Dracula

Rating:
Summary: Frank Langella Rules as Dracula!
Review: Although this story is slightly different than Bram Stoker's novel, it is, by far, my favorite rendition of the the story due to Mr. Langella's portrayal of the 'Count'.
I especially enjoyed the scene in which Count Dracula invites 'Lucy' for dinner to Carfax Abbey. As she walks into the 'dining room' I was blown away by the lighting effects and scenic effects of a run down castle.
And speaking about effects, the 'love scene' was indeed as romantic as any could imagine a love scene to be with a blood sucking vampire and a fair maiden. Mr. Langella stole my heart at that scene in the 1970's as he has continued to do since.
I applaud John Badham for this version of the story where we see minimal 'blood and guts' in a 'blood and guts' story. Of course, it was before the 'slasher' movies reigned, but are those slasher movies able to stand up now as they did when they first came out on the 'big screen'?
Mr. Badham has made a first rate, dark, frightening story which has been and will always be my favorite 'Dracula' for all time.
Love,Love,Love!!!


Rating:
Summary: Blood + Seduction + Vampire + Langella= 1 hell of a cocktail
Review: Being 18, no one would hardly suspect that someone of this new generation would have a soft spot for this movie, despite it's age. I beg to differ. I don't find the need to talk you thorough the basic premise, for Dracula is a fairly well-known figure; however, one this is for sure is that John Badham's retelling of the classic horror story has thrown in a far more obvious sense of dependency, seduction and temptation. The sheer atmopshere of this movie is set from the very beginning upon the doomed schooner and is continued through the magnificent ruin of Carfax Abbey, Seward's home and the sanitarium. The set construction is a beautiful feature that truly stands out and creates a lasting impression, along with the wonderful landscape photography. The acting also lives up to the movie's visual beauty with an absolutely highly erotic performance by the great Frank Langella who exudes a sexuality that truly does overcome the grave. Commdendation also to the lovely Kate Nelligan who provides a solid 3D performance as Lucy, the woman who captures Dracula's heart and thirst. Laurence Olivier and Donald Plesence give their characters of Seward and the great vampire hunter Van Helsing with gusto and skill. A special mention that I must make would go to Janine Duvitski, the actress who played the eccentric Annie. If you really do want a different flavour to the tale of Dracula, that gives the word "temptation" a new name, please, give John Badham's version of "Dracula" a chance. Hey, if a 21st century young adult can enjoy this movie, you can too!

Rating:
Summary: Great movie, and odd treatment on DVD
Review: DRACULA (1979) was a great re-working of the classic Bela Lugosi version of DRACULA (based on the stageplay by Hamilton and Deane). Much of the story is flipped around from Stoker's novel, and the filmmakers seem to play fast and loose with the myths and abilities of everyone's favorite bloodsucker. It has moments that lose some logic (why is Mina reflected in a pool of water? what about the "kite scene"?), but overall it captures some really great performances and a wonderful movie. Frank Langella will always be my image of DRACULA - a haunted romantic tragic figure who is a seducer of the highest order. He turns in a star performance that is incredible. Kate Nelligan's Lucy is played impressively strong and erotic. Olivier is touching as Van Helsing (even if he was old enough to have to rely on doubles for action scenes). And Donald Pleasance literally chews on Seward (he eats constantly throughout) and turns in another fine performance.

This DVD release is problematic for the choice of John Badham (the director also of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER)to suck out most of the color. Seems a little strange and compromises some of the film's cinematography. But they do include a 40 minute feature with all the major players and Badham's commentary is entertaining and great. John William's score sounds awesome digitally rendered, and it's one of his little known gems that is haunting and epic. I love this version, and even with some strange moments and gaffes (what's up with the red lasers and James Bond opening love scene?) it still works. Probably thanks to a first class cast and the bold choices of Frank Langella - a great Dracula who deserves praise for his choice to diversify from the Lugosi legend.

Rating:
Summary: the vampire legend as gothic romance
Review: From 1979, this is the sensual Dracula...Frank Langella, repeating his hit stage performance in this John Badham directed version, plays the Count as seductive and irresistible...with his smooth as honey voice and flowing costumes. The first thing you see of him is his hand, slowly emerging from a fur cloak...it's one of my very favorite moments on film.

Kate Nelligan is stunningly beautiful as Lucy. She plays her as strong and liberated and a willing participant in the Count's plans. Laurence Olivier is wonderful as always, in a performance that's about as "over the top" as he'd ever done. Also good are Donald Pleasence, marvelously insubtle as Dr. Seward, and Trevor Eve, as a more "macho" than usual Jonathan Harker.

John Williams' lush score adds a lot to this film, which though it departs radically from the original book, has a lot of atmosphere, exotic sets, and sumptuous (though darkly hued) cinematography.

I find the Dracula legend fascinating, and don't think I've missed a single filmed version...this is one of the two I have watched the most, the other being the Coppola one, and both films get better with repeated viewings...so if you're a Drac fan, don't miss this voluptuous twist on the old tale.

Rating:
Summary: Post Mortem
Review: From the earliest days of cinema, Bram Stoker's classic tale of Dracula, has been told and retold in many incarnations over the decades. Going from the ultimate portrayal by Bela Lagosi, through Francis Ford Copola's interpetation with Gary Oldman, to the spoof from Mel Brooks with Leslie Neilsen--it's all here. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, which brings me to the 1979 version of the story, based on the stage play by Hamilton Deane and directed by John Badham, while it does have its share of campiness, I still think the film has gotten a bad rap over the years and is underated.

High atop a foggy seaside cliff lies a foreboding asylum, home administered by Doctor Jack Seward (Donald Pleasence) who runs it, and his beautiful and free-spirited daughter, Lucy (Kate Nelligan). The doctor and Lucy have taken in Mina (Jay Francis), a weak and sickly young friend of Lucy's, whom they are attempting to nurse back to health. On a dark and gloomy night, a torrential storm ravages their coastal home and a ship crashes on a nearby murky shore. The only survivor of the shipwreck, is a seductive and mysterious young man named Dracula (Frank Langella). The debonaire count charms the willing and nubile Mina (Jan Francis), who is soon discovered dead from mysterious causes. In horror, Mina's father Van Helsing (Sir Laurence Oliver), soon arrives, only to discover the real identity of the suave and beguiling count, just as he has picked his new bride, the lovely Lucy.

Badham directs, relying on atmoshere to help get us through the campy stuff. The dirctor is aided in his efforts by a superb ensemble cast filled with credibility and chemistry, for a horror spectacle like no other. Langella, reprising his take on the count from the stage, is better than most give him credit for. The icing on the cake for me, is composer John Williams' lavish score--an underrated effort as well.

The DVD boasts a very informative feature length audio commentary with Badham. It's a well rounded track with lots of tidbits about the production. The documentary The Revamping Of Dracula is a nice retrospective with comments by Badham--some repetetive, screenwriter W.D. Richter, Langella, and Williams, among others. A photo gallery of on set and promo stills tops off the disc.

Dracula-1979 may not be the best incarnation, in terms of what's expected, but it's still highly watchable and fun.


Rating:
Summary: Next to Lugosi this is the best
Review: I had really forgotten how good this movie was. Ok, so Frank Langella isn't Bela Lugosi who is probably the best to ever play the role. But, he's a great deal better than some of the Hammer Film actors who played various incarnations of the world's favorite bloodsucker over the years. Highly erotic in spots, if you're looking for Lugosi, you're not going to find it in this version. And its infinitely better than the computerized special-effects versions that have come along in recent years, make no mistake about that. Langella's performance is on-the-money as a somewhat sexually appealling Dracula (just what the ladies need) and after having played the role on Broadway for a year prior to the movie, brought fresh insights into a character whose last good incarnation was by Lugosi.
If you're a fan of the Count, have the Lugosi version and are looking to see what others have done with the role, this is the version to buy. If you're into schlock and computerized special effects, buy one of the more recent versions. You can't go wrong with this version, despite what some others might say.

Rating:
Summary: A romantic approach to a classic tale
Review: I love this movie.

That's really all that needs said on the topic but given our culture's obsession with explanations, I will proceed with further comments. Firstly it's a very romantic, soft approach to a story that has otherwise been brutalized in the cinema. Most Dracula films drench the audience in blood and give us gruesome depictions of leering fangs, while this one alludes to things but is never expressly gory or gruesome. It's a softer approach that appeals in particular to females. Of course, who could doubt that -- one glimpse of Frank Langella sweeping into Lucy's life and carelessly tossing his long, menacing black cloak to the nearest forgotten servant is enough to set any woman's head spinning. Forget the composure of most villains, Dracula has all the beguiling sexuality of a dozen infamous Don Juans that send the very Victorian women in his life to utter confusion. Frank Langella was ingenious for the part, reprising a role he'd already defined on Broadway.

Everyone complains about the quality transfer and how this film has been forced into a nearly black and white canvas in order to create a gothic effect. Having not seen the original, I didn't find it disappointing, just a fabulous mood-setter. I know this will probably regulate my review to the bottom of the pile, but it's a matter of preference that lends a certain morbid flair to the piece. They had a marvelous palate to work with in the first place, from the Grecian architecture of the castle to the morose English countryside in midwinter, when death surrounds the morbid asylum and its pensive graveyard. The film manages to be very haunting and beautiful at the same time, indwelling romance while never allowing us to forget the sinister surroundings.

For concerned parents and sensitive viewers, the R-rating seems heavy handed in comparison to most modern films. Gore is minimal, language is nonexistent, and sexual content consists more of underlining tension and passionate kissing than anything heavy-handed. The extras are also very nice, although in some respects the director's commentary rehashes much of what we've already heard on the featurette, which is by far the most marvelous addition. Interviews with some of the cast and crew, as well as reminiscences about filming, remind us that this wasn't just a movie, it was an adventure from beginning to end, from Laurence Olivier's increasingly bad health but persistent determination to do his best (and he turns in a fine performance) to Frank Langella's surprising thoughts on the film's love scene.

It may not please anyone desiring leering fangs and blood spattered walls, but I certainly enjoyed it.

Rating:
Summary: Dracula
Review: I remember seeing this movie for the first time when I was in the 11th grade. My friends and I loved it and went to see it 3 times. I bought the VHS version of the movie a few years ago and couldn't wait for the DVD version to be released. The color is just as I remember it - dark and moody. I wouldn't want to see it alive (no pun intended) with color - it would spoil the mood. The name of the movie is DRACULA - it should be spooky. Glad to see it was finally released on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: I Beg To Differ....
Review: Ignore all the folks vetching and GET the DVD if you can find it...

I've seen every version of this thing from it's incarnation as a Bway play, it's airing as a film in the theatre, on cable, the VHS, and DVD, and there is NO difference in color or quality from the way it was done on screen. Yes, there was some BRIGHT color on screen but it was NOT throughout the whole film.

The b&w thing was done INTENTIONALLY and it was that way in the original cut. The revamped Hamilton-Deane stage play upon which the film is based had Edward Gorey type sets in B&W with touches of brilliant red. The film follows this in a smaller way with a more downplayed coloring scheme. The reason you see the brighter colors only part of the time is because it was the director's way of getting the same effect as the stage sets. Misty B&W period look for most part, then a sudden change to bright color...

IMHO, it WORKS. It's eerie, and it's effective...

As for Langella, I think perhaps of all his fine performances this is the one for which he will be most remembered and justifiably so. His was a unique Dracula, a passionate Dracula, and yes, IMHO,one of the BEST Dracula's I've ever seen, and I've seen them ALL. I like a lot of them, Lugosi, Lee, Jourdan, and Oldman in particular.

For Pre-CGI the effects are excellent and for once they do harken back to the folklore which inspires the vampire legend besides. The horse in the graveyard for instance is straight out of Rumanian myth...

(Mina's being a moldering corpse is intentional I think too. The director is making a distinction between "prey" and "love interest" here. Mina is basically FOOD, whereas Lucy, Dracula wants to make his bride. The inference here is that there is a difference and the blood exchanged between Lucy and Dracula makes her more like him. Mina, poor thing is simply destined to rot until someone stakes her....She's the "tradtional" vampire of folklore, and I was truly creeped out by her makeup job actually...It was unusually horrific for the time period in which this film was made...)

There are some nice touches in this film, and I honestly feel it holds up well some 25 years later. It's still a favorite, and justifiably so...In terms of acting it far surpasses the FFC 92" Dracula, and though it's not as showy it's still every bit as enjoyable to watch now as it was when I first saw it in the theatre.

It's a bit grainy in DVD, and I'd surely like to see a better transfer and maybe a cleaned up and completely restored soundtrack, but otherwise? I wouldn't change a thing, and I certainly would NOT want it colorized to make it all perfectly even.

It just wouldn't be the same "Dracula" at all...

Morrighan

Rating:
Summary: 2 stars for DVD, the movie gets a 4
Review: John Badham's "Dracula" is still among my favorites of the Dracula legend. Frank Langella added new dimensions to the characters, a smoothness that made the vampire more scary, though just as romantic. Terrific movie and Lucy will creep you out forever. But the DVD treatment is not so wonderful - rather than keeping the contrast deep with real blacks and whites, it looks more washed out than authentic. This may be what the director wanted but it looks too underlit - not the sight of near B&W that was long rumored. I love the movie and will keep the DVD but prepare to be disappointed by the wanting picture quality. For the rest of us, this Dracula is far superior to Coppola's over-the-top fang fest.