Dracula

Plot synopsis:
It is the year 1462. Constantinople has fallen to invading Turks. Prince Dracula [Gary Oldman] must leave his bride Elizabeta [Winona Ryder] to do battle against the Turks. A ferocious and pitched battle occurs and Dracula's counteroffensive is a success and he leaves many in the Turk army alive and impaled on long spears on the battlefield. The Turks, seeking vengeance, send a message to Dracula's castle falsely announcing that the warlord has been killed in battle. Elizabeta flings herself into the river below. Because she committed suicide, the Bishop [Anthony Hopkins] proclaims her soul damned. Furious that God let his wife die while Dracula was defending His church, Dracula renounces God and the Church. He draws his sword and stabs the large cross on the dais of his chapel and it begins to bleed. Dracula drinks the blood flowing from the cross, proclaiming he will be reborn after his death with all the powers of darkness at his command.March 1897, England. Law clerk Jonathan Harker [Keanu Reeves] must travel to Transylvania to close the sale of 10 London properties being purchased by Count Dracula. Upon his return, Jonathan and fiancee Mina Murray [Winona Ryder] intend to be married. In Jonathan's absence, Mina goes to stay with her rich friend Lucy Westenra [Sadie Frost], who has just recently received three marriage proposals -- from Texan Quincey Morris [Bill Campbell], Dr Jack Seward [Richard E Grant], and Lord Arthur Holmwood [Cary Elwes] -- and she has decided to marry Arthur.Meanwhile, Jonathan has arrived at Castle Dracula following a strange carriage ride past blue flames and wolves. Even stranger is the Count himself. He never eats, sleeps all day, lives alone in a large castle in which most of the doors are locked, and crawls down the castle walls like a reptile. Jonathan has begun to have strange dreams about three women who try to seduce him. To Jonathan's further unease, the Count seems to be fascinated with a picture of Mina, who upon seeing her picture believes she is a reincarnation of Elizabeta, has forced Jonathan to write letters saying that he will be staying with the Count for another month. Meanwhile, the Count is preparing for his trip to England by having his mindless servants fill large crates with dirt from the grounds around the castle.July, 1897. Jonathan has been missing for over three months, and Mina is sick with worry, while Lucy is involved with planning for her wedding. But Lucy is not without worries either. A particularly violent summer storm has recently washed a ship of dead sailors upon the beach, and shortly thereafter Lucy has begun her old habit of sleepwalking. Each time she sleepwalks, she returns bewildered and pale. Dr Seward, who has his hands full treating the fly-eating lunatic R M Renfield [Tom Waits] , has taken on Lucy as his patient. She shows all the signs of anemia, but Dr Seward can find no cause for it. Consequently, he has decided to send for a metaphysician, philosopher, and specialist in rare blood disorders, his old mentor Professor Abraham Van Helsing [Anthony Hopkins]. Upon his arrival, Van Helsing immediately begins a blood transfusion on Lucy and places garlic near her bed. When Lucy's suitors ask what could possibly have caused such extreme anemia, Van Helsing suggests that a supernatural force may have been stalking her. The others find it too fantastical to believe.Meanwhile, Mina has begun occupying herself with a dashingly dressed but mysterious man she met near the cinematograph. He introduced himself as Prince Vlad of Szekely, and Mina is strangely drawn to him, as though she knows him. He is easily able to seduce her in the theatre but she is snapped out of her hypnosis when a large wolf appears and terrorizes the theatre-goers. Mina is surprised moments later when she sees that Vlad is suddenly friendly with the wolf.Mina later receives news that Jonathan has been found and has suffered a violent brain fever and is being cared for by the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, who bid her to come to Romania and be married to Jonathan. She realizes that she can no longer see her prince again. Mina says goodbye to Lucy, writes a note to Dracula, and sets sail for Romania. Dracula, heartbroken at losing Mina to Jonathan, takes Lucy as his bride instead, attacking her in her bed as the wolf and causing a violent explosion of blood that kills her.Lucy is dead, although Van Helsing knows that the correct term is 'undead,' for he can see the fangs in her mouth and knows that she is 'nosferatu.' He explains to Arthur, Jack, and Quincey that, to give Lucy's soul peace, they must cut off her head and take out her heart. They are horrified and think that Van Helsing is just a sick old coot, until they
spend a night in Lucy's tomb and find her returning with a child in her arms. Van Helsing is able to force Lucy to release the child and forces her back into her coffin with a crucifix. Due to his engagement to and love of Lucy, Holmwood is selected to drive a large stake through Lucy's heart while Van Helsing beheads her with a single blow. When the deed is done, they band together to seek out the Count and destroy him.Mina and Jonathan have returned to London, only to hear that Lucy has died. One night, they have dinner with Van Helsing, and Jonathan realizes that he knows Count Dracula and that he sleeps in Carfax Abbey. After securing Mina at Dr Seward's sanitarium, the five of them -- Van Helsing, Jonathan, Quincey, Jack, and Arthur -- pay a visit to the abbey in order to sterilize Dracula's earth-filled crates. Meanwhile Dracula is paying a visit to Mina. When she learns that her prince is actually the vampyre who killed Lucy, she becomes extremely upset, but not enough to resist wanting to be with him, to live how he lives. Dracula drinks from Mina, then opens a vein in his chest and bids her drink. However, he stops short after she has taken but a bit. 'I love you too much to condemn you,' he explains. Suddenly, Van Helsing et al burst in the room. They attempt to destroy Dracula, but he changes into hundreds of rats and scurries away.Dracula knows that he cannot stay in England any longer and books passage back to Transylvania via Varna. Mina and the men follow close behind. As Dracula is in mind contact with Mina, Van Helsing knows Dracula's plans but Dracula also seems to know theirs. Instead of sailing into Varna, Dracula diverts the ship 200 miles north and lands at Galatz, causing a change in plans such that Van Helsing and Mina take a carriage directly from Varna to the Borgo Pass while Jonathan, Quincey, Arthur, and Jack continue by train to Galatz where they secure horses and ride for the Borgo Pass, hoping to intercept the Count. They are unsuccessful. Dracula's gypsies picked up his box at Galatz and are now speeding down the Borgo Pass road, making the race closer than ever.Mina and Van Helsing are almost to the castle but decide to stop for the night. Hearing spirits from the surrounding area, Van Helsing casts a circle around Mina and protects her by burning her forehead with a blessed communion wafer. They stay inside the circle through the night while Dracula's three brides tempt Mina to join them, killing the horses from their carriage. The next morning, as Mina sleeps in the circle, Van Helsing visits the castle and beheads the vampiresses, throwing their severed heads into the gorge.Near sundown, the gypsy wagon bearing Dracula in his crate approaches the castle. Jonathan, Arthur, Quincey, and Jack are riding hard to catch up. Mina and Van Helsing wait inside the castle courtyard. Mina calls up a blue flame to protect Dracula. As the gypsy wagon enters the courtyard, a gypsy stabs Quincey in the back. Jonathan attempts to open Dracula's box, but the sun has set and Dracula bursts forth, his strength revived. At that very moment, however, Jonathan slits Dracula's neck and Quincey stabs Dracula through the heart with a sword. Mina screams. As Arthur races forward to finish Dracula, Harker stops him. 'Let them go,' he says. 'Our work is finished here; hers has just begun.'As Quincey dies, Mina sits with Dracula on the chapel floor inside the castle. She kisses him, and he begs her to give him peace. Out of love, she pushes the sword the rest of the way through Dracula's heart. The burn on her forehead disappears, the wound in the altar cross repairs itself and Dracula dies, his face becoming youthful again. Mina gives him his final release by cutting off his head. [Original Synopsis by bj_kuehl]

Tags: avant garde, gothic, cult, violence, horror, good versus evil, insanity, romantic, revenge

Review:
Gary Oldman is absolutely fantastic, lavish, romantic,chilling, in particular as he plays an old Dracula in the beginning of the movie.
Coppola returned thirteen years later and created a similarly haunting and poetic so-called "masterpiece," a supposed truthful adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula tale - when, in fact, the truth is that this movie is no more faithful to Stoker than the (superior) Universal Pictures original.The hazy film-making is visually satisfying, and some of the special effects are - simply put - amazing.
It seems like Coppola loses a grip on his characters and plotting very early on.Oldman gives a chilling performance but isn't given very much to do, because he's set aside and the special effects take over.
The opening scenes of his battle and his motivation to become the King of the Undead is very enthralling - if Coppola had maintained this mixture of style and content the movie would have been far better.The casting of the weak Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder in leading roles harms the impact of the film as well.
Reeves sounds like a Californian pothead imitating a Brit; Ryder treats the material as if it is a dramatic, over-the-top theatre rendition; every line she speaks is sickeningly cheesy.Anthony Hopkins turns in a disappointing performance as the utterly forgettable Van Helsing, who is given very little to do in this particular film apart from show up when convenient and sprout fancy little one-liners, most of them dramatic closers to scenes (e.g.
Though I did not read the book and can't compare it to the movie, I found Bram Stoker's Dracula quiet excellent.
The most famous vampire in the history of literature and film is brought graphically to life in `Bram Stoker's Dracula,' directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and starring Gary Oldman as the Count from Transylvania.
Working from a screenplay (by James Victor Hart) that is a faithful adaptation of the novel, Coppola takes an artistic approach to the material and creates some startling and effective images-- some quite intense and erotic-- to tell the story of Count Dracula and his world of the undead.
"Bram Stoker's Dracula" is one of those films that reeled people in by making its audience believe that it would be an intense horror film on par with productions like "Rosemary's Baby" or "The Exorcist".
Instead, director Francis Ford Coppola stayed more true to Stoker's novel and put a focus on an intense love story that transcends time, the elements and even life and death.
By the late-19th Century, the titled character is trying to lure back a reincarnation of his one true love (Winona Ryder) and of course attempting to eliminate all those that might stand in his way (Ryder's fiance Keanu Reeves and professor Anthony Hopkins most notably).
Overall "Dracula" is an amazingly good looking film that benefits from high production values and guaranteed performances (mainly from Oldman and Hopkins).
Another thing that is real in this film are the pictures in the book Vampyr, which is read by van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins) in this movie.
There are some great (and famous) actors in this film: Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder, Gary Oldman, Cary Elwes and Keanu Reeves.
They all contribute greatly to this film, although I must say that the best acting comes from Gary Oldman (Dracula), Sadie Frost (Lucy), Sir Anthony Hopkins (van Helsing) and music legend Tom Waits (Renfield).
Now, what makes the movie a "tenner" is everything else, in particular Gary Oldmans interpretation of the count, and Anthony Hopkins as doctor van Helsing.The scene with Mina and Dracula in bed is one of the greatest romantic scenes ever, and sure to make any girl cry..
On top of its visual power is the treatment of the Dracula story, remaining very faithful to Stoker's vision.Gary Oldman turns in his best performance to date, both terrifying and compassionate, and is the most frightening Count since Max Schreck donned the Dracula gear back in the 1922 original.
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.
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 just a royal glut of crapness from start to finish.-Every cast member excerpt Gary Oldman turns in a career-worst performance par excellence.-Calling it 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' is an exercise bordering on the farcical.
This film should be called 'Francis Ford Coppola's unashamed molestation of Dracula, aided and abetted by the most staggeringly inept fake English accents ever committed to celluloid'.Keanu Reeves' English accent is (deep breath) worse, yes WORSE than Dick Van Dyke's horrific cockney aberration from Mary Poppins.
They are: Gary Oldman (as Dracula) and Anthony Hopkins (as Professor Abraham Van Helsing).Other than that the negatives regarding this movie are seemingly endless.
It is called "Bram Stoker's Dracula." The title is deceiving.This film is an incoherent mess, to put it rather bluntly.The effects, which look beautiful, only take away from the story-- you forget that this is a vampire movie and you are left with an impression that it is a special effects promo.
Poor Mr. Stoker....If he knew such trash like this would come out of his work, I'm sure he would have never written it.If you want to see a good Dracula film, watch the Klause Kinski version of Nosferatu.
It certainly isn't faithful to the novel, but at least it doesn't PRETEND to be,  like this sorry excuse for a Dracula epic does.I would give this film a negative two hundred on a scale of one to ten, if not for Anthony Hopkin's brilliant performance as Van Helsing.
This simply isn't "Dracula".By naming it "Bram Stoker's Dracula" Coppola holds himself to a higher standard of faithfulness to the original book than any other version of the story, past or future.
Some of the costumes aren't bad, others aren't good.After seeing an interview with Coppola, one really gets the sense that he believes this is the way the story "should have" or "would have" been told had Stoker been allowed to write openly about certain topics.
The visual style is stunning and I just love they way they handled the characters.Without a doubt the best thing about this movie is Gary Oldman in his role as the blood sucking count from Transylvannia.
It was kind of weird, in the beginning it only focused on Harker and Dracula, in the second halve mainly on Mina and the third halve mainly on Van Helsing, it was very inconsistent all.Not only the main cast but also the supporting cast consists out of big names like Cary Elwes, Bill Campbell and Monica Bellucci.The musical score by Wojciech Kilar is really on of the best and most fitting scores in movie history.
I tried to forget about it immediately, but twenty-two years later, I found a used DVD of it at a thrift store (cost: fifty cents) and attempted to try a second time to understand why so many people thought this was the "best Dracula ever!!!" (see dozens of rapturous ten star reviews here on IMDb) In truth, this movie is still atrocious.So. It has been thoroughly established that the title is erroneous.
Other things obviously not being in the book were also really bad: Reeves performance and terrible wannabe English accent, Watts looks (because he looked like himself, not like a mad servant of Dracula's), lots of inconsistent and pointless details in the rest of the movie.
And it's not as if I thought he was great in other films, but in this one it was absurd, and on the verge of parody; the way he looks when he enters Mina's room with his friends to meet the count- his scattered look, compulsive blinking, lack of any emotion what so ever- just gave me the general feeling that Keanu momentarily forgot in which movie he was playing and what was expected from him.
She made quite an impression on me because she played Lucy perfectly) makes this a wonderful movie experience.So are you in for a night of Horror, Erotica, Love, Action, great special effects and a lot of Vampire teeth?
I'm 15 years old, and my English class just watched this movie, and rather than joining my friends in bagging it out, i was memorized!This movie flowed with such grace and style, and the tender scenes between the Winona Ryder and Gary Oldman were amazing, i was truly touched.Congratulations to all who took part in this wonderful film, and for those who enjoyed it, I'm glad to find some people that recognize a good story.
This is the definitive film version of Bram Stoker's novel, and if anyone is not stunned by the magnificence of this film or the phenomenally good performance of Gary Oldman in the title role, then I think they should be checked for a pulse.
So all in all, this film is the one that any fan of the novel should see first, and I think once they have seen the Lee versions they will agree that this film is the very best and the most faithful to Stoker's novel.To start with, Gary Oldman is the personification of the Dracula portrayed in the novel.
Keanu Reeves is an excellent Johnathan Harker, sufficiently afraid while in Dracula's castle and determined enough to kill him back in England; Winona Ryder is a fantastic Mina/Elisabeth; Sadie Frost is a superb sweet, naive and flirtatious Lucy; Arthur, Seward and Quincey are portrayed well and make excellent vampire hunters; and Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing is ten times better than the Peter Cushing version and a million miles closer to the eccentric genius portrayed in the novel.
Hart's stunning script, which adheres quite closely to Stoker's novel, including extracts from the novel and sufficient explanations to allow those who have not read the novel to understand and follow the plot.The superb direction by Francis Ford Coppola is beyond any faults, and his handling of the bed scenes between Dracula and Mina is enough to bring out all the raw emotions and tears among the audience, let alone between the two characters themselves!
The script is pure excellence and the prologue about Vlad the Impaler losing his bride (Elisabeth) after a battle between his people (the Transylvanians) and the Turks, then in his grief denying God's existence and avenging her death by becoming a vampire (i.e. Dracula) is superb and brings all the beliefs that Dracula was partly inspired by the real Vlad the Impaler bursting into a new light, and makes Dracula a sympathetic and tragic character, instead of the charming but deadly ladies' man as portrayed by Lee. The use of Romanian language in the prologue and later in the film adds authenticity to a beautiful and tear-jerking adaptation of the novel.The music is one of the very best as heard in a film, and in places is so utterly fantastic it could almost be an undiscovered Beethoven's symphony.
The half-man, half-wolf and the half-man, half-bat versions of Dracula are wonderfully created with make-up and special effects (bearing in mind this film was made in 1992) and the death of Dracula at the end (his throat slashed by Johnathan Harker and his heart impaled by Quincey Morris) is beautifully written, acted and directed, and the scene where he reverts back to the young Vlad the Impaler and is finally allowed to die with Mina (the reincarnation of Elisabeth - hence his affections towards her) next to him is so tear-jerkingly wonderful it leaves a lasting impression on the viewer.Stunning.
Add (subtract?) the painful acting of Keanu Reaves and his british accent and you end up with an unbearable movie.I'm not even going to *mention* Winona Ryder as Mina Harker...the mind boggles.One final thing, though...what was with the shadows?
Actually if you ever read the first chapter of the original Bram Stoker´s Dracula, you will be amazed how in some few pages, the author teaches you a little bit of many things at the same time that he tells you the first part of the story.
No, I have not read the book therefore I have nothing to compare it to but unlike most Dracula films Bram Stoker makes you feel compassionate towards Drucula (who more often than not depicted as a villain)with his pursuit for love.
Anthony Hopkins was a fitting selection for the famous Van Helsing and of course Winona Rider playing Dracula's long lost love was just superb!The way it ended was just gruesomely romantic (which is where i I think true blood got its idea of the ending of Bill and Sookie from the final season, but that just my opinion..) I can watch this movie every time it comes on TV and I still watch it as if it was my first time.#TeamDracula.
And the cast was also fantastic with Gary Oldman doing a great job at the very complex and difficult role of Dracula and Anthony Hopkin's brilliant portrayal of his nemesis Professor Abraham Van Helsing.
Despite this little hitch, I felt that 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' was absolutely brilliant, with exceptional performances (minus Keanu), a great script and Coppola's usual genius as a director, this is one the best films of all time.
Dracula travels to London to seduce Harker's fiancée Mina Murray(also played by Winona Ryder).Gary Oldman is deliciously evil but Keanu Reeves is well overmatched by his acting counterpart.
If you're one of the viewers who left the theater grumbling that the 1979 version with Frank Langella was better, then you're probably not of the target generation for this film.This new take on the classic Dracula story by Bram Stoker is all MTV attitude where the '79 film was something your dad probably listened to back before they invented CDs. There is a wonderful sense of lushness and extravagance to the sets and the costumes.
A lot of trouble brews throughout England as people get hurt, Dracula gets a new look and a vampire killer/slayer named Van Helsing is on the catch to get him.The story is all round the same but there are two major differences that I found with this film: The overall atmosphere and feel of this film was really different.
They took it to a whole new level as they got well known actors (being Gary Oldman playing Dracula and Anythony Hopkins as the Vampire Slayer), the music was full of dread, costumes and make up was also quite up to date style and the film followed the lines of Gothic and old times (obviously as this film is set in the 18th century).
The remake (like the Halloween Remake) was much more longer than the original film itself giving us more detail, back story, and a lot of story.Gary Oldman was an excellent choice as Dracula.
Skip this movie and watch NOSFERATU (the best film adaptation of Dracula out there, and a masterpiece all in it's own right too.).
A classic vampire novel, a good story (though in my opinion, could have been better told).Dracula - the 1992 movie?
Coppola sucks you into an entirely convincing, dark world with his feverish editing, impressive sets, outstanding costumes, brilliant special effects and the greatest Dracula put on film: Gary Oldman.
Oldman's and the other actor's Romanian(except for the vampire women whom are Romanian for sure) sucks big time(I admit I ask too much here as I'm a native and it isn't an easy language) There are hungreds of small things that further accentuate the alienations with the novel:1.Most of the initial Transylvanian story line was shrunken down to a lame carriage scene and replaced with that "story" in the 1400s that had NOTHING to do with the book and its only purpose was to induce further false plots further into the movie.2.Dracula's shadow and hair, OMG what the hell?
That wasn't a porn scene in the book.4.Dracula didn't break Harker's mirror just by thinking it, he just threw it away.5.Lucy wasn't raped by a big(poorly looking) Dracula wolf.I could go on and on in how this movie sucked in terms of plot, landscapes, acting etc etc etc but it wouldn't make it better.
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)** (out of 4)Coppola's big-budget version of the classic story features Gary Oldman as Dracula, Winona Ryder as Mina, Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing, Keanu Reeves as Harker and Sadie Frost as Lucy.
The title indicates that it's the movie adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula but, with the exception of the character names, it has nothing to do with the book itself.
Century's later he is back to keep his word but becomes infatuated with Mina (Winona Ryder) who bears a resemblance to his long dead true love.Forget the Bram Stoker bit, this is liberty taken wholesale, and forget any notion of this being a scary Dracula movie, for this is Gothic romance opulence.
How dare Francis Ford Coppola title this movie "Bram Stoker's Dracula." The movie does not begin as the book does nor does it end like it.
If I were to rate Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula based on style alone, it would get a pretty decent score, the film boasting some truly striking visuals achieved through a wide range of classic pre-CGI movie-making techniques.
They certainly shouldn't fall in love.And yet this film sees Dracula (Gary Oldman hamming it up for all he is worth), supposedly the most evil vampire of them all, sporting a really stupid get-up that makes him look like an old queen, and has him pining for a woman.
Also, he is given more of an origin.What they could have done was to admit that the film is about Mina and Dracula's love and therefore not faithful to the book at all.