Baron Blood Mario Bava

(aka "Orrori del castello di Norimberga" or "Torture Chamber of Baron Blood")

directed by Mario Bava
Italy/Austria 1972

The plot, typical of this always narrative-challenged director, is just an excuse for a series of gorgeously fetishized set-pieces. It seems that Peter Kleist (Antonio Cantafora), the young descendant of Baron Otto von Kleist (a Vlad the Impaler style madman from 300 years ago), has finished his M.A. and come to Austria to look into his heritage. There he meets architecture student Eva Arnold (Elke Sommer), and the two of them decide to conjure up his ancestor. Happily, Peter brings along an ancient scroll telling him exactly how to resurrect this monster. Unhappily, the Baron indeed returns, wreaking havoc on the locals and trying to murder Peter and Eva, who unwittingly hold the secret to sending him back into the dustbin of history.

Bava’s murdering id-figures are always stylish, and the Baron, at least in the more evil of his two guises here, is no exception. When first resurrected, and intermittently throughout the film, he’s seen as a kind of hamburger-faced mock-Phantom of the Opera, with slouch hat and cape and rapid, elegant movements as he careens from victim to victim. (Visually he’s a twin of the masked, cloaked murderer of Blood and Black Lace.) Of course, he looks especially good next to "Alfred Becker" (Joseph Cotten), a mysterious cripple who’s in fact — in a point the film telegraphs instantly — the Baron. Cotten’s presence adds marquee value, in spite of a pretty dreadful, disengaged performance. Sommer, with her vinyl micro-minis and Carnaby Street hats, is one of the least convincing architecture students in cinema history; she spends most of the film running and screaming, which she admittedly does well. The other actors are mostly disposable and forgettable.

Excerpt from BrightLightsFilm located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: 27 October 1972

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DVD Comparison:

Raro - Region 2 - PAL vs. Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Anchor Bay (Mario Bava Collection Volume 2) - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas and Gregory Meshman for the Screen Caps!

(Raro - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Anchor Bay (Mario Bava Collection Volume 2) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Raro Region 2 - PAL	Image Entertainment Region 0 - NTSC	Anchor Bay Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:33:51 (4% PAL speedup)	1:37:42	1:37:39
Video	1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.20 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.77:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.54 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.80:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 5.53 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Raro
Bitrate: Image Entertainment
Bitrate: Anchor Bay (Mario Bava Collection Volume 2)
Audio	Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono); English (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)	English (Dolby Digital 1.0 mono)	English (Dolby Digital 2.0 mono)
Subtitles	Italian, English, none	none	none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Raro Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 Edition Details: • Il Castello Dell'Orrore featurette [Italian with optional English subtitles] (16:20) • Director's Filmography [Italian only] • Director's Biography [Italian only] DVD Release Date: 30 January 2005 Amaray Chapters 10	Release Information: Studio: Image Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Widescreen letterboxed - 1.77:1 Edition Details: • Theatrical Trailer • Poster and Photo Gallery • Cast Filmographies • Mario Bava Biography/Filmography DVD Release Date: December 7, 1999 Snapper Case Chapters 16	Release Information: Studio: Anchor Bay Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.80:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by Tim Lucas • Theatrical Trailer • Radio Spots DVD Release Date: October 23, 2007 Slimline Chapters 20

Comments

While Raro's disc of BARON BLOOD was an improvement over the non-anamorphic Image DVD (16:9 enhancement, featurette, slightly better sound), Anchor Bay's DVD is the best this title has seen with improved color, clearer audio, and an informative commentary by Tim Lucas (not the best of the set but even he has stated that he would have rather commented on FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON but AB wanted him to do BARON BLOOD).

Unlike the Italian version of BAY OF BLOOD, the Italian dialogue of BARON BLOOD is not as smart as that of the English version as the subtitle sample from the Raro disc bares out (the script for BARON BLOOD originated with an American writer) so the English track is the superior option (even better would be the American International Picture's track which features the same dubbing but replaces Stelvio Cipriani's travelogue score with one by Les Baxter that really hammers home the scares).

- Eric Cotenas

DVD Menus
(Raro - Region 2 - PAL - LEFT vs. Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Anchor Bay (Mario Bava Collection Volume 2) - Region 1 - NTSC - RIGHT)

Screen Captures

(Raro - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Anchor Bay (Mario Bava Collection Volume 2) - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM)
Subtitle sample (no subs on Anchor Bay)

(Raro - Region 2 - PAL - TOP vs. Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC - MIDDLE vs. Anchor Bay (Mario Bava Collection Volume 2) - Region 1 - NTSC - BOTTOM)