Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht
Tags: gothic

Plot synopsis:
The story starts with a shot of Count Dracula's castle and the following text:
Over fifty years ago, Bram Stoker wrote the greatest of all horror stories. Now, for the first time, we retell exactly as he wrote, one of the first — and still the best — tales of the macabre.
Jonathan Harker, a lawyer traveling from London to Transylvania to secure property for Count Dracula, arrives at Bistritz to stay for the night. There, he is warned by a concerned lady against continuing his journey the following day. Harker believes that her concerns are rooted in peasant superstition. He ignores her, but starts to feel increasingly unnerved by the way everyone looks at him. Harker sets off for the rest of his journey and arrives at the Borgo Pass where he's picked up by the Count's mysterious coachman.
Harker debarks at Castle Dracula, and the coach immediately rushes off. Somewhat hesitantly, Harker approaches the main door, whereupon a thin, tall, gaunt old man opens it. Harker asks, "Count Dracula?" "I am Dracula, enter freely and of your own will," says the man at the door. Dracula takes Harker to his bedchamber where Harker notices that Dracula casts no reflection.
Later, Harker goes to sleep. He wakes in an ancient crypt where he is seduced by three beautiful vampiresses. Dracula rushes into the room in a rage and orders them to leave Harker alone. Dracula explains, "This man belongs to me," then gives the vampiresses a baby to feed on. Harker wakes up screaming in his room and assumes it was a nightmare, but two small wounds on his neck indicate otherwise.
Harker soon realises he is a prisoner, and tries to escape by climbing out of his bedroom window. He finds his way back to the crypt where Count Dracula and his three brides rest in coffins. Harker runs out of the crypt screaming, and jumps out of the castle's tower into the river below.
Harker wakes up in a private psychiatric clinic outside London, owned by Dr. Van Helsing, in the care of Dr. Seward. He is told he was found delirious in a river near Budapest. Naturally, no one believes his story about Castle Dracula until Van Helsing finds the two punctures on Harker's neck. Harker's fiancée Mina and her close friend Lucy also arrive at the hospital to help take care of him. Unbeknownst to them, Count Dracula has followed Harker back to England and now resides in an abandoned abbey close to the hospital.
As Mina nurses Harker back to health, her friend Lucy's health strangely declines. Dracula has been secretly appearing to her by night and drinking her blood, growing younger as he feeds off his victim. Quincey Morris, Lucy's fiancé, joins Drs. Seward and Van Helsing in an attempt to save Lucy by giving her a blood transfusion from Quincey.
One of the patients at the clinic, R. M. Renfield, becomes of considerable interest to the men. Renfield is classed as a zoophagus: he eats flies and insects in order to consume their life, believing that each life he consumes increases his own. He reacts violently whenever Dracula is nearby.
Lucy eventually dies while her men helplessly look on. As Van Helsing suspected, Lucy has become one of the undead and murders a young child, but the ordeal is put to an end when Quincey, Seward and Van Helsing ambush Lucy in her tomb, stake her through the heart and decapitate her. Harker, restored to health, joins the group who now are sure that Count Dracula is a vampire.
Dracula turns his attention to Mina and begins corrupting her as well. Van Helsing suddenly has a stroke and remains in a wheelchair. Dracula visits the weakened man, mocking his attempts to destroy him. Quincey, Harker and Seward track Dracula to the abandoned abbey, but he has fled to Transylvania with the aid of a traveling Gypsy band.
As Count Dracula's Gypsy servants take him back to his castle, he is trailed by Harker and Quincey. After battling the Gypsies, the two heroes find Dracula's coffin and set it on fire. Dracula, unable to escape in full daylight, is consumed by flames.

Review: Once more horror legend Christoper Lee is giving the demonic vampire lord and he´s as perfect as usual in the role, but the most impressive part has Herbert Lom as Dr. Van Helsing, what even makes Hollywood superstar Sir Anthony Hopkins looking like an old fogey!
christopher lee looks just like the description of the Count in stoker's novel, and far from being 'funny' or 'cheap' as some of the other reviewers here have called it (did they watch the same movie, or what?), you don't doubt it's reality for a moment.
"El Conde Dracula" is Spanish director Jess Franco's faithful yet flawed take on the Bram Stoker novel, with Christopher Lee taking a break from his British Hammer series to play the infamous vampire.
Some of the best things about this version: Basically all the actors, Bruno Nicolai's score, and the fact that this Dracula appeared as Stoker describes him, which is a first.Unfortunately, what I've heard about the production is that they changed producers in mid-shooting and he cut the budget back, so what could've been a fairly faithful rendition of the book now looks cheap and like the low-budget film it eventually became.
Filmed in Spain and Germany, Jess Franco's version of the Bram Stoker classic has Count Dracula as an old man who grows younger whenever he dines on the blood of young maidens.
Starring screen legend Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, it also features Franco regulars Soledad Miranda, Fred Williams, Maria Rohm, Jack Taylor, Klaus Kinski, and Paul Müller.
The talented cast and direction, as well as a fantastic score by Bruno Nicolai, make this one of the best filmed versions of the Dracula story and a great companion to Francis Ford Coppola's version made decades later..
While not with out it's faults, the mangling of the plot and the compressing of some characters into each other, the film is saved by wonderful atmosphere and top notch acting- most notably from Christopher Lee as the titular Count, Klaus Kinski as the Mad Renfeild and Herbert Lom as Van Helsing.
Christopher Lee's portrayal of Dracula here is probably his best ever (at least in terms of following Stoker's book) as an aging vampire who progressively gets younger (20 years before Coppola's version).
It would take 22 years before Coppola made another version of the story, which is as fantastic as Franco's film.Christopher Lee is astonishing as Dracula (as usual), while Herbert Lom excels as Van Helsing.
That's what you rarely see in a horror film these days, which is a shame, as films that use these techniques frighten more.Christopher Lee is the greatest Count Dracula of all time, probably more famous than Bela Lugosi or Max Schreck, the bald-headed creature of the night in the silent movie Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens, also known as Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.A marvellous vampire film!.
Anyway, having watched the film now  via the Spanish DVD  I don't think the additional footage was fair trade for the lack of an option to include the English-language track (or, at least, English subtitles); while I'm obviously familiar with the storyline, so that I had no difficulty following the proceedings, I missed hearing the Stoker dialogue  not to mention Lee and Herbert Lom's distinctive voices!Its overall effect is worlds removed from the Hammer outings which starred Lee: these were actually still going on when COUNT Dracula was made, but he had become increasingly disenchanted with their approach.
Low-key, deliberately-paced and hampered by severe budgetary constraints (resulting in shoddy effects and a distinct lack of props), the film nevertheless makes the most of its Spanish locations  even if Manuel Merino's shaky camera-work displays an unwarranted propensity for zoom shots (while an attack, ostensibly taking the vampire's POV, then bafflingly reveals Dracula to be coming from a totally different direction!).
The Spanish DVD presents the film in its correct full-frame aspect ratio, though the transfer itself lends the whole an unrealistic orange hue (as opposed to the bluish tones, for night-time sequences, which have been mentioned online with respect to the Dark Sky edition).It has been said that Lee's performance in COUNT Dracula is superior to his various interpretations in the Hammer films: while I certainly appreciated his different approach to the role, he is still given relatively little time in which to work his magic (no pun intended); interestingly, the vampire starts off as an old man here but is gradually rejuvenated through his bloodsucking habits (a concept originating in Stoker and picked up again by Francis Ford Coppola for his BRAM STOKER'S Dracula [1992], another would-be rigorous adaptation).
The rest of the main cast is virtually a "Who's Who" of Franco's filmography during this time: Herbert Lom makes for an imposing Van Helsing (due to the language barrier, I didn't understand why he was suddenly wheelchair-bound  but, from the "Eccentric Cinema" review, I gathered that the character had suffered a stroke); Klaus Kinski is a creepy Renfield (able to create a character by saying almost nothing at all  he had already done similar duties for Franco as the Marquis De Sade in the 1968 version of "Justine" and, by the way, it's interesting that the actor would himself eventually play Dracula twice, in NOSFERATU, THE VAMPYRE [1979] and the Italian-made NOSFERATU A VENEZIA [1988]); Maria Rohm as Mina (looking ravishing but who's rather underused throughout); Soledad Miranda as Lucy (she only really comes into her own when turned into a vampire, which actually precedes her iconic turn in Franco's VAMPYROS LESBOS (1970)  itself a very loose adaptation of "Dracula"!); Fred Williams as Harker; Jack Taylor as Quincey; Paul Muller as Dr. Seward; and even Franco himself as Van Helsing's dopey-looking yet vaguely sinister manservant.For all its shortcomings (it wouldn't be a Franco film if it weren't flawed), COUNT Dracula still provides a fair quota of memorable moments: Dracula silencing the wolves outside his castle; Dracula feeding a baby to his 'brides'; Dracula's attacks on Miranda, twice interrupted by Rohm (whom he eventually gets to, of all places, at an opera house!); Miranda's bloody demise in her coffin; the stuffed animals in Dracula's London home coming to life to scare the vampire hunters; Lom burning a cross-shape on the floor in his clinic to ward off the approaching vampire; blood spurting in Taylor's face from his staking of a vampire woman in Dracula's castle; Dracula's fiery come-uppance (actually similar to Miranda's  not to mention Bela Lugosi in the 1931 Universal classic  in that he's dispatched while at his most vulnerable, i.e. asleep in his coffin).It's unfortunate that none of the companies who released  or are set to release  the film on DVD seem to hold the rights to CUADECUC, VAMPIR (1970), a documentary shot at the time of COUNT Dracula's production.
Bram Stoker's Count Dracula" (1970) turns out to be an acceptable picture directed by Jesus Franco with a good cast as Christopher Lee , Hebert Lom , Maria Rohm and Klaus Kinski .
Christopher Lee was reportedly tired of playing Dracula and was convinced to join the cast only after being promised that the film would be a faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula novel , the film, however, ultimately made numerous significant changes to the story .
One of his great films, "Count Dracula" is a movie with a very creepy atmosphere, a great, eerie score and an excellent cast, starring Christopher Lee as Dracula, Herbert Lom as Van Helsing and Klaus Kinski as Renfield.As mentioned above, this movie is probably the most loyal adaption of Bram Stoker's novel, so I don't suppose a further plot description is necessary.
Although this Jess Franco version of the story differs entirely from these great classics of British Horror, this is a highly atmospheric, creepy and original flick that must not be missed by a Horror fan.Christopher Lee is, as always, brilliant in the role of Dracula.
"Count Dracula" has a few cheesy moments too, but all things considered this is another great Dracula flick starring Lee, and definitely one of the best films directed by Jess Franco.
While I believe Bela will always be the actor most commonly associated with the role, I also believe that Lee was the BEST Dracula.Unfortunately, this director considers himself to be an "arthouse" worthy stylist, when in actuality, he ends up wasting at least 15 minutes of every film with his "arthouse" shots, which are usually superfluous and lend nothing whatsoever to the plot he is supposed to be shooting.Fortunately, this time, he didn't bother with that mindless activity, and delivers an awesome bit of horror.
Film has a few problems, but Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski (basically in an extended cameo, he doesn't appear on-screen until a half an hour in, and he has no lines of dialogue) are both fun to watch, the set designs and décor are mostly well done; good rainy/foggy, blueish tinged scenes of the castle.
In addition, Herbert Lom does well as Dracula's foe Van Helsing, especially given later events in the narrative, and Lee's statement that they were never actually filmed together, on the same set.Some other bad parts of the film include the aforementioned "wall-banger" scenes, Franco's obsession with shaky camera zooming, and some cheaply done special effects and sets.These don't necessarily detract from the film, however, and it remains an enjoyable, if definitely flawed, film.
"Count Dracula" is the legendary Jess Franco's stylish and opulent looking adaptation of the enduring Bram Stoker tale, done in such a way as to create a true sense of foreboding right from the outset.
Plus, it's hard to go wrong with any film that casts Sir Christopher Lee in the role of the nefarious Count (a dozen years after he'd began essaying the role in Hammer's Dracula series), Herbert Lom as the intrepid Van Helsing, who doesn't let a stroke deter him from doing what needs to be done, and the one-of-a-kind Klaus Kinski, perfectly suited to the role of the disturbed Renfield (but actually playing the role with a little more restraint than one might expect).
Although not one of the hammer films that Christopher Lee starred in numerous times,this one was directed by Spanish director jess Franco who did many of the Christopher Lee fur Manchu films.this one is more like the original story by Bram Stoker with a few twists.very bloody and graphic.i have to say Christopher Lee played the best Dracula ever.even though i did'nt care for the last hammer outing;the satanic rites of Dracula(aka;count Dracula and his vampire bride)which is in public domain,i did get to see this one on google video in all its glory.this time the count sports a mustache,and there is a great cast,Herbert Lom as van helsing,Klaus Kinski as renfield,and Jack Taylor who played in many euro horror flicks.the ending is very different from the other Dracula movies,my only complaint is the soundtrack.i think they could've used a better score.i really don't like what they did to the vampire movies today like twilight and the more modern ones.after the blade movies they really buried the vampire movies,no pun intended.but i am a baby boomer who watched creature features and read the great magazine famous monsters of film-land.so i really appreciated all the older horror films,especially from universal and hammer.i give jess Franco's count Dracula 8 out of 10.props to Mr Lee for all his great movie roles..
Despite being pitched as a faithful version of Bram Stoker's "Dracula", the film makers took a lot of liberties with the story, such as Jonathan Harker being put into a mental institution under the care of Van Helsing and then having Mina and Lucy live in the spare rooms of the institution which, it just so happens, is located across from Carfax Abbey.
Other positive aspects include some great set designs, such as Dracula's castle, a decently creepy music score, Klaus Kinski's great performance as a completely insane Renfield, some beautiful eye candy in the form of Soledad Miranda as Lucy (such a shame she died so young) and some bits of good dialog from Christopher Lee as Dracula.
The rest of the cast is impressive as well with Herbert Lom to play Van Helsing, Klaus Kinski as Renfield and (the lovely and tragically departed the same year as this production) Soledad Miranda as Lucy.
Jess Franco's version of the Bram Stoker classic has Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) as an old man who grows younger whenever he dines on the blood of young maidens.I recently watched the Dan Curtis version of Dracula and found that to be a very faithful adaptation, possibly the best up to that point (being later eclipsed by Francis Ford Coppola).
Shot with the cinematographic style of a Lifetime movie-- where everything is perfectly lit with no regard to atmosphere of mood-- the movie is more faithful than any other adaption of Dracula I've seen on film but that's not saying much.Francis Ford Coppolla's take had more style, but his idea to change Dracula from a villain to a love starved John Lennon never sat right with me.This version features Christopher Lee-- who has taken many turns up at Bat as the vampire count and this one ranks among his strongest performances.BUT-- and this is a big but-- that doesn't save this from being a very boring and not the least bit scary take on Bram Stoker's classic vampire film.
Someday maybe someone will combine the best elements of all of the previous films and follow the novel's storyline-- but this ain't it.Interesting that Klaus Kinski is cast as Renfield since he himself would later go on to play Dracula in 1979..
Within this exercise in padding, we do get good performances from Christopher Lee as the Count, Herbert Lom as Van Helsing, and a mute Klaus Kinski as the deranged Renfield (watch him play with his food!).
Jess Franco, Christopher Lee, Herbert Lom, Klaus Kinski, Soledad Miranda, and Jack Taylor - all doing a movie based on Bram Stoker's Dracula?!
But first and foremost, Franco's "Count Dracula" is a wonderfully ominous and atmospheric Gothic horror highlight, with amazing performances from an entirely fabulous cast and numerous of intensely frightening sequences.The screenplay must have had something unique and irresistible; otherwise Christopher Lee surely wouldn't have accepted to play the role for the umpteenth time (and the third time already in the same year) next to all the entries in the Hammer franchise.
This version of Dracula gave Christopher Lee an opportunity to play the role he had already played several times, but this time with the intent of following Bram Stoker's original story as closely as possible.
Lee gets more screen time and more lines than he usually got in this part, and there are some good supporting actors with Herbert Lom as Dr. Van Helsing and Klaus Kinski doing his usual kooky thing as Renfield.Unfortunately, if you watch it from beginning to end, you'll find that the whole thing is pretty dull.
At the time of its release, this Jess Franco film was promoted as being the most faithful adaption of Bram Stoker's 19th century Gothic horror novel Dracula there had hitherto been.
For my money Franco had better-suited actors in virtually every role in his film, in particular with Christopher Lee in the title role, Klaus Kinski perfect as the insane Renfield, Herbert Lom provided nice gravitas as Van Helsing, the enigmatic beauty Soledad Miranda is wonderful as Lucy and Maria Rohm also very alluring in the role of Mina.
Count Dracula (1970) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Christopher Lee (Dracula), Herbert Lom (Van Helsing), Klaus Kinski (Renfield), Soledad Miranda (Lucy), Maria Rohm (Mina) and Fred Williams (Harker) lead the way in this all star cast, which has Spanish director Jess Franco taking a stab at the famous story.
I have the DVD of this Spanish film production from circa '70 with the great Chris Lee and Herbert Lom. Yes, it is online with what Bram Stoker wrote back in the 19th century, yet I have never been overly impressed with Jess Franco's slow and ponderous style of film-making.
Christopher Lee, who continued to play the part of Count Dracula in many of Hammer's sequels, often complained that writers didn't use any of the great scenes and/or dialog from Stoker's novel.
Count Dracula has moved to an old abbey very close to a hospital and his presence has an odd effect on Van Helsing's patient Renfield (Klaus Kinski, who actually played Dracula later in 1979).As said, Franco tries to keep the film as faithful to Stoker as he can.
Franco's take on the Bram Stoker novel with Christopher Lee again portraying Count Dracula, except this production(..a meager one at best with Franco admitting in a recent interview that he had to front his own financing to finish the film!)is completely sub-dued from the acting to the presentation.
Franco was attempting to film a fairly faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel (it was the only way he could get Lee to agree to play Dracula).
Spoilers included, none too major.This is a pretty "craptacular" version of Bram Stoker's famous work.Christopher Lee plays Dracula the way he should be played, as a blood-sucking dirty old man, not a poor romantic figure.(Oldman) And he does what he can with his limited screen time, but of course, his screen time is always limited in this role.Herbert Lom offers one of the best portrayals of Abraham Van Helsing coldly scientific at the beginning, and a bad *ss when he needs to be.
I also wondered if the budget had something to do with us winding up with too much of Renfield (Klaus Kinski) in his padded cell; the part of the story where Dracula comes via ship is totally eliminated, also not to the good of this.The music is good, Herbert Lom is believable as Van Helsing, Soledad Miranda is pretty mesmerizing as Lucy.Just wish it would have been better.