Rating: 
Summary: The BEST Dracula Film EVER!!!
Review: Without a adoubt this 1958 film from Britain's Hammer Studios is THE BEST Dracula film ever made! Not a remake, loose or otherwise, of the Universal/Bela Lugosi film (as the notes on the DVD box states), but a completely new interpretation of Bram Stoker's novel. Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are both brillant as Dracula and Dr. Van Helsing and the three women in the film (Melissa Stribling as Mina, Carol Marsh as Lucy and Valiere Gaunt as the vampire woman) are all great. For a film that was made for UNDER $200,000, the movie looks sumptuous. The framing on the anamorphic widescreen DVD appears a bit tight at the top and bottom with more information on each side, but the transfer is nice and bright, the picture is crystal clear and the colour is fine. The only extra is the original trailer (a little over 2 minutes long) and some poorly written notes on the Hammer/ Dracula series. A commentary with Chris Lee would have been nice or an interview, but anyone wanting to know Lee's views on the Dracula films could check out Anchor Bay's fine DVD releases of "DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS" or "SCARS OF DRACULA", if she or he hasn't already. But the film is the thing and I think too many DVD's lately have been loading TOO many extras on their disks and there is such a thing as overkill. All in all, a nice package. It's great to have this classic film on DVD. Just one note about the aspect ratio: I've seen this DVD on both a widescreen TV (16x9) and a normal 4x3 TV monitor and if you watch the letterbox version on a normal TV you see more of the picture. When viewed on a widescreen tv the picture is cut off at the top and bottom (as one reviewer mentioned, Chris Lee's head is cut off in one scene). When Dracula is talking to Harker at the beginning on a 4x3 tv you see all of Lee's head but it is partially cut off on the widescreen tv. Also in the scene when Harker is writing in his journal up in his room, at the bottom of the screen on a 4x3 tv, you can see in the background the fire in the fireplace, but on the widescreen tv I couldn't see it. Has anybody else noticed this?
Rating: 
Summary: Fine Dracula film with excellent Lee and Cushing
Review: Horror of Dracula, Christopher Lee's first performance as The Count, is surely among the finest versions of Bram Stoker's classic tale. Lee has amazing presence and style as Dracula and his is certainly one of the definitive portrayals of the classic character. Having just seen both this film and Tod Browning's classic 1931 Dracula film in close proximity, I am eager to compare and contrast them. Browning's film is older and grittier and it benefits greatly from this. The raw, black and white photography gives it an incredibly eerie, creepy atmosphere which is missing from Horror of Dracula. Browning's film bore the influence of German Expressionism, particularly F.W. Murnau's classic Nosferatu. This sense of atmosphere, along with Bela Lugosi's knockout performance as the Count is what makes the 1931 Dracula great. Hammer Films' Horror of Dracula from 1958 was filmed in Technicolor and has no trace of that German-Expressionist creepiness. However, Horror of Dracula has many advantages over the earlier film. For one thing, the performances are far better. Peter Cushing is perhaps the greatest Van Helsing ever, and Christopher Lee's Dracula is excellent. Horror of Dracula moves by faster and feels like a more cohesive whole, not to mention that the ending is far better than the ending of Browning's film. Horror of Dracula is an incredibly solid variation on the story. Keeping in mind that it was made in the late '50s, I think most viewers will be satisfied. It's more enjoyable than the 1931 Dracula, but far less atmospheric. The performances of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee propel this fine film. I just wish that Christopher Lee was given more screen time. His Dracula appeared onscreen significantly less than Bela Lugosi's. He doesn't even speak at all in the second half of the film. Lee's powerful voice is one that demands to be heard. The DVD is nice, but could be better. The picture quality is great for a 45-year-old film. However, the disc is seriously lacking in supplemental material. Christopher Lee is an extraordinary man to listen to, and any commentary track with him is worth listening to. Lee did a commentary for the forgettable Hammer film The Devil Rides Out, but none for the classic Horror of Dracula???? At the price point that Warner is selling this DVD at, there should at least be some decent extra features. However, extras or no, this film is indispensable for horror fans.
Rating:
Summary: An Absolute Must-See For ALL Horror Fans!
Review: Hammer's version of the classic Bram Stoker novel Dracula. The story has been rewritten, and while this may bother some people, I rather enjoyed it. Yes, most of the main characters from the novel appeared, but some of the roles have been rewritten. For example, Jonathan Harker is an undercover vampire hunter, who went to Castle Dracula posing as a librarian. His mission is to rid the world of this monster. While he manages to get one of the vampires, he fails to get Dracula. Dr. Van Helsing is a vampire hunter in this version. Plain and simple. He knows exactly who and what Dracula is, and he too is out to kill the Count. Although the story has been rewritten, it is still a very good script. I highly recommend this movie. It is a classic in the horror genre, and one of the better vampire movies. One thing that I am thankful for in the movie is the end scene, where Dracula turns to dust. As is always the case when he dies in this fashion, his ashes are always blown away. But then there is a shot where we see Van Helsing standing next to an open window, thus accounting for the sudden breeze. A fact that a lot of other horror movies tend to overlook.
Rating:
Summary: The Blood Is RED and The Fangs are Bared!
Review: This picture is seminal in that it is the first partnership between Christopher Lee and the wonderful Peter Cushing in the Hammer Dracula series. Arguably the best of the series. This film still holds the power to shock today--despite the lack of heads being ripped from their torsos. From the first moment, one is transfixed by the Scarlet Blood dripping over the tomb with "Dracula" engraved upon the crypt lid. This was very alluring in the 1950's. Vampirism and colour were a very new thing indeed. Peter Cushing while maintaining some semblance of humanity is every bit as ruthless to destroy Dracula as Dracula is to destroy those who dared to violate his sanctum. Though not completely faithful to the book, one will find this movie an enjoyable and frightening venture into the Hammer world of Horror. I am only waiting for the equally terrible: Brides of Dracula to be released on DVD. The immediate sequel to Horror of Dracula, though missing Lee as Dracula, this film is even more inspired in its images of horror. And it is a master stroke to have one of Dracula's disciples: David Peel, actually appear with blond hair. The perfect angel, which makes him the perfect devil when he suddenly transforms. Peter Cushing is also in Brides of Dracula. Hurry and release this terrifying film (one of the top five best vampire films ever done!). IN CHRIST JESUS: THE LIVING GOD, W Braithwaite
*Gospel John Ch. 1; John 3:16-18* Email: wbraithwaite@tampabay.rr.com
Rating:
Summary: Bela Lugosi can bite me!
Review: The only draw back in this wonderful film is that Anchor Bay didn't release it in the widescreen format. This movie strays a bit from the novel in that Jonathan Harker is going to Dracula's castle under false pretenses. Nothing new there but it's Harker lying to Dracula. Dracula (Christopher Lee in his first run at the Count) has run an advertisement for a librarian to which Harker replies, only because Harker knows that Dracula is the undead. He plans to put an end to the terror created by the nosferatu, by jamming a stake in his heart, only Dracula becomes a real pain in the neck. In comes Van Helsing (played wonderfully and cooly by Peter Cushing) Everything keeps a faint attachment to the novel after that. Mina and Lucy roles are reversed, you know minor stuff like that. The whole film is beautifully shot, well acted, (look for a very young Michael Gough, He plays Alfred in the Batman films)and expertly timed. The ending is intense and abrupt. The only thing that Bela had over Lee is that stupid accent. Lee's performance in this film created a slew of sequels and other Dracula roles not associated with Hammer. This film however will always be my Friday night favorite.
Rating:
Summary: HAMMER'S "DRACULA" HITS NAIL ON THE COFFIN!
Review: "Horror of Dracula" blew away British and American audiences in 1958. Gone were the black and white images of Bela Lugosi slowly delivering dialogue in cobweb infested corridors. Instead, Hammer's Count was elegant, handsome, sensual, fast, ferocious and in Technicolor! Peter Cushing as Van Helsing was a perfect match for Christopher Lee's incomparable Count Dracula. Although his part was much more limited than in later Hammer vampire films, Lee's presence is felt in every frame. Lugosi may be the most famous Count Dracula, but Lee's vampire has a masculinity and sensuality that has never been surpassed (Frank Langella came close in the 1979 version with Laurence Olivier). "Horror of Dracula" deserves full DVD treatment with a widescreen print and plenty of extras. This film, on a double bill with Hammer's 1957 "Curse of Frankenstein" would be the most perfect Hammer DVD to date.
Rating:
Summary: The best in the entire Hammer series!
Review: Definitely the best of all the Christopher Lee Dracula films. The sequels do not live up to this film, mainly because they do not contain all of the original characters such as Lucy, Jonathan Harker, and of course, Van Helsing. This film sticks with the original Bram Stoker novel with these characters. The only person missing is Renfield, plus nothing is ever mentioned about Dracula being able to turn into a bat, a werewolf, or mist. Yes, this was 1958 before visual effects were what they are now. But, in the Bela Lugosi film, at least mention is made of these things. Lee is smooth as the Count, and Peter Cushing is a delight at Professor Van Helsing. These two were great together in other films, and it is too bad Cushing did not continue into the sequels (with the exception of the present day setting films). He would have made those films better and much more entertaining to watch. A must have for any horror film fan.
Rating:
Summary: A classic film of dark, ominous foreboding
Review: This excellent horror film is by far the best of all other Dracula screen adaptations. No other film of this type approaches this Hammer production for drama, color, storyline, atmosphere, music score and acting. The movie is a straightforward narrative of the attempt to destroy the dark prince of the undead that becomes a struggle for survival between the resourceful, erudite Dr. Van Helsing and the frightening, evil Count Dracula. There are graphic bloodletting scenes, tense, scary moments and buxom ladies who become Dracula's victims. The film moves at a brisk pace towards its conclusion as Van Helsing races against time and Dracula to reach his castle before dawn or lose him and Mina Holmwood forever in the vast catacombs and underground passages. James Bernard's eerie, haunting music expertly suggests the tension and horror of the proceedings
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Count on It
Review: I've always had mixed reactions to this movie. Unlike what some of your reviewers are saying, the whole movie took place somewhere in Mittel Europe, without Dracula ever going to England. You remember all the scenes of the border guards, but none at sea. The mistake that he went to England is easy to make since everyone spoke with English accents including Dracula! They had Lee dressed much like Lugosi with the slick back hair and cape, but no tux though. Lee's sexuality was nothing new, because that was considered to be Lugosi's breakthrough in the part. Lee had a bland speaking voice. His whole claim to fame was mainly hissing his way through the part. The movie dropped everything we held dear, the bats, mist, and wolves that the Count would turn into, and all the garlic. When they shot close-ups of his eyes he just look badly hung over, they did not glow like the Count in the book. However, Lee was very athletic as Dracula, as was Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. The music was rousing, and the colors lush. Lee was no Lugosi, but when I saw James Forbes Robinson play Dracula in Hammer Studios The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, Lee looked much better in hindsight.
Rating:
Summary: A new classic vamp movie
Review: Rich aristicrate Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) travels to England to instigate a reign of terror, with vampire killer Van Helsing (Peter Crushing) hot on his heels. Ok, so the story is a little thin. I would have liked to have had a little more of the Bram Stoker's novel injected into the plot. But again, as was the case with "Curse of Frankenstein", Lee and Crushing make their charactors the prototype that many immitators follow generations later. Dracula is suave and eroticly dangourous. (But remember, this was made in the early '60s, so it isn't gratutious.) Van Helsing is the single minded supernatural hunter. The blood is light compared to today's standards, but Dracula's demise was very cool, even by today's standards. What really set the Hammer movies apart was the pure gothic style of the setings. The grave yards looked dark and forbiding, the forest was deep and dark, with shadows made of pitch and anything could jump out at you. Hammer's movies are a great precurser to the modern horror movie (especially "Sleepy Hollow"). Enjoy this movie, it's light and fairly short.
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