The tale of the sinister Transylvanian nobleman who clambers from his coffin each night in search of fresh blood has enthralled film audiences for almost a hundred years. Often the stories told have born little resemblance to the original novel by Bram Stoker, but the central character almost always retains the same macabre fascination. Dracula films have been produced not just in the UK and Hollywood, but all across the globe: there are Hungarian, Turkish and South Korean versions of the tale. Arguably the first telling was the German film Nosferatu in 1922. The location and names of the characters were changed, but enough similarities remained for the Stoker estate to be able to successfully sue and force the film to be removed from circulation and destroyed, although some copies survived the cull. Nosferatu was re-made in 1979.
The Hammer Horror Versions of Dracula
Between 1958 and 1974 Dracula movies were made by the Hammer Film Productions company. Hammer was and is famous for a string of Gothic horror films made on low budgets but with high production values and often with impressive casts. Dracula was made in 1958 following two acclaimed adaptations of the Frankenstein legend, and the film was an immediate hit. Terence Fisher directed a cast which included two men who would go on to cement their places as giants of cinema, and the horror genre in particular, as Christopher Lee donned the cloak of Dracula, and Peter Cushing took up the stake to become Van Helsing. The film was largely based on the original novel, albeit with some changes to the plot: the death of Jonathan Harker, for example, might have surprised Stoker afficionados.
The film was widely acclaimed, and soon began to spawn spin-offs and sequels. The Brides of Dracula (1960) was followed by Dracula: Prince of Darkness in 1966, in which Lee reprised his role, and the menacing actor went on to make the part his own with appearances in Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968) Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969) Scars of Dracula (1970) which featured a young Dennis Waterman; Dracula AD 1972 (1972) in which the Count was reincarnated in Seventies London; and finally The Satanic Rites of Dracula in 1973. Another Hammer Dracula film, The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires was released in 1974 without Lee, before the studio finally ran out of ways of bringing back, cloning or otherwise re-animating the Count.
Classic Film Versions of Dracula
In fact, although Lee and Hammer became synonymous with Dracula during the late Sixties and early Seventies, their had already been a classic film version as early as 1931. Adapted from a stage play by Hamilton Deane the 1931 Dracula, like the first Hammer film, bore a reasonable resemblance to Stoker’s original, although with less locations and some plot alterations. The film co-starred Edward van Sloan and David Manners, and featured another horror icon as Dracula himself in the form of Bella Lugosi.
A more revisionist but still notable version appeared in 1979, with Frank Langella as the Count and Laurence Olivier as Van Helsing. The impressive cast also featured Donald Pleasence and Trevor Eve. However even that line-up was challenged by the next serious attempt to do justice to the tale. Richard E Grant, Anthony Hopkins and Winona Ryder supported Gary Oldman as Dracula in the Francis Ford Coppola movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1992. Despite the title the movie was by no means entirely faithful to the plot, although it certainly managed to capture the atmosphere and tension. The film, more a romance than a horror, garnered three Oscars, and provided a modern rival to the Lee and Lugosi tellings of the tale.
Weird and Wonderful Versions of Dracula
Like many successful movie characters, Dracula has been placed in some strange situations over the years in spoofs, re-makes and re-imaginings. The spin-offs began in 1936 when Edward van Sloan, Van Helsing to Lugosi’s Dracula, reprised his character for Dracula’s Daughter, and the Dracula genre has remained popular into the Twenty First Century, with films such as Van Helsing (2004) which starred Hugh Jackman, and Dracula’s Curse (2006). In between the Count has been the subject for some weird and wonderful new imaginings, from 1967's Batman Vs Dracula, to the 2002 ballet Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary.
Then of course, there have been the send-ups. The comedy Love at First Bite (1979) starred George Hamilton as Dracula, and more recently the kings of spoof Mel Brooks and Leslie Nielsen took on the legend in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) Unfortunately, despite the quality of the names involved, neither of these films can be said to have lived up to expectations. Perhaps the vampire, while a classic character for horror, and an interesting one for a romance, is not a great one for comedy.
Author Sunil S.
The Hammer Horror Versions of Dracula
Between 1958 and 1974 Dracula movies were made by the Hammer Film Productions company. Hammer was and is famous for a string of Gothic horror films made on low budgets but with high production values and often with impressive casts. Dracula was made in 1958 following two acclaimed adaptations of the Frankenstein legend, and the film was an immediate hit. Terence Fisher directed a cast which included two men who would go on to cement their places as giants of cinema, and the horror genre in particular, as Christopher Lee donned the cloak of Dracula, and Peter Cushing took up the stake to become Van Helsing. The film was largely based on the original novel, albeit with some changes to the plot: the death of Jonathan Harker, for example, might have surprised Stoker afficionados.
The film was widely acclaimed, and soon began to spawn spin-offs and sequels. The Brides of Dracula (1960) was followed by Dracula: Prince of Darkness in 1966, in which Lee reprised his role, and the menacing actor went on to make the part his own with appearances in Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968) Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969) Scars of Dracula (1970) which featured a young Dennis Waterman; Dracula AD 1972 (1972) in which the Count was reincarnated in Seventies London; and finally The Satanic Rites of Dracula in 1973. Another Hammer Dracula film, The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires was released in 1974 without Lee, before the studio finally ran out of ways of bringing back, cloning or otherwise re-animating the Count.
Classic Film Versions of Dracula
In fact, although Lee and Hammer became synonymous with Dracula during the late Sixties and early Seventies, their had already been a classic film version as early as 1931. Adapted from a stage play by Hamilton Deane the 1931 Dracula, like the first Hammer film, bore a reasonable resemblance to Stoker’s original, although with less locations and some plot alterations. The film co-starred Edward van Sloan and David Manners, and featured another horror icon as Dracula himself in the form of Bella Lugosi.
A more revisionist but still notable version appeared in 1979, with Frank Langella as the Count and Laurence Olivier as Van Helsing. The impressive cast also featured Donald Pleasence and Trevor Eve. However even that line-up was challenged by the next serious attempt to do justice to the tale. Richard E Grant, Anthony Hopkins and Winona Ryder supported Gary Oldman as Dracula in the Francis Ford Coppola movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1992. Despite the title the movie was by no means entirely faithful to the plot, although it certainly managed to capture the atmosphere and tension. The film, more a romance than a horror, garnered three Oscars, and provided a modern rival to the Lee and Lugosi tellings of the tale.
Movie Flashback: Dracula (1931)
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Weird and Wonderful Versions of Dracula
Like many successful movie characters, Dracula has been placed in some strange situations over the years in spoofs, re-makes and re-imaginings. The spin-offs began in 1936 when Edward van Sloan, Van Helsing to Lugosi’s Dracula, reprised his character for Dracula’s Daughter, and the Dracula genre has remained popular into the Twenty First Century, with films such as Van Helsing (2004) which starred Hugh Jackman, and Dracula’s Curse (2006). In between the Count has been the subject for some weird and wonderful new imaginings, from 1967's Batman Vs Dracula, to the 2002 ballet Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary.
Then of course, there have been the send-ups. The comedy Love at First Bite (1979) starred George Hamilton as Dracula, and more recently the kings of spoof Mel Brooks and Leslie Nielsen took on the legend in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) Unfortunately, despite the quality of the names involved, neither of these films can be said to have lived up to expectations. Perhaps the vampire, while a classic character for horror, and an interesting one for a romance, is not a great one for comedy.
Author Sunil S.
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