Dracula
"You fools! Do you think with your crosses and your wafers you can destroy me? Me! You do not know how many men have come against me. I am the KING of my kind! You have accomplished nothing, Van Helsing. Time is on my side. In a century, when you are dust, I shall wake and call Lucy, my queen, from her grave." - Count Dracula
release year: 1979
genre: horror
viewing setting: home Bluray 6/4/15 and home DVD 11/16/99
synopsis: A vampire moves in next door and bad things ensue.
impressions: Although it took certain liberties (condensings would be a better term, e.g. Harker never traveled to Transylvania and Dracula's castle) with the basic Dracula story, I liked it. It had good music, good dark scenes, and generated some genuine creepiness. This movie, moreso than many before and after it, was able to set up a mood. Also, this Dracula wasn't as pained by the sunlight as the common story would have it, and at times (e.g. his little speech to Van Helsing and Seward) you really got a sense of how old and powerful he was...just from his talking. Needless to say, Frank Langella did an outstanding job as Dracula.
acting: Aside from Langella, who I just praised, the film featured Sir Laurence Olivier as Van Helsing and Donald Pleasance as Seward. Another notable role was Lucy - that woman looked creepy when she shifted back and forth from old-Lucy to Dracula's-Lucy.
final word: Worth seeing, despite minor liberties taken with the tried and true plot.
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