Dracula (1992)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers (WGA):

Bram Stoker (novel)
James V. Hart (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 November 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance

Tagline:

Beware

Plot:

The vampire comes to England to seduce a visitor's fiancée and inflict havoc in the foreign land.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Mist | Seduction | Party | Reincarnation

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Gary Oldman	...	Dracula
Winona Ryder	...	Mina Murray / Elisabeta
Anthony Hopkins	...	Professor Abraham Van Helsing
Keanu Reeves	...	Jonathan Harker
Richard E. Grant	...	Dr. Jack Seward
Cary Elwes	...	Lord Arthur Holmwood
Bill Campbell	...	Quincey P. Morris
Sadie Frost	...	Lucy Westenra
Tom Waits	...	R.M. Renfield
Monica Bellucci	...	Dracula's Bride
Michaela Bercu	...	Dracula's Bride
Florina Kendrick	...	Dracula's Bride
Jay Robinson	...	Mr. Hawkins
I.M. Hobson	...	Hobbs
Laurie Franks	...	Lucy's Maid

Also Known As:

Bram Stoker's Dracula (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and horror violence.

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Romanian | Greek | Bulgarian

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:14 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | Denmark:15 | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Ireland:18 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:16+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

Liam Neeson was considered for, and very much wanted, the role of Van Helsing, but after Anthony Hopkins, still riding the success of The Silence of the Lambs (1991), showed interest in the role, Neeson was ultimately turned down.

Goofs:

Continuity: The position of the Arabian Nights book in the scene with Lucy and Mina.

Quotes:

Dracula: I am the monster that breathing men would kill. I am Dracula.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Monstrous Desires: Sexuality and Horror/A Moment with... David Cronenberg (#8.2)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

EXELOUME

A rich telling near the source material

Opening with his vow to rise from his grave and take revenge on a God who allowed his beloved to die while he defended Him on the battlefield, we see Count Dracula in the 1890's, conducting business with a London firm. When his first consultant goes mad, Jonathon Harker is sent to Dracula in his place, only to find himself trapped in the castle. Meanwhile, Dracula travels to London where he feeds on the lovely Lucy Westenra. Her various suitors try to help her and call for Professor Van Helsing to come and help – they realise that this is not a simple battle against a disease of the blood.

Although a little too long for my liking, this film is a very rich gothic telling of a story that has become watered down slightly with the many different versions of stories with the characters. Here the basic plot follows the tale from the creation of Dracula, his love and his confrontation with Van Helsing and the various suitors of the lovely Lucy. The story is told with a real respect for the source, perhaps a little too much as it can be a little to heavy and lacking in spark at times. However, for the most part the gothic telling works very well and feels very lavish and rich.

Visually the film is great – rich colours in the scenery and costumes really bring the goth out of the film. Meanwhile Coppola works well with shadows and images in the backgrounds to make the film have the feel of an old silent movie version (eyes in the storm) but with modern standards. It's not really scary, but I didn't need it to be, I was more interested in the overall story, and that worked well.

The cast suffer from a bit too much respect for the material, some of their performances are a little too hammy and heavy. Oldman is good when compared to the better known image of the `Bela Lagosi' Dracula, but I did still find him a little too hammy at times. Likewise Rider is not totally convincing. Hopkins is quite fun to watch and the three suitors (including Ewles and Grant) very much play stiff upper lipped straight men! Of course of their performances tower with majesty above the sheer miscast ineptitude of Reeves. From the start his accent is horrid, but his inability to bring out emotions and character basically kills his character off before the film has even got going.

Despite this the film is actually very enjoyable even if it is a bit too respectful and long – occasionally making it feel a little heavy going. The rich presentation and loyalty to the source material makes for a very enjoyable story even if it isn't really what we'd see now as a horror.