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Bathory by MARK THE SHARK Revised by CASSY HAVENS Fourth
Draft 2003-10-01 NORTHWESTERN
PRODUCTIONS (myoldaddywasntworking@hotmail.com) ------------------------------- "BATHORY" FADE
IN: BLACKNESS. TEXT,
WHITE ON BLACK. (IN ANCIENT FONT) "ELIZABETH BATHORY (1560-1613) of
Hungary, known as the Blood Countess was real. She lived most
of her life in the latter half of the sixteenth
century. She is said to have tortured and killed over 650 virgin
girls in order to bathe in their blood. Investigated
for her alleged crimes at the beginning of the seventeenth
century, she was never convicted. Her infamy has become
legendary." Another
SUPER appears below the written text. "This is a retelling of this
legend..." The WHITE
TEXT turns blood red, then drips down the black screen. The CAMERA PULLS back
as it reveals a full-sized rendering of the BATHORY COAT OF ARMS: the torso
of a woman with outspread wings and wearing Athena's helmet above a dragon
swallowing its own tail. In the middle of the circle formed by the dragon,
are three wolves' teeth. The
OPENING TITLES are superimposed over the coat of arms. STUDIO 11.14.67 presents a NORTHWESTERN production of a RIDLEY SCOTT film CHRISTINA RICCI is B A T H O R Y MICHAEL IRONSIDE MAURY CHAYKIN CAMERYN MANHEIM ROMOLA GARAI VIVIEN CARDONE BENNO FURMANN CILLIAN MURPHY PETER STORMARE EMBETH DAVIDTZ and F. MURRAY ABRAHAM as "Pastor Ponikenuz" casting by CASSY HAVENS and MARK THE SHARK a.c.e. edited by THELMA SCHOONMAKER music by HANS ZIMMERMAN special make-up effects by RICK BAKER director of photography FREDDIE FRANCIS production designer HENRY BUMSTEAD screenplay by MARK THE SHARK executive producers EDWARD HAVENS CASSY HAVENS produced by MARK THE SHARK directed by RIDLEY SCOTT Following
CREDITS... DISSOLVE TO: EXT.
CASTLE ECSED - OUTER COURT - NIGHT A
SUPER in the bottom-right hand corner of the screen: "CASTLE ECSED, 1569
A.D." A hot
summer night. It's the middle of the sixteenth century, 1569 to be exact.
ARMED SOLDIERS casually stroll about the perimeter, where the stables and
garrison are. Soon,
the outer court is SIEGED upon by angry PEASANT REBELS, with primitive
weapons, axes, pitchforks, shovels, etc. They effectively take the castle by
surprise. AN
ERUPTION OF VIOLENCE, the peasants set fire to the granary with torches. They
proceed to set fire to anything they can, and it spreads quickly through the
court. The
madness SPREADS throughout the courtyard. Soldiers are hacked to pieces with
axes, servant girls are dragged out of the castle and raped right on the
spot, and skulls are SMASHED IN with spiked clubs. The brutal acts of
VIOLENCE are backlit by the ROARING FIRE of the burning castle. Their
leader, DOZSA, leads his men through the flanks. INT.
CASTLE ECSED - BEDROOM - NIGHT Four
NURSES hurriedly bundle up three young girls: ANICHKA (12), SHANDRA (13), and
a YOUNG ELIZABETH BATHORY (VIVIEN CARDONE), three beautiful young girls with
milky skin and reddish chestnut hair. Elizabeth
is the hardest to rouse; she sits up groggily in her bed. The amber glow of
the roaring fire illuminates through the windows, casting sinister shadows. NURSE (Panicky whisper) Elizabeth...we must hurry. She
scoops up the child. INT.
CASTLE ECSED - SECRET PASSAGEWAY - NIGHT The
FOUR NURSES carry the girls through a SECRET PASSAGEWAY in the castle,
leading to a small wooded area. EXT.
CASTEL ECSED - HIDING SPOT - NIGHT The Four
Nurses stuff the girls behind a brush, and they observe the chaos from their
wooded hiding place, trembling with fear. They are illuminated by the fiery
glow of the burning castle. Elizabeth
observes the chaos with a child's fascination. INT.
CASTLE ECSED - ENTRANCE - NIGHT The
Peasant Rebels STORM into the castle. They drag SERVANTS out of rooms and
place them before their leader DOZSA. He unsheathes a scythe and slices open
one of their throats. Ruby specks of blood SPURT onto Dozsa, and scarlet tissue
seeps out of the young girl's throat. The
Rebels proceed to torch the innards of the castle. INT.
CASTLE ECSED - DINING CHAMBER - NIGHT A
large, elegant DINING CHAMBER with a large table, clothe with the Bathory
coat of arms woven into them. A PEASANT WITH A TORCH sets fire to the table. INT.
CASTLE ECSED - SERVANT QUARTERS - NIGHT Two
SERVANT GIRLS, no older than sixteen or seventeen, are pulled out from under
two beds. They are forced onto the bed and wrapped with linen. Trapped in the
bed sheets, they kick and scream trying to get out. Another PEASANT WITH A
TORCH tosses the torch right onto the bed. It immediately is set ABLAZE with
the two girls wrapped in linen being BURNED ALIVE. EXT.
CASTLE ECSED - HIDING SPOT - NIGHT The NURSES
and the GIRLS are huddled together. Young Elizabeth is prone, watching the
madness unfold before her young eyes. She
crawls a little further from her nurses and sisters, for a better look at
what's going on: EXT.
CASTLE ECSED - ELIZABETH'S POV - NIGHT Everything
is surreal, an exaggerated take on the carnage with the Peasant Rebels larger
than life. They are backlit by the roaring fires that burn the granaries and
the inside of the castle, appearing has mere shadows. The
Peasant Rebels rape the women and kill the men with vindictive and sadistic
glee. DOZSA
and FOUR OF HIS MEN appear out of the castle. They step right in front
the hiding area, laughing and talking amongst them. EXT.
CASTLE ECSED - HIDING SPOT - NIGHT The
NURSES hold the two older girls tighter. Anichka is holding back the urge to
scream. NURSE #2 (Panicky whisper) Elizabeth...get back here... DOZSA
LOOKS in the direction of the two girls and their four nurses. Elizabeth
crawls near a tree. Shandra
lets out a cry. DOZSA Over there! The
MEN advance on the hiding spot. They trample through the brush. Elizabeth
quickly SCURRIES up a tree, an excellent climber for her age, and perches on a
high branch, as the Peasant Rebels discover the two girls and their nurses. Elizabeth
WATCHES from the tree as the Peasant Rebels DRAG her sisters from out of
their hiding spot. Dozsa's
Men force the women and children into a kneeling position before their
leader. They laugh gleefully at their new find. Elizabeth
WATCHES in horror. Dozsa's
tears off the front of Nurse #2's dress. She SOBS as her breasts roam free
through her ripped dress. All the girls SOB with fear. The NURSES plead for
their lives in high-pitched voices (overlapping): NURSE #1 Please! Please! Spare us! We
will do anything for you! We are at
your service! NURSE #2 Please don't harm the
children! Please don't harm us! We will do
whatever you want! Please let us go! NURSE #3 My body is yours to do as
you wish to it! Just please don't harm
us or the children! NURSE #4 We haven't done anything to
you! Please, just let us go! The SWISHING
of DOZSA’S SCYTHE cuts off their PLEAS. He SLITS their throats, letting the
blood run down their bodies. They drop to the ground like butchered pigs. ANICHKA Do you know who we are?! SHANDRA We are Bathorys! You will
pay for this! Dozsa's
Men LAUGH and mock them. DOZSA'S MAN (mock cry) We are Bathorys! We are Bathorys! Dozsa
stops laughing. He becomes dead serious and looks straight into the two girls.
With a voice deeper than they've ever heard before, DOZSA SPEAKS: DOZSA Do you know who I am? I am
Dozsa, the death of nobles! I have come
to avenge the blood of my father and
brother! Elizabeth
WATCHES as the shades of men SWARM OVER her sisters' bodies. The sound of
silk being ripped is heard, and Shandra gives a WEAK CRY like a hurt kitten. Elizabeth
continues to hide in the tree and look on with a mixture of horror and
fascination. DISSOLVE TO: EXT.
ECSED CASTLE - DAY The castle
has collapsed, now a smoldering pile of rock; still burning. The castle has
been devastated, leaving corpses and burnt castle behind. Black smoke climbs
up into the air. EXT.
ECSED CASTLE - ELIZABETH'S TREE - DAY Elizabeth
comes to. She shivers with fright. She looks down a few branches below her to
see ANICHKA'S BLUE EYES gazing up at her, but her eyes are glossed over,
lifeless. She's dead. Her naked bruised body is hanging upside down, swaying
slightly in the breeze. Hanging
from another tree is SHANDRA. On
the ground below lay the grotesquely sprawled corpses of their nurses, their
throats slashed. The blood has drained at the foot of the mossy oak, turning
it a rusty red. Elizabeth
loses consciousness. FADE TO BLACK: The
sound of SOFT FOOTSTEPS are audible. FADE
IN: EXT.
ECSED CASTLE - ELIZABETH'S TREE - DAY Elizabeth
comes to with a start. She LISTENS for the footsteps. Someone or something
else is definitely here. She quivers with fear, clenching to her branch. EXT.
ECSED CASTLE - BURNING RUBBLE - DAY To
Elizabeth's relief, it is a beautiful white horse. Her HOOVES thump gently
against the grass, appearing around from the burning mass of castle. This
horse will be later known as LUNA. Luna
casually ambles along the grass, grunting, making the usual horse noises. EXT.
ECSED CASTLE - ELIZABETH'S TREE - DAY Elizabeth,
taken by the horse, calls to it in soft coos: ELIZABETH Here, girl. Here, Luna. It's
okay. EXT.
ECSED CASTLE - BURNING RUBBLE - DAY Luna,
the horse, looks at her with the kindest, most beautiful eyes ever. She steps
a little closer to the tree. Elizabeth,
from the tree, keeps cooing the horse. |