Jess Franco's Count Dracula (Special Edition)
by Jes?s Franco
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Christopher Lee, Herbert Lom, Klaus Kinski, Maria Rohm, Soledad MirandaDirector: Jes?s Franco
Brand: MPI HOME VIDEO
Cinematographer: Manuel Merino
Composer: Bruno Nicolai
Editor: Bruno Mattei
Editor: Derek Parsons
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-02-27
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MPI Home Video
Movie Reviews of Jess Franco's Count Dracula (Special Edition)
Movie Review: I have already dined
Summary: 3 Stars
Christopher Lee is arguably the best Dracula that has ever been committed to celluloid -- but you gotta admit that Hammer Horror didn't put him to the best use.
Far better use is made of Lee in "Jess Franco's Count Dracula," a gothic horror movie that tries its darndest to stay true to the original novel. It's only partially successful -- Lee is utterly brilliant and the haunting atmosphere is suitable for a tale of vampiric infiltration, but the last act is painfully rushed and flat.
You know the drill: Real estate agent Jonathan Harker (Fred Williams) arrives in Transylvania, to arrange a London house sale to the charming, mysterious Count Dracula (Lee). But Harker is increasingly troubled by bizarre specters and Dracula's odd behavior, leading him to believe that Dracula is not actually human.
After escaping, he's brought to Professor Van Helsing's clinic (Herbert Lom), while his fiancee Mina (Maria Rohm) and her friend Lucy (Soledad Miranda) come to visit him. But soon Dracula starts luring and drinking from Lucy in the night, until she inevitably dies despite Van Helsing's best efforts. Of course, soon she's back and sucking the blood of small children.
So Van Helsing launches a full-out attack on Count Dracula, first taking Jonathan and Quincey (Jack Taylor) to destroy Lucy before anyone else can be harmed. But Dracula has set his sights on Mina now -- and to save her, Jonathan and Quincey must destroy him first.
This was pretty clearly a work of love for Jess Franco, creator of many a softcore Euromovie (including "Vampyros Lesbos"). He spins a haunting, vibrantly creepy atmosphere around the whole movie, along with all the suitable gothic trappings -- vast lifeless stone buildings, towering candelabras shrouded in cobwebs, and the knowledge that Dracula is somewhere near.
Unfortunately the movie starts spinning out of control in the second half (which is also where it starts really deviating from Stoker's novel). Franco seems to belatedly realize that he's running out of time and needs to hurry up -- and as a result, such important moments as Lucy's in-coffin staking are made rather flat and lifeless. Not to mention the laughable scene where our brave heroes are menaced by a bunch of yipping stuffed animals.
And the climax is a total rush job -- Mina and Van Helsing just sit around while the boys go running off to slay Dracula. Although the final scene's fiery disintegration is a nice touch.
The movie is dominated by Lee -- not only does he fit the physical description of Stoker's vampire, but he gives off an impression of nobility, grandeur, age and barely-hidden power. Franco even manages to use this for some subtle comedy, such as when a prostitute tries to solicit Dracula, and receives only an icy, haughty glare in response.
Most of the other actors are fairly capable but nothing to write home about. But there are a couple of other standouts -- Herbert Lom is a nicely intense Van Helsing, and Klaus Kinski plays a wonderfully deranged, disheveled, wild-eyed Renfield. It's like he was born to play it.
"Jess Franco's Count Dracula" is a flawed gem -- brilliant acting and gothic atmosphere, and a very rushed, rather surreal second half. But worth checking out, if nothing else for Lee's brilliant performance.
Summary of Jess Franco's Count Dracula (Special Edition)
Count Dracula is a highly atmospheric adaptation of the classic Bram Stoker novel, directed with panache by auteur Jess Franco (Venus in Furs, The Diabolical Dr. Z).
Screen icon Christopher Lee (Horror of Dracula, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) portrays the titular Count Dracula, who flees the cold confines of his Carpathian castle for the shores of England, where he must feed on the blood of beautiful Lucy (Soledad Miranda, Vampyros Lesbos) and Mina (Maria Rohm, 99Women) in order to grow youthful and stay alive.
Also featuring excellent performances by Herbert Lom (The Ladykillers) as Van Helsing and Klaus Kinski (Nosferatu the Vampyre) as Renfield, as well as an ominous score by Bruno Nicolai (Eugenie de Sade, The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave), Count Dracula is presented for the first time on DVD in the U.S.
Jess Franco, the Spanish director known for soft-core films featuring vixens in various precarious situations, successfully incorporates Bram Stoker's Dracula into his repertoire with Count Dracula. Starring Hammer's Dracula Christopher Lee, this film is unrelated to the Hammer films, to its credit. This film may be the most accurate telling of Stoker's classic vampire story, so faithful is it to the novel, even to include many of the book's lines in the script. With an array of truly Gothic, medieval sets, and a cast well-versed in horror, including Klaus Kinski (Werner Herzog's Nosferatu) as Renfield, and Soledad Miranda (Vampyros Lesbos) as Lucy, Count Dracula authentically captures Stoker's careful blend of physical monstrosity and sexual fetish to portray the Count's quest for eternal life. For example, few vampire films besides Franco's take time to feature Lucy and her lover Quincy's blood transfusions that reinforce blood's metaphoric connection to sexual desire. Moreover, Maria Rohm plays Mina Harker with the proper innocence to serve as a foil character to her promiscuous friend, Lucy. Dr. Van Helsing, in this film, gets ample opportunity to sleuth vampirism. Franco relays the story of this Transylvanian count who leaves his castle in the Carpathian mountains for a house in England by accentuating the sexual aspects of the plot, which is what any Franco fan would hope for. Additionally enlightening is this DVD's featurette, in which Franco describes his theories about vampire films. --Trinie Dalton
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