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Forget Van Helsing. Captain Kronos is the great swashbuckling vampire hunter. Hard-faced Horst Janson is the brooding Kronos, a rangy, sword-wielding soldier who hunts the vampire scourge with his jovial hunchbacked partner, Grost (John Cater), and his earthy peasant girl lover, hazelnut eyed beauty Caroline Munro. Director-writer Brian Clemens, who so entertainingly put genres in the blender on the TV series The Avengers, imaginatively rewrites vampire lore from the film's haunting first scene: a shrouded, shadowy predator (looking more like death incarnate than a traditional vampire) drains a comely maiden of her very youth, leaving the girl an aged, wizened husk. Clemens lacks the budget and the cinematic snap to bring his visual ideas to full fruition, but his well-wrought characters, inspired ideas, and swashbuckling swordfights make this entertaining reinterpretation of the vampire movie a cult classic. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Captain Kronos Rides Again!
With so much hype now surrounding this as one of Hammer's best efforts from the 1970's I was expecting something special. And I got it! Although obviously done on an even smaller budget than most Hammer films, the limited production value didn't detract from a first rate story and script. Producers Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell have managed to establish their own style at a time when Hammer was more concerned with T&A than plot. CK neatly avoids this syndrome. The movie focuses firmly on the story and wonderful action sequences. After the film ended I felt a little sad, for two reasons: 1). That more Captain Kronos films or even a television series didn't materialise and 2). That Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell didn't produce more films for Hammer, because arguably their "Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde" and "Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter" were two of the finest productions to come out of England's House of Horror. Munro/Clemens/Sothcott provide an entertaining and informative commentary. Interesting fact: Clemens originally wanted Kronos to sleep in a Golden Coffin , but budget restraints curtailed this groovy idea. I've a nagging notion, that we may have eventually found out that Kronos was indeed a type of vampire himself. Paramount provides a solid anamorphic transfer, with few blemishes ot dirt. They really should be praised for putting so much effort into what is still an obscure film from England.

The Only Man Alive Feared by the Walking Dead!
Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) aka Kronos is one of the better films to come from Hammer Studios in the 70's. It's basically a horror movie with a heaping helping of adventure thrown in and just a whole lot of fun.

Written and directed by Brian Clemens, the film stars German actor Horst Janson as Captain Kronos, a master of the sword and ex-solider, a freelance vampire killer, accompanied by the hunchbacked Professor Hieronymos Grost (John Cater), an authority on vampirism and good friend to Kronos. The film also stars the lovely and infinitely easy on the eyes Caroline Munro who appeared in others films like Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).

The film wastes no time on the horror aspect as we witness a young, comely woman in the woods attacked by a mysterious, cloaked stranger. The once young woman is now old and withered, due to having her youth literally drained from her person. A couple more attacks occur within the small English village, and this prompts Dr. Marcus (John Carson), the local physician, to contact his old friend, Captain Kronos. On the way to the village, Kronos and Grost meet Carla (Monroe), an errant peasant girl, whom they allow to tag along, probably because she's so hot.

On arriving in the small village, Grost utilizes a unique vampire detection device to try and track the vile creature terrorizing the village, while Kronos has mad monkey love with Carla and rests for the upcoming battle. Meanwhile, the village loses a couple more young women, decreasing the overall population greatly as I didn't see a whole lot of townsfolk to begin with...The hunt is on as Kronos and Grost search for clues as to the identity and location of the vampire. Dr. Marcus may already have the answer to the mystery, but is not forthcoming due to personal reasons. Also, forces have begun to conspire against Kronos and his group, and our hero seems to be threatened from a number of sides. What drives the man to do what he does? His motivations are spelled out later in the film, and while pretty simple, they satisfy nicely. Will Captain Kronos discover the identity of the evil that plagues the village before he succumbs to it himself? What secret does Dr. Marcus harbor? Do we get to see Caroline Munro in the raw? Watch the movie and find out...

I really enjoyed a number of elements within this film. The notion that there are actually different types of vampires, and different methods of dispatch for each was a nice touch. Also, Janson really provided a wonderful performance as the sort of swashbuckling hero, one with no fear, and an eagerness to perform his self define task of ridding the lands of the scourge of vampirism. I also liked that his friend and maybe even mentor, the hunchbacked Professor Grost was actually presented as a highly intelligent individual, capable of assisting his friend in their exploits with the undead. The swordplay within the movie was a whole lot of fun, but I was a bit perplexed with scenes where Kronos would jam his swords into the ground, or use them to dig in the dirt. I know little of swords, but I would have thought a master swordsman would take more care with his weapons, not using them in such fashion for fear of dulling or nicking the blades. Oh well, a minor nuance that struck me as strange. The whole mystery element as to who is the vampire is played for all it's worth, and there are obtuse clues sprinkled throughout the story that may help the viewer uncover this on their own.

The print provided by Paramount looks excellent and there is a commentary track available including genre historian Jonathan Sothcott, filmmaker Brian Clemens and actress Caroline Munro. Kronos is swashbuckling action, Hammer style, and well worth looking into whether you're a fan of horror, action, or both.

Cookieman108

just when the genre needed a blood transfusion....
It's hard to make vampire movies fresh - that said - any vampire movie that plays with the traditional myths and still manages to carry a somewhat interesting plot deserves some props. Kronos is one of those movies. The film also demonstrates once again how well Hammer studios uses trick shots, lighting and natural scenery to establish the sense of foreboding doom and peril.

If you're interested in starting a collection of vampire movies, and you already have Dracula, Horror of Dracula, The Fearless Vampire Killers, The Hunger, Near Dark, and the Frank Langella version of Dracula with Laurence Olivier...you might as well go ahead and buy this one too.

Kaptain Kronos Kibboshes Kreepy Killers With A Killer Kayo!
Captain Kronos, TO THE RESCUE! A killer vampire hunter, hot & sexy English STUD and an expert swordsman to boot, who, with the physical & sexual assistance of the gorgeous gypsy shorty Carla and his hunchbacked homeboy, Professor Grost, scour the whole of England in search of a vampire that is draining the life out of all the pretty country girls, leaving them dead & horribly aged in the process. I bought this movie on sale and was quite pleased with my purchase. TOO BAD that there wasn't a Captain Kronos Trilogy out there. I would buy 'em ALL!

Captain Kronos: "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" revisited
Admirably scored by Laurie Johnson and an interesting adaptation of the usual Vampire story.You would expect this to be terrible because of the lack of Hammer regulars like Lee or Cushing but I must admit that this movie holds it's own with a set of no-names, probably due to a well written script and decent direction. The characters remind you of Clint Eastwood "Man with No Name" pictures with bad guys who light matches on the backs of hunchbacks, etc. Here we have the usual set of nasty barroom boys who try to start fights with every newcomer and they meet their match after...what else?... insulting a hunchback and losing 3 to 1 odds against Captain Kronos and his swordplay. Similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this movie could have been a prototype for the future "Scooby crew". Unusual and somewhat entertaining. Certainly for any Vampire fan. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Language not present
Contrary to what is indicated, the film does not contain a French track.

Attention, ce film ne contient pas la piste française indiquée dans le détail de l'édition.

"I Know The Feeling. If It Ain't Nailed Down It's Mine."
Awesome movie but not much for bonus features unless you consider subtitles bonus material. Plot: Late WWII. Murphys' ship sunk by German U-boat. Survivors brutally shot up in the water. The rest of movie either goes into Murphys' personality or deals with the U-boat trying to kill Murphy or vice-versa. This is the only movie (Except "The Empire Strikes Back" and "The Omega Man") that I am madly in love with that has an ending that I normally don't like. Has some one-liners including my favourite, "I Know The Feeling. If It Ain't Nailed Down It's Mine." If you like fictional movies that have a WWII storyline this is for you. Cheers.

Murphy's War
An enjoyable film that keeps your attention. A survivor of a ship (Peter O'Toole) and a wounded comrade, (torpedoed by a German submarine), make it to a nearby island, where they are nursed back to health. In the meantime the commander of the submarine realizes that the two British made it to shore.
O'Toole after seeing his comrades gunned down in the water declares all out war against the submarine once he is fit again.
Helmut Griem of "The McKenzie Break," (another fine war film),

unfortunately has a small part as the sub's commander. I don't see any parallel between this film and, "The African Queen," other than both film's showed quite a bit of water :), and I have seen each of the film's several times. It's a different war film; and that's always refreshing... If your looking for hard to find war film's check out "Men In War" with Robert Ryan and Aldo Ray (A well done anti-war action film). Hopefully "The Naked and the Dead" with Cliff Robertson, and Aldo Ray will also be put to DVD soon.

Ahab and the whale
Only in this case it's a German submarine. Peter O'Toole stars as a survivor of a ship sunk by a U-Boat. The rest of the crew is massacred in the water. After this, O'Toole goes off of the deep end in his desire to destroy the sub. This is a retelling of "Moby Dick," with the sub as the whale and O'Toole as Captain
Ahab. Alas, revenge is sometimes not so sweet. The ending is both ironic and memorable.

Adventure in revenge.....
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, not only because of the intense portrayal by Peter O'Toole as Murphy, but also because of the interesting story line. If one has to make an example of single minded pursuit of an objective, this movie is one of the best. It is an uncluttered adventure in revenge for a British seaman, one of two survivors of a ship sent to the bottom by a German U-boat, who's crew was cold-bloodedly massacred while in the water. Good aerial photography, coupled with a good supporting cast and one period song. Near the end of the movie, the philosophical and moral questions thrown by an exasperated Louis (played by Phillipe Noiret) to an unlistening Murphy says more about why it was entitled "Murphy's War." ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A solid war movie with an unusual twist!
This is one of my favorite war movies, although it certainly never got the acclaim that many bigger-budget films have received. "The McKenzie Break" is the story of a remote British-run POW camp for German Kriegsmariners and Luftwaffe officers in Scotland. The Germans are of course planning an escape, led by the ruthless Captain Schlutter, (a U-Boat Captain determined to get his trained men "back into the war") competently played by Helmut Griem. Brian Keith plays the British intelligence officer given a special assignment to deal with the situation at Camp McKenzie.

Of course, the notion of German POWs plotting to escape an Allied POW camp puts a unique twist on the usual POW theme, and in my opinion it works well in this film. The storyline moves along briskly and holds the viewer's interest. Bravo performances by Brian Keith and Helmut Griem carry the movie, and I felt that the cinematography and the on-location filming gave the film an excellent aura of authenticity. All in all there is a great deal about this film to like.

Don't compare this one to "The Great Escape" or any other POW film, because it isn't like any of them. "The McKenzie Break" stands on its own, and in my opinion does so very well.

Not The Great Escape
This movie tips its hat to The Great Escape but falls quite short of it in terms of watchability and being memorable.

The idea of a prison camp with rebelling German POWs was intriguing but didn't really carry itself through the movie.

The mutual respect of the two main adversaries could have been a strong dynamic to play upon but it sort of fell apart quickly 3/4 of the way through.

The tunnel and costume prep by the Germans was clearly inspired by the Great Escape but didn't carry the same level of excitement.

The ending, though ironic, was disappointing.

Complete reworking of POW genre by simply playing its rules.
Although made in 1970, the era of 'The Wild Bunch' and 'Bonnie and Clyde', this is a startlingly traditional POW film as might have been made in Britain in the 1950s. Except for a couple of minor changes. The policier plot, like 'Night of the Generals', in which a crime-reporter turned officer tries to inflitrate the (literally) underworld activities of the enemy; the heroes the audience are generically accustomed to root for, as they try to escape prison and provoke the film out of its impasse into action, are really unpleasant, model Nazis. The film as a whole, which takes a British genre and marginalises the British, seems like an allegory for that Empire's decline, with its two main demolishers - the Germans and the Irish - superimposed. Rarely has downbeat been so exciting.

Makes "The Great Escape" Look Daft
Set in a remote Scottish internment camp for captured German officers, The McKenzie Break is an interesting spin on the WW2 prisoner of war genre. Personally, I've always felt this to be one of the most under-rated WW2 films of its era, with stirling performances by Brian Keith as the shrewd, ballsy Irish Captain sent up to investigate a series of riots in the camp, and the suitably Aryan-looking Helmut Griem as the fanatical Nazi U-Boat captain fomenting the unrest as a cover for an impending escape attempt. Good solid entertainment which contrasts the arrogance and fanaticism of the German soldiers with the bewildered ineffectuality of the British camp guards (who mostly look like they should be drawing their old age pension).

Thank god we don't have to endure Steve McQueen showing off his prowess on a motorbike in this movie!

Excellent, Realistic POW Film
A film in the tradition of The Great Escape, although this one is much better in my opinion. It's the flip side of the coin. The German's are the POW's. A must see. ... Read more