DRACULA - would make a wonderful movie

[LA]

"i just looked it up on the web, the shit dracula lee was refering to is dracula hass risen from the grave, directed by that budget prodigy, freddie francis."

Ah, heard about that one, isn't that the one that begins with Dracula waking up and pulling the stake out of his own heart? Or am I thinking of another film? Amazing to think that after all that fuss about a stake through the heart, it turns out you can sleep off the effects.

[Harvey Chartrand]

How about Dracula's Dog/Zoltan, Hound of Dracula (1878) with Jose Ferrer?

From BBC1 review: "When soldiers blow up the tomb of the Dracula dynasty, they unwittingly release the Count's servant (Reggie Nalder) as well as faithful dog Zoltan. Without their vampire master, servant and dog are nothing and so they set out to find a Dracula relative to serve, wreaking havoc wherever they strike."

For a few cheap laughs, check out Old Dracula (1974), with David Niven and the pneumatic Carol Cleveland of Monty Python fame. Plot synopsis: "An aging Dracula attempts to revive his beloved Vampira with transfusions from Playboy bunnies, but the wrong blood sample somehow transforms her into a sexy black lady (Teresa Graves), so Drac goes to London to get more white blood cells."

Sheesh!

[Jeff Wilson]

If you're looking for crappy Dracula films, look no further than Al Adamson's execrable DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN (1970), shot in part by none other than Gary Graver (who also has a cameo). This steaming dog turd stars J. Carroll Naish and Lon Chaney, Jr., among other unfortunates. Avoid at all costs, unless you enjoy pain. And yes, Mel Brooks' DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT is stunningly bad. His Robin Hood parody was just as painful, unfunny, and stupid.

[Michael]

WOW!!! What a GREAT discussion going on Dracula. One of my all-time favorite characters!

-- The Jordan version--it has been Years since I've seen it. But I do remember it being very faithful to the marvelous book. I would love to see it again WellesFan if you're able to dub a copy from the new DVD you're getting.

--I too have a soft spot for any of the Lee Hammer Draculas. Of course I agree, the ending of Horror Of is absolutely the best! I even tried to recreate that as a 13 year old kid with my 8mm camera. It's hilarious. I also love Brides Of--lots of great Van Helsing Stuff in that.

--OH! Just had the "pleasure" of watching Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires! What a WEIRD film, Cushing as Van Helsing, there's a terribly made up Dracula (can't remember the actors name, Lee had just done his last the year prior), and martial arts. It had it's entertaining moments though.

--I would have sworn that the "shit" Dracula Lee referred to was the Count Dracula piece of crap. It is NOT faithful to the book, it is Very Boring, and the dialogue is terrible. I'd rather watch the silly Dracula Has Risen any day.

-- I really did NOT like Coppola's dracula (accept for Oldman's performance). It departs from the book SO MUCH and is so ridiculous at some parts, that I just came away angry he had put Bram Stoker's name on the title.

--Palance's Drac is fun. Good death scene & other fun moments. It was originally a TV movie I think. He had a great face for the part too. But BOY does he get hammy at times.

--Agreed, Lugosi's movie is FAR from a classic. I do like his performance (it's hammy but fun), and the ten minutes in Transylvania look great, but beyond that, quite boring. And that's usually my gauge for whether I like a movie or not (high quality or low brow), does it hold my interest. Case in point--we just watched (for some insane reason) Resident Evil. The movie is total crap, but it was fun to watch and kept my interest by its shear stupidity.

--I also like Langella's Drac. He's wonderful! Love Olivier in the film too. It's still a retelling of the Hamilton/Deane play, but it's stylish and fun.

--I actually wrote & produced a play of Dracula. Because I was determined to have something in the theatre world that was truly Faithful adaptation to the book. And it is. I used Mina 15 years after the events as kind of the narrator. That way we could use lots of the journal stuff. The production was OK, but we didn't have nearly enough money to do all the stuff my play required. Oh well, one day.....

--I had heard some time back that John Lithgow was trying to get a faithful version of the book made into a film? Or was I just dreaming that?

Thanks!

Michael

[LA]

-deleted accidentally posted early draft-

[LA]

"-- I really did NOT like Coppola's dracula (accept for Oldman's performance). It departs from the book SO MUCH and is so ridiculous at some parts, that I just came away angry he had put Bram Stoker's name on the title."

I heard that when the film was released, there was a tie-in novelisation of the film, written by someone else.

I never thought I'd see The Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires mentioned here, that has to rank as one of the most hilarious experiences in cinema history. I still can't believe I really saw a movie with an army of giggling, hopping, kung-fu zombies.

Jeff: Dracula Vs. Frankenstein has been on my ever-inflating must-see list since I heard they got an estate agent who looks like Frank Zappa to play Dracula. I suppose I'm a Bad Movie masochist.

[Welles Fan]

Michael, if you are interested in a tape of the BBC Jourdan version, send me your address, and I'll run one off for you.

I think I saw that "Seven Golden Vampires", but the one I saw was called "Seven Brothers Meet Dracula", or some such thing. I remember thinking that it would be a sort of Fred Williamson/Jim Brown vampire movie, but it turned out to be a martial arts deal.

I really disliked the Coppola version but for Oldman. Aside from him, I found the cast uniformly awful, from Wynona Ryder's "Oooh, this Dracula guys is sooo cool, and he's got long hair and sunglasses" portrayal to Anthony Hopkins scenery chewing to Keanu's misplaced surfer-dude Jonathan. (I thought the Kenneth Branagh "check out my buff new bod-I've got a personal trainer!" Frankenstein to be poor, too).

Speaking of vampire movies-has anyone seen those Blade movies with Wesley Snipes? The new Blade II DVD is being touted as having a reference-quality dts soundtrack. I've never seen either of them, but they sound like gory fun.

[LA]

I heard about the Seven Brothers Meet Dracula version, I was told it's less coherent than the Seven Golden Vampires version, but I wouldn't have thought that possible.

Never seen the Blade films.

[Michael]

Thanks for the replys!

-- The "Legend 7 Golden..." I saw was on DVD and was the "full release version". Yes indeed, it is Hilarious. Hopping Asian vampires with ridiculas makeup/masks--and of course before the bite the girls, they must naturally rip their shirts off. So funny! But, it is quite fun to watch! Cushing as always, give his all for the role.

-- Coppola's film-glad to hear some confirmation here. I really didn't like it. Yes, totally agree with comments about Wynona. She is one of those actresses that I just can't imagine what people see in her. She is pretty consistently is awful. Keanu was Definitely out of his element too. Agree too with Branaugh's "Frankenstein". Again BORING, and I thought he'd never put his shirt on or quit moving the camera.

-- Dracula Vs. Frankenstein is fun. I saw it many years ago on TV. It is still crap, but I remember having fun watching it. Has a great & funny ending.

-- Saw Blade, somewhat enjoyed it though Way too stylish for my tastes (especially with the quick editing and constant moving camera). Haven't seen 2.

-- Welles Fan, I will send you a tape for Jordan's Drac. Where can I get your Address?

-- If you haven't read the book, please do so! It's a wonderful read. Just a fantastic thriller.

-- Hey, how about "Love at First Bite"? It's an amusing little fillm with some great laughs. Artie Shaw as Renfield is great as is Richard Benjamin as Van Helsing.

-- I listened to the commentary on "Dracula Prince of Darkness" recently. Goodness.... Ol' Lee sure can sound pretentious at times! He was sounding off left & right about the book and how he hated the dialogue in the film (that's why he chose to do it mute). And how he always tried to add dialogue from the book into the films. Beyond that, he talks with Such authority on a variety of things--but a lot of time it is just BS. Don't get me wrong, I like Lee, but he does get a bit pompous at times.

Thanks!

Michael

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[Jeff Wilson]

I quite enjoyed Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, as I'm a Hong Kong/martial arts movie fan. The hopping vampires thing is a Chinese folklore thing, as far as I know. A far cry from our suave, sexually charged bloodsuckers of tradition. In that same vein (ha), check out Mr. Vampire, a classic HK horror comedy, for more hopping vampires. A cool movie.

There is also a recent BBC series, Ultraviolet, which takes on vampires in an X-Files fashion. Only six episodes, and available in a two DVD set. Worth checking out.

And of course, there's Polanski's Fearless Vampire Killers, which is a fun film.

I find Christopher Lee a bit hard to take on occasion as well; on the Scars of Dracula DVD I have, it comes with a bonus disc featuring Lee discussing his career, and he does come off as rather full of himself on occasion. Contrast that with the two music videos also included (Lee is a competent singer as well), and it's an amusing juxtaposition.



Edited By Jeff Wilson on Sep. 07 2002 at 13:17

[Harvey Chartrand]

The late Rod Steiger hit some kind of a career low with his performance as vampire hunter Dr. Frederick Van Helsing in Modern Vampires, a 1998 "comedy" with Kim Cattrall and Udo Kier, among others.
That same year, I gave up on John Carpenter once and for all time after seeing his thoroughly vile Vampires, with James Woods totally wrong for the part of a heroic figure. Portly Daniel Baldwin just couldn't cut it in the hero department either. And seeing an old Maximilian Schell reduced to playing an evil (is there any other kind?) cardinal made me wonder how such a fine actor can be so desperate for work.
Vampires is gory and blasphemous, but not scary. What I want to see are films that explore fear, as Signs did so successfully. (Don't be fooled by some of the bad reviews. Signs is an excellent updating of War of the Worlds.) I also hear that some of the new Japanese horror films (such as Ring) are extremely frightening. I can't say I've ever been frightened by a vampire picture, though.

[Michael]

More great replies! So fun....

--Jeff: "Ultraviolet", did you purchase it? Or is it remotely possible that I'd find it for rental? Sounds interesting.

--Carpenters "Vampires"-agreed Big disappointment. The book is very fun and fast paced. The movie is just the same ol' same ol' hollywood crap with lots of style. Very poorley cast too.

-- "Scars Of Dracula", I remember has one of the weirdest Lee/Dracula death scenes, being struck by lighting while about to throw a metal pole! Odd film but entertaining (I am so weak when it comes Hammer....).

-- Harvey, so sorry I have to differ with you on my opinion of "Signs". I thought it was nothing but borrowed (to be kind) ideas from other movies (even Twilight Zone episodes). I've never thought much of Shamalyans dialogue and this film was by far his worst. I found it very tedious and unoriginal. But, America seems to love it, and they're hailing ol' M. Night as the new Hitchcock, so what do I know....

-- Oh, I just have to say too (since I'm talking about vampire films I don't like) "Queen Of the Damned" has got to rank as one of the all-time worst screen adaptations of a great book (2 actually). Dreadful!!!!

-- "Fearless Vampire Killers" yes! I do remember having a jolly ol' time with that one as well. I have an old magazine with several pics of Sharon Tate from that film.

Thanks again! Michael

[Jeff Wilson]

Michael-

I found Ultraviolet at Best Buy, so it's not a rare title by any means. Not sure about rental places.

Scars of Drac is weak, but I find it fun. And it's got a cruel streak that I find perversely entertaining. And as a Dr. Who fan during my younger days, I find it quite weird to see Patrick Troughton, the second actor to play the Doctor, as Dracula's flunky.

The death scene is as you described it, with Dracula about to spear the hero and getting electrocuted and going up in flames. My fave Hammer death scene, beyond Horror of Dracula, would be Dracula Has Risen From the Grave, with the Count falling from his balcony and impaling himself on a giant cross thrown over earlier in the film.

[Obssessed_with_Orson]

hi all!

on that remark i made about, "shouldn't be funny", i forgot about "love at first bite".

that one was a good version. had a bit of comedy. but i thought mel brooks just put too much.

and i guess it is only in the case of mr. Welles, that it shouldn't be funny. because he was so dramatic.

but in the case of mr. leslie nielsen, and mr. brooks and the one in "love at first bite", it passes because they are more comic than dramatic.

bye now!

[Harvey Chartrand]

Surely to God there must be enough still photos from The Magnificent Ambersons to do a similar reconstruction as Rick Schmidlin has achieved with London After Midnight (see below). If not, then Ambersons was definitely the 'film maudit' of all time. Just came across this promo for the semi-restored London After Midnight on the Turner Classic Movies Website.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31
8:00 pm (ET)/5:00 pm (PT) LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT (1927)

Turner Classic Movies' October line-up will be haunted by obscure horror films and classic creep shows culminating in the premiere of Lon Chaney's lost masterpiece, LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT (1927) on Oct. 31, Halloween night, reconstructed entirely from stills. It will be the first time the film has been seen in nearly 50 years in any format, as the last print known to exist was destroyed in a vault fire at MGM in the 1960s. Listed on the American Film Institute's Ten Most Wanted "Lost" Films, LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT is referred to by proponents as the most famous of lost films. Though no actual film footage is known to exist, award-winning filmmaker/archivist Rick Schmidlin (he worked on the restorations of Touch of Evil and Greed) has been able to faithfully reconstruct the entire narrative through an extensive collection of more than 200 still photographs and a complete continuity script. A new score by acclaimed composer Robert Israel will complete the presentation. In it, Lon Chaney showed off his talents as a make-up artist, creating what became the first real American vampire, complete with the elements that children today associate with the sinister creatures: eyes bulging in their sockets, menacing pointed teeth and a cape.

Producer: Irving Thalberg
Director: Tod Browning
Stills Restoration Director: Rick Schmidlin
Screenplay: Waldemar Young, Joseph Farnham, Tod Browning (based on the story "The Hypnotist")
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, A. Arnold Gillespie
Cinematography: Merritt B. Gerstad
Editing: Harry Reynolds, Errol Taggart
Music for stills restoration: Robert Israel
Cast: Lon Chaney (Burke), Marceline Day (Lucille Balfor), Henry B. Walthall (Sir James Hamlin), Percy Williams (Butler), Conrad Nagel (Arthur Hibbs), Polly Moran (Miss Smithson).
BW-40m. Closed captioning.