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Post by hman on Aug 10, 2004 9:11:21 GMT -8
Well, I saw "Horror of Dracula" for the first time last night. It was a pretty good. It was interesting how little Lee is actually in it. He starts off as a gentleman, but quickly we see him for what he really is. He does get it pretty good, though.
Peter Cushing does a good job as always.
One question, does the entire movie take place in Eastern Europe/Germany/etc.? Can anyone tell me?
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Aug 10, 2004 9:44:17 GMT -8
It's been a while since I've seen it (the DVD is a cropped widescreen, so I wasn't impressed with that) but it does seem to take place "there" as opposed to England.
Good movie.
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Post by hman on Aug 10, 2004 9:51:11 GMT -8
I didn't figure it out until the climax when they take the carriage from the town to Castle Dracula in the same night. Then it clicked.
So how do you all rank Christopher Lee with the other Draculas (from Lugosi until the dude from Van Helsing)?
Did anyone ever see Lee's "Count Dracula"?
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Post by celamowari on Aug 12, 2004 16:04:27 GMT -8
I think Lee is probably in the top 5, just on presence alone.
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Post by hman on Aug 12, 2004 17:16:31 GMT -8
Hmm...I don't remember Frank Langella (sp.) being anything spectacular. I saw the Jack Palance TV movie some years ago and that was pretty entertaining. He did a decent job.
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Post by Zone Fighter on Aug 12, 2004 17:31:37 GMT -8
My favorite Count Dracula was Louis Jourdan, 1977 made for TV movie. Local PBS station used to air it every October. The last time I saw it they had edited it, removing a scene of Dracula giving an infant to his "wives".
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Post by hman on Aug 12, 2004 19:17:26 GMT -8
I remember catching a glimpse of a scene like that in Bram Stoker's Dracula, in which Dracula (in the form of an old lady), gives an infant to his wives.
The three wives is a basic staple of Dracula movies, isn't it? Heck, he even made himself 3 "wives" in "The Monster Squad." It surprised me to see in "Horror of Dracula" that he only had one.
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Post by Xenorama ™ on Aug 12, 2004 19:42:21 GMT -8
In Bela's movie there are three vampire women, not his "wives" per se, so I think that's kind of a tradition. Besides, he was after Lucy and Mina later on, that would make five!
I like both Lugosi's protrayal and Lee's.
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Post by hman on Aug 12, 2004 22:45:59 GMT -8
I watched the original Nosferatu tonight and that movie didn't have any female companions to Count Dracula/Orlock, although he's so repulsive that one couldn't imagine it. The Dracula in "Van Helsing" has his three female companions, although they spend a lot of the movie in CGI bat form (in "high-octane" action scenes) so they're not particularly imposing.
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Post by Giganfan on Aug 17, 2004 17:10:25 GMT -8
I think Lee's Dracula is an amalgamation of Lugosi, Max (Nosferatu) Schrek and the novel interpretation. Very parasitic and animal-like, yet just enough of a gentleman-type figure to balance it out. Chistopher Lee was a very effective Count. But nobody beats Lugosi, in my opinion.
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Post by Zone Fighter on Aug 26, 2004 19:09:39 GMT -8
I just got the Horror of Dracula DVD from Netflix, also Curse of Frakenstein. I wont be able to watch them until Saturday at the earliest.
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Post by Zone Fighter on Aug 27, 2004 23:14:08 GMT -8
Horror of Dracula (1958)
Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing
Christopher Lee as Count Dracula
Michael Gough as Arthur Holmwood
Melissa Stribling as Mina Holmwood
Carol Marsh as Lucy Holmwood
John Van Eyssen as Jonathan Harker
This movie turns the story of Dracula upside down. Jonatha Harker rather then being one of the men who defeats Dracula is killed at the begining of the film. Instead of Mina dying and becoming a vampire, and the men fighting to destroy Dracula and save Lucy from becoming a vampire, Lucy dies and the men have to try to save Mina. Since this entire film takes place in Germany instead of England and Transylvania I supose this could be a different Dracula, a different Jonathan Harker, a different Van Helsing, etc.
The biggest flaw I found in the film was Jonathan Harker going to Dracula's castle knowing the count is a vampire but not taking a cross or any garlic with him. I'm guessing that Van Helsing's claims that its only a myth that vampires can turn into bats or wolves was to keep from having to spend the money on a bat or wolf scene.
Chrisopher Lee wasn't bad as Dracula, but all his lines were in the beginning of the film. Lee's first Dracula film depsite all the changes, is much better than his last, "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" (1974). Louis Jourdan is still my favorite Dracula. "Count Dracula" has been released on DVD in its home country (UK) but not US.
Michael Gough appears in Blakes 7 as a Federation official and enemy of Blake and company.
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Post by amphiboid on Sept 1, 2004 23:59:35 GMT -8
I did see Lee in "Count Dracula," once, on TV, late at night. I don't remember too much about it, except that Lee was very animalistic when he went into his vamp-out mode.
Regarding "Horror of Dracula," I have seen stills of a scene that does not appear in the American version (the only version I've seen). The stills depict Harker after he is staked--they built a pretty disturbing-looking shrivelled dummy of him, pretty nice, actually. But a bit graphic. I wonder if the shot ended up being used in the Japanese version (supposedly a more gruesome cut?).
The same goes for the "Dracula crumbling to dust" scene at the end--lots of stills exist that feature Lee (or his stunt double) in "disintegrated" makeup, and these scenes supposedly were shot, but did not end up in the American or British versions. He falls into the sunlight, and then it goes to shots of his hand and foot crumbling, and when we see his face next it's already a fake head (with little red lights in the eyes, which fade out like the Terminator's!). Is this extra stuff in the Japanese cut, I wonder?
But honestly, the lack of these scenes never spoiled the film for me. It's always worked very well. A real Halloween classic.
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Post by Zone Fighter on Sept 2, 2004 7:45:37 GMT -8
Lee wasn't in the "Count Dracula" I was talking about. That was Louis Jourdan. They did an odd special effect when this Dracula saw blood or was in biting mode. Also he could appear and disappear at will, disolving into a redish mist. When Harker first met Dracula he noticed that he had hairy palms. Harker is later terrified to see Dracula climbing down the castle walls. With his black cloak flowing around him he looked like a large bat.
The DVD of Horror of Dracula I saw had the disintergration scenes.
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Post by hman on Sept 2, 2004 10:09:00 GMT -8
I read a review of Horror of Dracula that implied that the original product is a lot more explicit (as far as the violence and sexual elements were concerned) than was the norm for its era. Supposedly it caused a stir in England, but the people went out in droves to see it.
Side note: Looks like the MPAA re-rated Taste the Blood of Dracula from PG to R. I thought that was rather interesting.
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Post by GrimGhost on Sept 5, 2004 16:01:50 GMT -8
Supposedly it caused a stir in England, but the people went out in droves to see it.
According to TEXT (a documentary on Hammer Studios, the British critics hated Hammer films despite the fact that they nearly single handedly saved the British film industry.
If you haven't seen the documentary, I heartil;y recommend you pick it up. Lots of great rare clips and cool interviews.
Cheers!
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Post by hman on Oct 16, 2004 1:15:16 GMT -8
Well, I just watched "Scars of Dracula" on AMC. Wow, that was quite a violent Dracula film. There was quite a bit of sex and violence in this one (and I imagine this version was somewhat edited too). On the whole, it was pretty good; the climax was pretty suspenseful and Christopher Lee was in good form. But it's interesting to compare the content of Horror of Dracula with that of this one.
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Post by Xenorama ™ on May 27, 2005 6:53:57 GMT -8
i'd really like to see that documentary. i enjoy the Dracula films of Hammer quite a bit, but i've never been able to watch the Frankie films. i also like many of the 60s adventures, but once you hit the late 60s early 70s these movies tend to be about sex and blood, with a few exceptions, and less about story.
David
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Post by August on Sept 1, 2005 0:48:12 GMT -8
Well, that really depends on whom was directing the film... DRACULA A.D. 1972, for example, despite its premise, actually holds up rather well for what it is, while SATANIC RITES is a great premise, but completely botched... Lee and Cushing were good in the film, but the film was not worthy of them. For myself, there are a number of great Horror films that Hammer put out up into the 1970s -- KISS OF THE VAMPIRE, BRIDES OF DRACULA, THE DEVIL RIDES OUT, CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS, PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN, DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE, FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED, BLOOD ON THE MUMMY'S TOMB, THE REPTILE, TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA, CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER, COUNTESS DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL, THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, SCARS OF DRACULA and TWINS OF EVIL... there are some boderline films such as VAMPIRE CIRCUS and LUST FOR A VAMPIRE... and some real clunkers like HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN, EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY'S CURSE and the interesting THE LOST CONTINENT. Megs, give Frankie a chance... I recommend CURSE, REVENGE, WOMAN and MUST BE DESTROYED. If you like those, you might enjoy MONSTER FROM HELL, the rest are tossers. BTW, I am showing three choice Hammer films at my upcoming Horror Movie Festival (October 28-30) at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco (where we held GODZILLAFEST)... it's called SHOCK IT TO ME! REVENGE OF CREATURE FEATURES, and the opening night is a "Get Hammered!" triple-feature of THE CREEPING UNKNOWN (complete UK version), REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE VAMPIRE LOVERS. Plus, some special after-hours entertainment before THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, in what we like to call "Playgirl Vampires After Dark"... those in Northern California, I hope you can come and check out the show. www.shockit2me.comOh, CHRIS LEE'S DRACULA RULES!  P.S. The Hammer crew said that most of the Dracula films were set in a mythical amalgamation of Eastern European countries, part Rumania, part Germany, etc. A European Never-Neverland of the Supernatural, if you will. |
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Post by Torgaman on Sept 1, 2005 11:23:29 GMT -8
I always prefferred Lee's rendition of Drac over Lugosi's.
He just seemed to embody the power of a vampire.
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Post by Giganfan on Sept 25, 2005 18:56:58 GMT -8
Let me put it this way. Lugosi's Dracula was a hypnotic sexual predator that didn't have to do anything but exist in order to disturb you. He's like a snake slowly coming upon its prey, yet his greatest weapon is his undeniable charm and continental mannerisms. Lugosi's Dracula was theatrically weird and larger-than-life. Christopher Lee's portrayal, as I said before seems to be an amalgamation of the notable interpretations before him, Lugosi being one of them. By the 50s and 60s, Dracula had been made into a typical movie monster, and the power of suggestion had become obsolete. However, even in this form, the character functions well, and Lee gave the "raving, beast-like" Dracula a face. I particularly like how in the two Hammer Dracula films that I've seen (HORROR and PRINCE OF DARKNESS), he has no lines of dialogue. Whereas you didn't have to see Lugosi actually do anything, Lee was a menace without making any kind of verbal threats. I'll be honest, I will always consider Bela Lugosi to be THE Dracula of the movies, but Christopher Lee most definately deserves credit and praise for his portrayal.
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