall, I would say this was one of the worst movies I have ever seen.