Bram Stoker's Dracula: Collector's Edition – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

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Columbia Pictures presents Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Collector’s Edition. Written by James V. Hart. Based on the book by Bram Stoker. 127 minutes. Rated R for sexuality and horror violence. Originally released in 1992.

Directed By:

Francis Ford Coppola

Cast:

Gary Oldman. Dracula
Winona Ryder. Mina Murray / Elisabeta
Anthony Hopkins. Professor Abraham Van Helsing
Keanu Reeves. Jonathan Harker
Richard E. Grant. Dr. Jack Seward
Cary Elwes. Lord Arthur Holmwood
Bill Campbell. Quincey P. Morris
Sadie Frost. Lucy Westenra
Tom Waits. R.M. Renfield
Monica Bellucci. Dracula’s Bride

The Film:

The story of Dracula has been around over a hundred years and he has appeared in innumerable films played by everyone from Bela Lugosi to Leslie Nielson. He’s fought against countless vampire hunters, countless Van Helsings and even Billy the Kid. So what could the great Francis Ford Coppola bring to the story and others haven’t? Answer: A lot.

From the title alone, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it’s easy to see that Coppola was going back to the author’s original story. He also brings a certain sympathetic quality to the iconic villain by explaining how and why he became a vampire. He expands on the character in ways previously unseen shedding new light on him. The film also introduces the love story between Dracula (Oldman) and Lucy (Ryder) that adds a whole other level to this gothic tale. A horror film becomes a love story and manages to remain a horror film. It combines the scary and the erotic several years before Anne Rice’s take on blood suckers could find its way to the silver screen.

In an attempt to give the film it’s early 1800’s feel, Coppola shied away from modern digital effects and used all of the old school in-camera tricks of the days of old. The film was also shot exclusively on sound stages. It is these devices as well as the script and near perfect casting choices that give the film its theatrical melodramatic mythical qualities and make it a unique film not only among Dracula films but among Coppola films as well.

This is not to say this film is with out its flaws. The casting was near perfect, but putting a young Keanu Reeves as the hero Jonathan Harker severally lowered the overall quality of the film. One must give Keanu props for stepping outside his box to try something new and kudos to Coppola for giving him the opportunity, but even today it’s hard to watch the film without thing of Ted Logan. Any moment you expect him to blurt out “Bogus!”

Where Keanu lacks in talent Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins more than make up for it. These two masters of their craft bring a whole new level to their characters and are a sheer joy to watch from beginning to end. Then throw in Tom Waits as the memorably Renfield and you’ve got a plethora of memorable characters and lines to carry with you all through your days. “Yeah, she was in great pain! Then we cut off her head, and drove a stake through her heart, and burned it, and then she found peace”

And I suppose the acting can’t be commented on without discussing our heroine, Wynona Ryder. It is interesting to note that it was Ryder whom brought the film to Coppola. Ryder is, for the most part, good in this film. She handles most of her scenes well and holds her own admirably when pitted against Oldman or Hopkins. However, her entire performance falls apart based on one line. Eight little words that are delivered so over the top that they don’t even fit in this film. “Take me away from all this death,” makes me crack up with laughter every single time I hear it.

Not all will like this take on Dracula. The dialog and performances are a bit over the top and while Coppola does take some daring choices along the way not all of them quite work. Yet one cannot deny the parts that do work and if you don’t mind a little scene chewing then this is a fantastic film and worthy of your time.


Enter Gary Oldman: the perfect Dracula.

The DVD:

This film is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen. Sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Also has French 5.1, and Spanish Dolby Surround and Portuguese. English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Korean Subtitles.

Extras:

Disc 1:

Intro: Coppola does a short video introduction to the film before beginning the commentary.

Audio Commentary with Francis Ford Coppola: Coppola is wonderful to listen to, he has many insightful thoughts on the film and the filmmaking process. He repeats himself a few times on certain themes, but he keeps the commentary moving and rarely lets it get boring.

Disc 2:

The Blood Is Life — The Making of Dracula: (28 min.) This fantastic new documentary talks about the whole filmmaking process with new and vintage interviews with cast and crew. Also found here are never before seen behind the scenes footage of the film that is fantastic.

The Costumes Are The Sets — The Design of Eiko Ishioka: (14 min.) The costumes in this film are characters in themselves and academy award winning to boot. This feature focuses on the woman who designed them and her inspirations.

In-Camera — The Naïve Visual Effects of Dracula: (19 min.) Roman Coppola was the second unit director of the film and takes on a journey of how many of the fantastic in camera effects of the film were done. This is a MUST SEE for any young filmmaker.

Method and Madness — Visualizing Dracula: (12 min.) Here we learn how art work of the time was used to inspire the look of the film and how everything was meticulously story boarded based on these paintings.

Deleted and Extended Scenes: There is over 30 thirty minutes of stuff here that is just great. The extended scenes are fascinating to watch because you can see what was used in the film and what wasn’t and how it was all drastically re-cut for the final film. None of this has been remastered so the look is a bit grainy.

Trailer

Trailer Gallery Including the trailer for Coppola’s upcoming film Youth Without Youth and a horrible trailer for the new Taxi Driver DVD that turns Taxi Driver into freaking dance remix. Some one needs to have Travis Bickle sicked on them, seriously.

The DVD Lounge’s Ratings for Bram Stoker’s Dracula
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE MOVIE

8.5
THE VIDEO

10
THE AUDIO

9
THE EXTRAS

10
REPLAY VALUE

10
OVERALL
9.5
(NOT AN AVERAGE)

The Inside Pulse
This is a great version of a great story with only a few cheesy moments to bring it down a peg. However, backed by a cornucopia of amazing special features, this DVD is a must own for any fan of Dracula or Coppola and the special features are a must for any young filmmaker. Coppola sure knows how to do a Collector’s Edition right.

Mike Noyes received his Masters Degree in Film from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. A few of his short films can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikebnoyes. He recently published his first novel which you can buy here: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Days-Years-Mike-Noyes-ebook/dp/B07D48NT6B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528774538&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+days+seven+years