From: Terri Buchman <buchman@osf.org>
Subject: BSD:  As the Coffin Turns
X-Xxmessage-Id: <A72D6655CB02080F@alimac5.osf.org>
X-Xxdate: Mon, 16 Nov 92 14:53:09 GMT
Organization: Open Software Foundation
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d12
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 19:52:44 GMT

I couldn't decide whether Francis Ford Coppola's DRACULA was a
poorly done love story or an inept horror film.  I finally found it
to be neither, but rather a dull mismash of unconnected visual
'moments' that lacked both convincing acting and involving
storylines.  My overall score was a D+.

I think the thing that really threw me out of this movie was the
excessive romanticism imposed on it.  I never felt that Gary Oldman
and Winona Ryder connected.  Coppola needed to have real sparks
flying between these characters for his romantic conceit to work and
I found their alleged passion dull and unfocused.  Mina Harker is
supposed to be the Drac's reincarnated love, a love so strongly felt
that he would endure centuries of living death rather than except
god's judgement that parted him from his love.  Yet Ryder's Mina is
hardly a woman that is to die for.  She is dull and self involved
and the character never changes from this sort of "lifeless" state. 
The movie would have us believe that something in her soul
recognizes Drac as her ancient love, yet no tone of voice, look of
the eyes or impression of body language conveys this critical
recognition.  We are told to believe that meeting Drac transforms
this woman, freeing her repressed sexual desires.  Unfortunately
none of this passion shows up on the screen.

I also disliked the character of Dracula.  As written, it is a
confusing portrayal that never quite jells for me.  I believe that
Coppola's aim was to have the audience identify with the
circumstances that had made the man into the monster. 
Unfortunately, it didn't work for me.  I found Dracula silly and
melodramatic, much more bathos than pathos.  Oldman never convinced
me that his character was a lover jilted by god.  The only emotion
that seemed to come across was a sort of bored wistfulness.  The
strong performance that the title character needed was missing.   

I found most of rest of the cast extremely forgettable.  Keanu
Reeves sleepwalks through his part.  He is especially bad in the
scenes set in Castle Dracula with the three weird sisters.   Reeves
seems to be nearly comatose with excitement at the prospect of
forbidden sexual pleasures.   Anthony Hopkins' Van Helsing seems
like he wandered in from another movie, possibly a comedy.  The
woman playing Lucy (Name escapes me) is put in the odd position of
portraying a vampire that was more sexually alluring in life than in
undeath (possibly a first in vampire film history!).

Many reviews have marvelled over the effects in this movie.  I found
most of the effects pointless and unnecessary.  They distracted me
from the story and destroyed what little chance there was of
connecting with the characters.  This movie contains endless
tracking shots that go nowhere and special effects that are hardly
even memorable, let alone special.  I found Coppola's shadowplay
mundane instead of menacing.    There is almost nothing frightening
in this film.  

In short I found this film dull and uninvolving.  It was poorly
written, acted and directed.  I'm afraid that I wouldn't even
recommend renting the video.  

TerriB.