Product description

Dracula [1979]

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Average customer rating: 3.0

Binding : DVD
EAN : 5050582457452
Label : Universal Pictures UK
Manufacturer : Universal Pictures UK
Publisher : Universal Pictures UK
Release date : 2006-10-23
Title : Dracula [1979]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Suitable for 15 years and over
Format : PAL
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 1979-01-01
Region code : 2
Running time : 105
Studio : Universal Pictures UK
Theatrical releaseDate : 1979

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Chalk this one up as something that seemed like a good idea at the time. Frank Langella had just taken Broadway by storm in a revival of the play based on Bram Stoker's classic vampire novel. He was tall, elegant, and almost painfully romantic--all qualities that failed to translate to this garish, tarted-up film version. The story remains the same, if told in greater length than in Bela Lugosi's version. The film even offered Laurence Olivier as vampire-hunter Van Helsing (in one of several roles he played during the period that required a middle-European accent) and a young Kate Nelligan as the woman whose love (and blood) Dracula most wants. But director John Badham, working from W.D. Richter's clunky script, makes a hash of most of it, relying on special effects to do the heavy lifting. --Marshall Fine

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-12-10 rating:

It Doesnt Suck
This version of the lusty count isnt bad. Frank Langella makes for a sympathetic count and its perhaps this element that stops it from being really frightening. As dashing as Frank is he exudes little in the way of menace. However the British locations are sumptuous and the supporting cast of Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasance,Trevor Eve and Tony Haygarth as an excellent Renfield are all good. One complaint is that the late Lord Olivier is perhaps a bit to old to play Van Helsing, as the role usually involves a tussle with the Count. I enjoyed this film more than say Ford Copollas 1993 Gary Oldman version. Despite these grumbles I would still put it in the worth watching category.

review by: John in Gateshead date: 2008-06-14 rating:

Not the way it should be done
In its favour, this film is visually sumptuous, and looks as if it was shot on a high budget. However, I can't think of anything else good to say about it.

Frank Langella's Dracula is feeble, with an unconvincing (meant to be English?) accent and absolutely no menace. Compared with Christopher Lee's portrayal, Langella's Count is laughable. Laurence Olivier, a genuinely great actor in some roles, gives a performance that must be amongst his worst, with a ridiculous accent. John Williams' music has a wince-inducing "cod romantic" style that robs the film of any atmosphere.

It could well be claimed that the Dracula story is now "played out" and impossible to film convincingly, but all of the Hammer Draculas up to 1969 and even Coppola's 1992 version are vastly superior to this tedious effort.

review by: date: 2008-04-12 rating:

This UK DVD is a disaster!
Aside from the widescreen ratio being incorrect (1.78:1 instead of 2.35:1), the colour has been drained at the request of director John Badham! The colour in the film as it was made is fantastic, but Badham wanted the film to look like this after Universal refused to have it shot in black and white back in 1979. The Universal Region 1 DVD in U.S.A is in the correct 2.35:1 widescreen ratio, but still without the colour. I returned my UK Region 2 DVD fast as Universal in London made a total mess of it. The Region 1 DVD is barely acceptable.

review by: Bluemax date: 2008-03-14 rating:

Great Classic - Disastrous Release
The movie is one of the better versions of this classic horror tale. But I'd like to focus on this DVD release: in short, it's a disaster. The film isn't presented in it's original format (which is 2,35:1) but only in 1,78:1 so you're missing a third of the movie. The sound is in historic mono...not in stereo as labeled on the package. Need I say more? I'd rather not have this movie at all in my collection than having this horrifying DVD.

review by: date: 2007-11-02 rating:

Dracula (1979)
This is a movie which i've always liked, but it's never been one of my real favourite versions, although there is a lot to like in the film.
It always disappoints me that the film doesn't begin at the beginning, & misses out all the those scenes where Harker goes to Transylvania & meets Dracula in his castle, & encounters the 3 brides, & so forth... To me they are such key scenes, but unfortunately this movie begins at the point where Dracula is travelling to England aboard the ship. It has to be said though, that the ship traversing the seas, & subsequent shipwreck is visually excellent, & in despite my annoyance, it is quite an effective start to the movie. Equally, the films sets of the mental hospital also look great, & the film manages to project a lot of gothic ambiance during the first 10/15mins, even though to my eyes, it's always looked as though the colour is turned down on the tv. It has a slightly anaemic, almost grey quality to it.
It soon becomes clear that the makers have tried to transpose impact of the 'missing' Castle scenes to Carfax Abbey. A great deal of the visual elements (including Dracula crawling down the walls) & Castle Dracula ambiance have been imported into the Count's english location, & again, although i'm not particularly keen on the liberties taken, i have to admit that it does all look rather good. There are also liberties taken with the characters - (although i don't mind this so much, as Hammer did a similar thing) Lucy is coveniently Dr.Seward's daughter, & engaged to Harker. Whilst Mina is now not only the first victim, but is also even more coveniently, Van Helsing's grandaughter.
The film boasts quite a strong cast, from legendary actor Laurence Olivier as Van Helsing, & Donald Pleasance as Dr.Seward, through to stars more familiar now from TV, like Trevor Eve & Jan Francis, & even very small appearance from a certain Sylvester McCoy. At the time when i first saw the film, i'd never heard of Frank Langella, & indeed, until watching 'The Ninth Gate' recently, I'd never seen him in anything else since, that i can recall.
His portrayal of Dracula isn't my favourite by any means, but does have some favourable qualities. He reminds mostly of Louis Jourdan's Dracula, partly because they're both relative unknown's, cast at least in part for their matinee idol good looks. In this version however, there's even more of an emphasis on romance. I don't mind this as such, I think it worked well in the Jack Palance version, but Langella doesn't have the edge of menace that Palance bought to the screen, (at least not until much later) although he fares better in this regard than Jourdan, who was about as menacing as Tony Curtis.
In favour though, Langella looks quite distinctive, with his large round eyes, (which he wobbles from side to side very quickly quite a lot, in his first major scene when he's invited to dinner Dr.Seward's) & his slightly soft, but also distinctive voice also carries a certain strength to the character. The only let down is the hair, which somehow reminds me of the John Travolta image, which i'm sure was probably still fashionable in some circles in 1979. Even the big outstretched lapels on the cape seem simulate the 'Saturday Night Fever' look. Dracula even materializes at Lucy's window wearing his shirt open necked.
I think one of the film's plus points performance wise is Olivier's Van Helsing. Admittedly, being somewhat elderly, he doesn't have the dynamism of Cushing, who is still my favourite Van Helsing, but his portrayal of a more frail, grief stricken grandfather is excellent IMO. Although a totally different interpretation to my personal favourite, His performance is the most compelling since the Hammer era, for me. A favourite scene of mine in this version, is where Van Helsing & Seward dig up Mina's coffin, & find themselves in the underground chamber, where Van Helsing comes face to face with his undead daughter. The make-up job is superb. She has none of the sexual allure that's often bestowed upon the female vampire. Slightly remeniscent of the possessed Regan MacNeil from 'The Exorcist', Mina is putrifying, corpse-like figure, fresh blood visible inside her mouth, is a truly disgusting figure, & Olivier plays the whole scene with great conviction.
There are many such good scenes in the movie, which IMO gets better as it goes along, although for me, there's a bit too much emphasis placed on Dracula's romancing of Lucy, in early/mid part of the film. I also think that Langella's performance gets stronger throughout the film. His scenes call for him to exhibit a much stronger sense of menance in the latter half of the film, as evidenced by the confrontations with Van Helsing, which add strength to the film as a whole. Indeed, Dracula becomes much more aggressive towards the end. He kills Renfield very brutally as he makes off with Mina.
The Count tries to flee England with Mina, but the film bookends itself by beginning aboard ship, & ending on the ship aboard which Dracula is trying to return to his homeland. In a rather different version of the climactic 'death' scene, Van Helsing is killed, in an ironically stake like fashion, but not before he hooks Dracula who is hoisted up into the sunlight, where he begins to age & blister. Though we are never actually shown the final death, & there's the suggestion of an open ending, as we see Dracula's clock taken off by the wind, like a bat shaped kite.
To be honest, i don't think this is a particularly great this ending, & indeed there are a few other aforementioned elements that i'm not very keen on in this version. However; With all the other things i've outlined which i think work in the films favour, I would say that the good stuff outweighs that which i don't like so much, & on balance with that & the overall enjoyability factor, I'd award this one a score of 7/10.

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