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Cover
art for Network DVD's 2006 release of Countess
Dracula (Special Edition) |
In a
medieval Europe, the recently widowed Coutess Elisabeth (Ingrid
Pitt), rules over her subjects with cold disdain,
alongside her lover, Captain Dobi (Nigel Green). In a
rage one night she strikes out at a young servant, only to
discover that the splashes of the servant's blood have
rejuvenated her skin - and hence the Countess embarks on a
savage rampage, bathing in the blood of young virgins in
order to make herself young again...
dvd review
Its not the first
time that Countess Dracula has been out on dvd in the UK,
with a previous edition from Carlton a budget release with
no supplemental material. A US edition from MGM on the other
hand (double-billed with The Vampire Lovers included
a commentary etc).
With the MGM
edition still available I was delighted to learn that with
their acquisition of several Hammer titles Network were
promising some substantially different packages. Countess
Dracula is the first Hammer title on offer, and one I can
wholeheartedly recommend to both Hammer and genre fans.
The film
itself is a mixed bag. Peter Sasdy is one of Hammer's most
promising later talents as director and yet Countess Dracula
has never excited me in the way that for example, Hands of
the Ripper does. Production design does wonders with the
post-Bray studio work, offering a genuinely arresting castle
set. The cast is largely entertaining, with Nigel Green and
Maurice Denham both providing plenty of light relief. Sandor
Elwes makes for a fetching if slightly weak lead. Of course
the real star of the picture is the delightful Ingrid Pitt
in the second of her two Hammer performances. It says much
for Ingrid that in those two short roles she captivated the
attention of many and has ensured a lasting legacy as a
Hammer horror scream queen.
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screen
grab of title caption card to Countess Dracula from
Network's special edition dvd |
As pointed out
on the accompanying commentary, she deftly moves between the
ravaged and aging Countess - increasingly mad, and the
beautiful young woman that the Countess becomes on contact
with virgin blood. Her presence is so strong in the film,
its a wonder any of the other actors get a look in. Of
course there's also the scenes of nakedness in Countess
Dracula that show off Pitt's body - something which she
remains rightly proud of. Similar moments in both The
Vampire Lovers and The Wicker Man have placed an indelible
association in her cinematic appearances between Miss Pitt
and bathing for me.
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screen
grab showing Nigel Green and the freshly rejuvenated
Ingrid Pitt as Countess Dracula from Network's
special edition dvd |
transfer
The film is presented in a roughly 1.85:1 ratio, with
anamorphic enhancement. Colours are fine, although like the
Carlton and MGM discs, deal with flesh tones in a slightly
odd way. The extras are all sourced from broadcast video
tapes and look fine considering the source elements - and
all in fullscreen.
extras
Not being a particular fan of Countess Dracula I looked
towards the supplemental features to lift the experience for
me, which they do admirably. They place a context on
contemporaneous British television, and the genre work from
Nigel Green and Ingrid Pitt. The package being rather
diverse I'll comment on some of the main features:
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screen
grab of Ingrid Pitt interviewed by Tonight in
1999 - an extra from Network's Countess Dracula
Special Edition dvd |
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Screen
grab from Thriller: Where The Action Is - an
extra from Network DVD's Countess Dracula Special
Edition dvd |
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Screen
grab showing Nigel Green and Yootha Joyce from
Conceptions of Murder: Peter and Maria, a 1970
tv play which appears as an extra on Network's
Countess Dracula Special Edition dvd |
* The Audio
Commentary is in fact a brand new one, recorded in the
last few months with Ingrid Pitt herself and internationally
acclaimed horror experts Kim Newman and Stephen Jones. Pitt
herself is on fine form - rather eccentric and over the top,
but charming and fascinating too. Newman and Jones do well
to balance her memoirs and thoughts with a well-researched
historical and critical commentary. Revealing to this
reviewer at least is the level of contempt Pitt has for her
director Peter Sasdy regarding him as simply terrible. She
also passes several comments about her impending Hammer
biography and her relationship with Jimmy Carreras (having
loved him, she now hates that in writing the book she has to
admit he wasn't a terribly nice man - the promise of scandal
and intrigue in store perhaps?); and such charming ability
to disarm as when asked what it was like kissing Sandor, she
replies "He was a poof!". Indeed....
* Archive news clip from 1999 is a short segment from
a news report from Meridian tv about the Hammer Bray event
that year. A couple of minutes long there's a couple of
familiar faces...
* Archive interview from 1999 - an interview with
Miss Pitt from Tonight, discussing her recently
released autobiography Life Is A Scream! and her
experiences both in the concentration camps and fighting
cancer.
* Thriller episode - Where the Action Is
- This hour long instalment from the popular tv series
sees Ingrid Pitt as the love interest to a big time gambler
who likes to use people's lives as collateral.
* Conceptions of Murder: Peter and Maria - a
1970 tv play about a serial killer starring Nigel Green and
Yootha Joyce (of George and Mildred fame). A nice,
taught two-hander, brilliantly executed. Twenty-five minutes
of quality and worth picking up this set for by itself.
Additional
extras include original theatrical trailer for the main
feature, and a booklet written by Stephen Jones (which was
unavailable at the time of this review).
