On 3rd December a murderous tale will be released to cinemas worldwide. Starring Anna Friel, the film by Juraj Jakubisko relates the life and times of Countess Erzsebet Bathory – the real-life Guinness Book of Records holder of the title “most murderous woman in history”.
The legend originates from what is now Slovakia, where the countess was eventually imprisoned in Čachtice Castle. A widow possessed of great riches and property, she became a threat to the King and became embroiled in a bloody skirmish for survival.
The legends passed down through the ages of a woman reputed to have bathed in the blood of virgins and worn a mask of her victims faces. Though the facts are as follows; the countess Bathory was born in 1560 and married Juraj Jakubisko. Part of an aristocratic family which included Polish king Stefan Bathory and Transylvanian prince Gabriel Bathory, the Countess Bathory tended to extensive estates whilst her husband travelled to fight the Turks as an army advisor and commander of Emperor Rudolf II of the Habsburg dynasty.
Set in the Hungary of the Hapsburg Empire when war with the Ottoman turned to internal religious civil war, the film attempts to put the legend of the Countess Bathory into political and historical context, but expect an orgy of violence and religious fervour.
Certificate 15. Bathory comes to cinemas on 3rd December 2010.
Table of Contents
Cast
Erzsébet Báthory ANNA FRIEL
Merisi Caravaggio HANS MATHESON
György Thurzo KAREL RODEN
King Matthias II FRANCO NERO
Monk Peter BOLEK POLÍVKA
Monk Cyril JIŘÍ MÁDL
Maid Lucia LUCIE VONDRÁČKOVÁ
Gábor Bethlen MAREK VAŠUT
Village Mayor ANDREJ HRYC
Gábor Báthory MAREK MAJESKÝ
Maid Ilona BEATA GRENECHE
Countess Czobor (Thurzo‘s wife) MONIKA HILMEROVÁ
Crew
Director JURAJ JAKUBISKO
Producer DEANA JAKUBISKOVA-HORVATHOVA
Director of Photography F. A. BRABEC, JÁN ĎURIŠ
Art Director KAREL VACEK
Set Designers JAN KODĚRA, JIŘÍ MACKE
Editor CHRIS BLUNDEN
Costume Designer JAROSLAVA PECHAROVÁ
Music SIMON BOSWELL, JAN JIRÁSEK
