Hollywood Gothic : The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen

Rating:
Summary: Nice Revision to an Already Great Book
Review: David J. Skal is as readable as ever is this newly revised edition of the definitive Hollywood Gothic as he covers the history of Dracula from his creation by Bram Stoker to the various and multiple version on screen and stage. The thrust of the story is, of course, on the novel and the iconic Bela Lugosi movie, with an additional nice, but smaller, chunk on Nosferatu. The author is particularly effective in combining, in an interesting fashion, the creative, financial, and legal elements. His analysis is always clear and interesting and will definitely send the reader on a viewing frenzy. Vampire movies seem always to be streaming forth from Hollywood and Dracula is and always will be the most tempting of the bunch. This book brings this fascination to life, as it were. A very good job.

Rating:
Summary: Absorbing and interesting!
Review: David J. Skal's Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Draculafrom Novel to Stage to Screen details not only every Dracula moviemade to date (Frances Ford Copola's film came out after it's publication) but the historical and psychological roots of the legend as well. Skal takes us behind the scenes, where Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde are in competition intellectually as well as romantically, and where Victorian values are pushing sexuality into the realm of the dark and the deadly (a familiar mentality in the era of AIDS). A facinating book, with excellent research and insight by the author!

Rating:
Summary: Nifty little book about the granddaddy of vampires
Review: I read this book years ago. It's good to see it's coming back into print.

Skal charts the history of Stoker's book, beginning with early drafts extant, following the tangled film history, including the legal battles over Murnau's "Nosferatu", Universal Studio's struggle to get the rights for the Lugosi pic, and everything that happened after.

It won't change your life, but its fascinating stuff. Skal's style is quick, clean, and to the point. This book is a lot of fun, giving insights into publishing, film, theater, and the audience reaction to and participation in all of those mediums. A must for all vampire buffs, film students, and those who are curious about the inner workings of popular culture.

Rating:
Summary: Nosferatu gets his due!
Review: This is a good look at the early stage and film versions of Dracula; more impressive is that it's one of the very best works to look at the 1922" Nosferatu". The author details the occult beliefs of the producer of Nosferatu, and how it was really he (Albin Grau,) and not Director Murnau who was responsible for the verminous look of Count Orlok. Fans of the recent film "Shadow of the Vampire" will really enjoy the Nosferatu production details. Some of the Freudian psychosexual analysis is way over the top and should be taken with a grain of salt (or a clove of garlic?). However, the author is on to something when he points out the paralells between the economic paralysis and blood draining of the Great Depression with the similar symptoms of victims in the 1931 Lugosi film. Was the popularity of the film a mass catharsis? You can decide after reading this book. Skal does a great job of drawing eerie analogies between the plight of the real life players behind Dracula and characters in the novel and films.
You'll find yourself consulting and pondering over this book when watching the old films or reading the original Stoker novel. The social context in which Skal places the classical Dracula films will resonate for modern readers.