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Taste the Blood of Dracula

Taste the Blood of Dracula

List Price: $19.97
Your Price: $17.97
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good story about having children turn on their parents
Review: Well, this time around, Dracula is not the killer, except for when he kills Lucy. He turns the children of the three thrill seekers against them for killing off his "servant". Christopher Lee is great as always playing the count, but it makes you wonder what the point even was of having him in the film. He does not even appear until 45 minutes into it, just when you think the film has nowhere to go.

The version I bought has an "R" rating, although I do not see the difference from the old "PG" videos. Yes, there are a couple of scenes added back like when one person is staked to death and has blood on his face. They also show women barebreasted for a moment, but other than that, what was so "R" about it?

A good sequel, and of course, it leaves the door open for another one.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A lesson for us all.
Review: What do you do when you've tried every hedonistic indulgence you can think of? Why, you raise a blood-sucking vengeful vampire, of course.
That is the basic premise of this flick. 4 very Victorian, upper middle-class gentlemen(?) secretly indulge in carnal pleasures to escape their confining role in society but quickly grow weary and sated. Enter a flamboyant young ne'er-do-well who persuades them to resurrect Dracula. While agreeing at first, the 4 lose their nerve and kick the fellow to death and flee, leaving Dracula to seek vengeance upon them for killing his servant.
The usual mayhem and death results before Dracula is killed by the heroic boyfriend.
Not my favorite but better the the sequel, the Scars of Dracula.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Average
Review: What was the point in Dracula even being in the picture? The story seemed to be leading more toward three bored men and their family problems. There didnt seem to be much to do as far as the count was concerned. Granted, Christopher Lee has never been my favorite, but even he has done better with the "Scars of Dracula" and "The horror of Dracula" Two stars at best.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: RESTORED Version of this Hammer Classic!!!
Review: When I was a kid, I thought this movie had too little Dracula...but thanks to Warner DVD there is now more than ever! (Still not enough, but we gotta take what we can get!!)
Issued without any formal "fanfare," this release restores approximately FOUR minutes of footage never before seen in the US versions! Throw away those old videos!!! This DVD presents "Taste the Blood of Dracula" the way it was meant to be seen! Originally rated "GP" in the US, it's now rated "R" on the package. (Granted, these days it would probably be a PG-13.) Among the shots restored are: Dracula's bright red blood turning to dust in the beginning, extended "brothel" scenes featuring (very brief) topless nudity, and an extension of the sequence where Dracula attacks Lucy! The "revenge" deaths (and the death of Lord Courtley) are extended with bloody close-ups. (Most striking is the death of Paul and Lucy's father, as he is "staked" by Lucy and Alice. Before, we only got a quick glimpse. Now, the sequence's original impact is intact!!) But the best aspect of the restoration are shots of Dracula himself, seen through the eyes of the dying men! VERY IMPRESSIVE!! Thank you Warner DVD, for a job well done!! (Now, can you go back and do the same for "Horror of Dracula???" PLEASE?????)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: RESTORED Version of this Hammer Classic!!!
Review: When I was a kid, I thought this movie had too little Dracula...but thanks to Warner DVD there is now more than ever! (Still not enough, but we gotta take what we can get!!)
Issued without any formal "fanfare," this release restores approximately FOUR minutes of footage never before seen in the US versions! Throw away those old videos!!! This DVD presents "Taste the Blood of Dracula" the way it was meant to be seen! Originally rated "GP" in the US, it's now rated "R" on the package. (Granted, these days it would probably be a PG-13.) Among the shots restored are: Dracula's bright red blood turning to dust in the beginning, extended "brothel" scenes featuring (very brief) topless nudity, and an extension of the sequence where Dracula attacks Lucy! The "revenge" deaths (and the death of Lord Courtley) are extended with bloody close-ups. (Most striking is the death of Paul and Lucy's father, as he is "staked" by Lucy and Alice. Before, we only got a quick glimpse. Now, the sequence's original impact is intact!!) But the best aspect of the restoration are shots of Dracula himself, seen through the eyes of the dying men! VERY IMPRESSIVE!! Thank you Warner DVD, for a job well done!! (Now, can you go back and do the same for "Horror of Dracula???" PLEASE?????)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not your average Vampire movie
Review: When three men look to escape the doldrums of respectability, they seek the pleasures of the seedier sides of life. But, little do they know what they are in for when they ask a young Satanist to assist them in their quest for dangerous thrills.

This film has more to do with the old saying "careful what you wish for" than it does Dracula. This is not meant as criticism, but a simple statement of fact, as the themes in this story intertwine into what I think a spellbinding tale filled with the horror of three men trying to save themselves and their families from the retribution of a very pissed off Drac (yes... he IS in the movie). Oh... and in regards to the complaints aimed at Dracula's screen time, let's give it a rest. Dracula serves as a wonderful vehicle for the themes of this film and that's all that is needed here.

Somewhere on this page I saw someone describe the scene where the young Satanist orders our 3 men to drink the blood of Dracula as unforgettable, and I would have to fully agree. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with the imagery from this chilling scene running in my head!

Great Vamp flick. Although not very toothy, it is very atmospheric and down right frightening. If you love Hammer films, you'll love this one. 4.5 stars.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Lee is good as usual, but the movie is deathly dull
Review: William Hargood (Geoffry Keen), Samuel Paxton (Peter Sallis) & Jonathan Seder (John Carson) are three men, well respected in the community who make a pact to sell their souls to the devil. In order to do this they must use the following in their ritual: Dracula's cloak, signet ring, clasp... and his blood in powdered form. (It won't be spoiling anything to say they drink the blood). Unfortunately in the process they murder Lord Courtley, (Ralph Bates) one of Dracula's disciples (It won't be a spoiler to say that HE drinks the blood too) & the Count returns from the grave to seek revenge.
However, it takes one third of the movie until he actually appears. An old codger stumbles across Dracula's body & meets a predictably bloody end. When learning of Courtley's death Dracula announces: "They have destroyed my servant" (Dramatic music) "They will be destroyed". And FINALLY, the movie becomes watchable all of a sudden; with Dracula stalking & doing away with the men one by one in gruesome ways. Go Drac!
This is the fourth entry in Hammer's series of Dracula films; in between DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE & SCARS OF DRACULA. Directed by Peter Sasdy, this is actually one of the lesser of the series, & despite Lee's usual good performance & lots of pretty girls in the supporting cast; TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA is actually pretty dull & forgettable.
It was obvious by this point that the series needed a rev-up, so the follow-up to this was the amusing "modern" DRACULA AD 1972, which is a bit better than this. Watch if you must, but you'll wonder why Lee even bothered to waste his time with this one.
However, the movie is NOT recommended viewing for devout Catholics (Especially the crazy Baptists in Dunedin- stop sending me those dumb hellfire & brimstone letters!) but you'd have to be pretty dogmatic to write this film off as glorifying Satanic practices- especially when they symbolicly drink "blood" every Sunday, right? Mu ha ha. (P.S That's supposed to be evil laughter. Give me a break, I haven't written a review for a while!)


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