   Count Dracula (alongside fellow Victorian gentleman, Sherlock Holmes) holds the dubious honour of being the Movie World’s hardest working (and most abused) literary character.
   Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 adaptation is a gloriously bombastic mountain of soft-focus eroto-nonsense but a highly recommended guilty pleasure.
   Coppola claimed that his version would be the closest ever interpretation of Stoker’s classic novel but his attempts to include every character whilst frequently switching narrative perspective makes for a cluttered and unfocused movie.  Dracula is depicted in his numerous evolving guises but the inclusion of a psuedo-historical prologue forces a new reincarnation theme on the tale.
   Dracula was released just prior to Neil Jordan’s adaptation of  Interview With The Vampire and has too much in common with Anne Rice’s genre-changing interpretation of vampire archetypes as immortal dreamboats.  Coppola’s film oozes lush Freudian imagery; sinking suns, blood cells, eyes, nipples and fragrant blooms are everywhere.
   Oldman himself admitted to essaying Dracula as “a Fallen Angel” and the beloved actor deserves much credit for creating a tour-de-force (and cohesive) performance with a role that required him to play a medieval relic, a romantic Victorian Prince, a wolfman, a bat and just about every stage in between.
   His Eastern European accent is sublime or ridiculous but unforgettable either way.  Many have forgotten that he was nominated for an Oscar for this role.  As a Fantasy character he was never likely to win (even The Lord Of The Rings failed to gain plaudits for its cast) but his creation is every bit as unique as Depp’s Jack Sparrow.
   Rumour has it that Winona Ryder petitioned hard to have her then boyfriend Johnny Depp cast as Jonathan Harker.  Depp fans would no doubt love to have seen this but it is hard to imagine how he could have improved or altered the end result.  Some films are actually enhanced by unintentional comedy moments.  Keanu Reeves is one long comedy moment.   It is enough that Reeves is simply awful and memorable (with a grey streak that turns into a continuity nightmare and helpfully distracts from his lack of performance).
   Perhaps it is time to watch Coppola’s Dracula again.  The set and costume designs are lavish, Lucy’s beheading has genuine chills, Antony Hopkins goes all out to match Oldman’s Method mania and the orchestral score is magnificent.
   It’s guilty, yes…but pleasurable.
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Gary Oldman made this film. I do think Depp would have improved the film as Harker, but it was enjoyable as it was. Nice review though. You summed it up nicely.
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It’s a film I love and hate in equal measure! There’s still room for a definitive Dracula movie x
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There will never be a definitive Dracula movie: the book is, simply, unfilmable in its own twisted perfection. It’s not to say that Dracula films are bad, most are hugely enjoyable; they just can never be “Stoker’s” Dracula!
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oh, such a good, yet such a mixed movie! Gary Oldman is sublime, but Keanu is wooden and then Anthony Hopkins shows up and everything turns ridiculous.
this may have been the movie that cemented my weird crush on Gary Oldman. don’t want to run into him in a dark alley, don’t want to run into him in a florescent lit alley either. But I do love him in every movie he’s in!
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Especially as Sirius Black 😉
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I love your language in this review it is rich and poetic.
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Thank you 🙂 What a lovely compliment. What do you think of the film?
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It’s a long time since I watched it but if I remember rightly – I think I agree with you.
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Sorry if you’ve received this reply once but it’s popped up again without a reply on it. It’s years since I saw it. However, if my memory serves me right, I think I agreed with you.
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It’s worth a re-watch just for fun. It’s become a bit of a Halloween favourite at home 🙂
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I think we will watch it again shortly. I love watching Sleepy Hollow every so often as well.
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This is one of my favorite guilty pleasure Dracula movies although I’m still waiting for one that matches the book. Maybe it’d have more luck if the BBC turned it into a masterpiece classics series… although I’m still not sure it would do credit to the book.
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I heartily agree. I have a vague memory of a Brit (BBC?) TV special from a few years ago featuring Marc Warren as Dracula. Again, very different to the book, but dark and intriguing. I might have to see if I can find it on YouTube. A few people rate the Louis Jourdan TV show as the most accurate, I’ve only seen clips but it looks quite dated now. Mr. Oldman is in a league of his own! x
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I LOVE this movie!! Winona wore that dress it was so beautiful!! You can even have the Mina Harker gown made as a Halloween costume.
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If I had that dress I would probably wear it everyday! x
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One of my all time faves, Lily! I read the lengthy novel many years ago, there were many editions of the novel. It was Oldman at his best.
One of my -pet peeves- is that many know-it-alls are unable to control themselves, attacking anyone that dares to make a mistake on something they’re obviously suffering a bit of OCD over. Instead of kindly bringing information to peoples’ attention, they become hysterical. Bad manners.
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Thanks Marc. I’m used to constructive debate about literature, no one can remember everything unless they have turned “specialism” into an extreme sport 😉
Ms. Amanda Pike is right and I would have been grateful to her for helping me amend and improve my post if not for the deliberately inflammatory and berating tone.
It also looks like she has lifted her comments from Wikepedia.
Perhaps she doesn’t realise that “Malicious Communications” are actually illegal.
Thanks again for the support, anti-Trollers unite! x
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Hello Amanda. It is a long time since I read the novel and I would usually say thank you to someone who pointed out an error and gave me the opportunity to amend my post as I am always open to learning and guidance.
I am however disappointed by your aggressive tone and it was unnecessary to make the same point twice. Your comments have been deemed inflammatory and will be deleted in accordance with the grounds set out in the Disclaimers section.
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Reblogged this on stacyblaise.
Thank you for the reblog Stacy xx
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This is my favorite Dracula/Vampire movie of all time. Despite some acting flaws and sometimes melodramatic scenes, this is the most complete Dracula character study & film ever made. And, what I like best is that any and every frame of the film is a lush work of art – from set design to costume to make-up. Pause this film anywhere during the course of its 2 hours and it would make for a beautiful print. I think that is the biggest asset of this film. Kudos to Coppala for such attention to detail.
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Hear, hear! It always feels like an indulgent treat to watch!
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Thank you for reminding me about this movie. It’s spectacular. And I NEVER thought about Depp versus Oldman. Interesting.
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Now that could be the ultimate Act-off! x
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Oh my dawg! You’re right about that!!! A real eye treat.
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[…] Bram Stoker’s Dracula ~ Victorian Cinematograph #1(lilywight.com) Series Navigation info@darkfeathers.com/ This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Ways To Pursue The MuseWays To Pursue The MuseWays To Pursue The Muse1. Go Home – (Ways To Pursue The Muse)2. Go Sleep – (Ways To Pursue The Muse)3. Go Write – (Ways To Pursue The Muse)4. Go Read – (Ways To Pursue The Muse)5. Go Far – (Ways To Pursue The Muse)Series Navigation3. Go Write – (Ways To Pursue The Muse) >>Share […]
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Oh God! I decided to re-watch this movie recently too. I had been really into the whole Dracula thing as a teenager. So fast forward to the start of the summer this year, I’d finished reading Richard E Grant’s movie diary ‘With Nails’ and though the whole background of this movie sounded interesting enough for me to go back and give it another look. The DVD extras on the disc I bought were excellent and had loads of stuff about the making of, including the traditional old camera effects. How disappointed was I though in the actual movie though!? It’s greatly marred by as much wooden acting as over acting! The best thing about it is that it’s visually stunning. I can’t help but find myself intrigued by it all the same 😉
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I have a real love/hate relationship with this film too. It’s tantalisingly close to being brilliant yet utterly bonkers in its execution. Best enjoyed mildly inebriated on Halloween in my household xx
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[…] Â Â Â If you dust-off June in The Arcade Of Arts & Arcana’s Archives (head to the sidebar on the homepage) you’ll find Pre-Raphaelite strumpets, naughty vintage movies some ridiculous facts about the Victorian Era and a popular post on that favourite guilty pleasure – Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula (click the link to read the original post). […]
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I hardly comment, however after browsing through a great deal of comments here Bram Stoker’s Dracula ~
Victorian Cinematograph #1 (Revised*) « Lily Wight.
I actually do have a couple of questions for you if you do not mind.
Could it be just me or do some of these remarks appear like they are written by brain dead visitors?
😛 And, if you are writing at other online social sites, I’d like to keep up with anything fresh you have to post. Would you make a list of all of your social community pages like your twitter feed, Facebook page or linkedin profile?
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Hi there. I am on Facebook,Twitter and LinkedIn where you can find me as Lily Wight 🙂
You are welcome to ask questions here too xx
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It’s going to be end of mine day, except before finish I am reading this wonderful post to improve my experience.
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Such a great film, I hope you enjoy the post x
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You really make it appear so easy together with your presentation however I find this matter to be really something that I believe I might by no
means understand. It kind of feels too complex and very wide for me.
I’m looking ahead in your next publish, I’ll attempt to get the hang of it!
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Hey there just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know
a few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same outcome.
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That’s a shame, thanks for the tip-off. I’ve looked into it but the images show up fine on my laptop. I’m afraid I’m not “techie” enough to offer a solution. I’ll be using another computer later so I’ll check out the post on there as well.
Thanks again for letting me know x
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