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| cinematography = [[Antonio Rinaldi (cinematographer)|Antonio Rinaldi]]<br>Mario Bava{{sfn|Curti|2017|p=53}}{{sfn|Curti|2017|p=56}}
| editing = [[Carlo Reali]]<ref name="filmportal" />
| color_process = [[Technicolor]]
|production_companies = {{plainlist|
* Euro America Produzioni Cinematografiche
* Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion GmbH & Co.{{sfn|Curti|2017|p=53}}
}}
| distributor = Jumbo Cinematografica (Italy) <br> [[American International Pictures]] (United States)
| released = {{Film date|1972|2|25|Italy|1972|10|27|United States|2002|03|15|Germany|ref1=<ref name="filmportal" />|df=y}}
| runtime = 98 minutes{{sfn|Curti|2017|p=53}}
| country = {{plainlist|*Italy
* West Germany{{sfn|Curti|2017|p=53}}
}}
| language = English<br>Italian
| budget =
| gross = [[Italian lira|₤]]269.812 million
}}
'''''Baron Blood''''' ({{lang-it|Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga|lit=The horrors of Nuremberg Castle}}) is a 1972 [[horror film]] directed by [[Mario Bava]]. An international co-production of Italy and [[West Germany]], the film stars [[Joseph Cotten]] as Baron Otto Von Kleist, a murderous noble who is resurrected from the dead by his
==Plot==
American Peter Kleist arrives in Austria to take a break from college studies and look up his family's history. At the airport, he is greeted by his uncle, Karl Hummel, who invites him to stay at his house. Peter learns from Karl that his great-grandfather, Baron Otto Von Kleist, nicknamed "Baron Blood", was a notorious sadist who tortured and murdered over 100 villagers. Legend says he burned a witch named Elizabeth Hölle, who cursed him with a spell that would allow him to rise from the dead so she could take her revenge on him
▲American Peter Kleist arrives in Austria to take a break from college studies and look up his family's history. At the airport he is greeted by his uncle, Karl Hummel, who invites him to stay at his house. Peter learns from Karl that his great-grandfather, Baron Otto Von Kleist, nicknamed "Baron Blood", was a notorious sadist who tortured and murdered over 100 villagers. Legend says he burned a witch named Elizabeth Hölle, who cursed him with a spell that would allow him to rise from the dead so she could take her revenge on him again and again. The Baron's old castle and former residence is being remodeled into a hotel for tourists. Peter persuades his uncle to take him to the castle.
At the castle, they meet Herr
Against Karl's warnings, Peter and Eva go to the castle and read the incantation. Although it is midnight, the bell tolls two o'clock, the same time Baron Von Kleist was murdered. Heavy footsteps approach from outside. Eva implores Peter to recant the incantation, using the alternate spell on the same document. But a gust of wind blows the parchment into a fireplace. Peter goes outside to investigate, but there is no one there.
In the castle's woods
The next morning, Peter and Eva admit what they've done. Karl insists they are imagining things and tells them to forget about it. The Baron secretly enters his castle and kills Dortmundt, hanging him from the
The next day,
That evening, Eva returns to her apartment in town, only to find the Baron waiting for her. She escapes through a window and seeks shelter at Karl's home. Finally convinced that the Baron is alive, Karl agrees to help Eva and Peter find a way to destroy him. They visit Christina, a local medium, who conjures Hölle's spirit from the netherworld for information about the Baron. Christina gives them a magic amulet and tells them that the ones who raised the Baron are the only ones who can destroy him. Because of this, he will do everything in his power to kill Peter and Eva. After Peter, Eva, and Karl leave,
On her way home from school, Gretchen is terrorized by the Baron, who chases her
When Eva wakes up, she is tied to a chair and sees Fritz's dead body in the open spike-lined coffin beside her. Becker ties up Karl to a [[Rack (torture)|rack]], while he tortures Peter with red-hot pokers. As Eva struggles to untie herself, she accidentally drops the amulet onto Fritz's body. A few drops of Eva's blood from her wounds land on Fritz's body and the amulet. The secret of how to destroy the Baron comes to light: the Baron's victims all rise from their coffins, empowered by the magic amulet and the blood of the ones who raised him. The undead victims attack the Baron and rip him apart. Eva unties Peter and Karl, and the trio
== Cast ==
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One week into filming, ''Baron Blood'' faced a financial crisis as the [[Bank of America]] cancelled their agreement to discount Leone's [[letter of credit]] in response to the [[Nixon shock]]. To solve the issue, Leone flew to New York to secure $125,000 from J. Arthur Elliot and Sam Lang, the owners of the independent distribution company Cinevision Films; in exchange, Elliot and Lang received [[executive producer]] credits in the English-language version of the film, as well as the US distribution rights to ''Four Times That Night'' and ''[[Vengeance (1968 film)|Vengeance]]''.{{sfn|Lucas|2007|p=879-881}}
The
==Release==
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== Critical reception ==
In contemporary reviews, [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film two stars out of four, writing, "sometimes you can enjoy horror movies because they're so bad, but ''Baron Blood'' isn't bad enough."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19721010/REVIEWS/210100301/1023 |title=Baron Blood :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews |last=Ebert |first=Roger |authorlink=Roger Ebert |work=rogerebert.com |access-date=16 August 2012 |archive-date=28 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070528101125/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19721010/REVIEWS/210100301/1023 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A.H. Weiler of ''[[The New York Times]]'' gave the film a negative review, calling the title villain "bland" and stating: "Under Mario Bava's pedestrian direction, the concocted creaking, screaming, gory murders and Miss Sommer's frightened racing through dark passageways largely add up to spectral schlock".<ref>{{cite web|last1=weiler|first1=A.|title=Movie Review – Gli Orrori del Castello di Norimberga – 'Baron Blood' Here From Austria |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F04E7DE1231EF34BC4053DFB4668388669EDE|website=New York Times.com|publisher=A. H. Weiler|access-date=17 November 2014}}</ref>
From retrospective reviews, film critic [[Leonard Maltin]] gave the film a score of two-and-a-half stars, briefly noting "standard plot is livened by unusual settings and lighting".{{sfn|Maltin|2014|p=92}} ''Daryl Loomis'' of [[DVD Verdict]] gave the film a mostly positive review, stating: "''Baron Blood'' is not Mario Bava's best film, but it's far from his worst. It's bloody and full of torture, if not so full of suspense, but it's still a lot of fun."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Loomis|first1=Daryl|title=DVD Verdict Review – Baron Blood (Blu-ray)|url=https://dvdverdict.com/reviews/baronbloodbluray.php|website=DVD Verdict.com|publisher=Daryl Loomis|access-date=17 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129022839/https://dvdverdict.com/reviews/baronbloodbluray.php|archive-date=29 November 2014|df=dmy-all|date=17 December 2012}}</ref>
[[Dread Central]] awarded the film a score of three out of five, commenting: "''Baron Blood'' [is] a particularly uneven piece of work; yet, Bava's eye is consistently impressive, creating swathes of Gothic imagery such as a chase sequence through fog-laden streets, sterling use of shadow in framing his antagonist, and a great location in the form of the Baron’s castle. To be expected is also the director's excellent use of lighting and primary colours, making this another rich visual experience with that distinctly European feel. While it certainly isn't anywhere near the upper echelons of Bava's filmography, it offers enough in the way of style and the gleefully macabre to keep it afloat".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jones|first1=Gareth|title=Baron Blood (UK Blu-ray) – Dread Central|url=https://dreadcentral.com/reviews/45139/baron-blood-uk-blu-ray/|website=Dread Central.com|date=6 June 2013 |publisher=Gareth Jones|access-date=17 November 2014}}</ref>
On the [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 14% based on seven reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/baron_blood/ |title=Baron Blood (Gli Orrori del Castello di Norimberga) – Rotten Tomatoes |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=16 August 2012}}</ref>
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[[Category:1972 horror films]]
[[Category:Italian horror films]]
[[Category:Italian films]]▼
[[Category:West German films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Mario Bava]]
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[[Category:Films set in Austria]]
[[Category:Films set in castles]]
[[Category:English-language Italian films]]
[[Category:English-language German films]]
[[Category:American International Pictures films]]
[[Category:Films shot in Austria]]
[[Category:Italian zombie films]]
▲[[Category:1970s Italian films]]
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