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8
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9 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
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Count
Dracula (Frank Langella) leaves his home in Transylvania to
find more victims in England...
Frank Langella made
an electrifying impression in a revival production of Dracula
on Broadway in the 1970s, much as Bela Lugosi had done some
50 years earlier. Unlike Lugosi, however, when Universal decided
to do a new film version based around the success of this revival
production, Langella was the first ingredient to sell them on
such a venture. Indeed, the resulting film is unusual in that
it was specifically designed for Langella's performance.
As such, this is a Dracula that places less emphasis on horror
than on romance and steamy eroticism.
Developed by the Mirisch
brothers for Universal Pictures, the film had all the makings
of a blockbuster hit but under-performed after AIP's release
of Love at First Bite (1979) turned
the idea of vampires into a big joke. The lukewarm reception
was a disappointment to the studio, who pumped a good amount
of money into its production and publicity campaign. In addition
to Langella, they had a casting coup in Laurence Olivier as
Professor Van Helsing —
this was (arguably) his first horror film, and the presence
of such a distinguished acting legend was definitely hyped in
the ad campaigns. Brought in to helm the film was John Badham,
fresh off of the commercial and critical success of Saturday
Night Fever (1977). Backing Badham was a topnotch crew
of technicians, including cinematographer Gilbert Taylor and
composer John Williams, both of whom had scored recent fantasy
film triumphs via George Lucas' Star Wars.
Everything looked
so right on paper... so where did it go wrong? A difficult answer
to provide, especially when you're coming from a positive angle
on a film that still remains, to this day, something of a joke
among horror film fans. Perhaps the central concept of a sexy
Dracula just didn't appeal to the diehards, while the film still
contained sufficiently creepy —
at times, mildly gruesome —
imagery that put off the more mainstream viewers. Basically,
if the film had become more accepted over time, one could easily
blame its initial response on bad timing and changing tastes...
but since this is not the case, that makes the diagnosis more
complicated and puts a reviewer such as myself in the position
of having to point out what, exactly, makes it work for them.
On the downside, the
screenplay by W.D. Richter stays too faithful to the stage play
by Hamilton Dean and John L. Balderston, thus giving much of
the film the feel of a stage play; this same deficit also hurt
the Tod Browning/Bela Lugosi version. Richter and Badham were
no doubt compelled to follow this route, considering Langella's
success in the play, but they also introduced some new 'inventions'
into the script, some of which work and some of which don't.
The relationships between the characters differ considerably
from Bram Stoker's book, with Lucy turned into a feisty proto-feminist
type and Mina now being the ailing daughter of Professor Van
Helsing. The hotly debated finale also offers some surprises
for those only acquainted with the book or indeed other versions
of the story: in it, Dracula turns the tables on Van Helsing
only to be finally destroyed when he is hoisted into the rays
of the sun... or is he? The deliberately ambiguous final image
is yet another aspect that simply doesn't work —
Badham insists he wasn't thinking in terms of a sequel, but
it certainly comes across that way. Considerably more damaging
is a ludicrous sequence in which Dracula 'recruits' Lucy via
the power of seduction. While this originates from Stoker's
book and would've been fine on its own terms, Badham's decision
to handle it with a stylized presentation involving red laser
beams and Maurice Binder graphics turns the film, momentarily,
into a total farce —
one almost expects Shirley Bassey to start belting out a Dracula
love song. (Binder, of course, is best known for designing the
titles' sequences for most of the James Bond films.)
Having established
where the film goes wrong, it's time to turn our attention to
what it does right. First and foremost, Langella is magnificent
as the Count. Though his hair has been criticized for looking
too 'blow-dried' for a period piece, he possesses a depth of
feeling, intelligence and authority that is rare for so young
an actor. He plays Dracula as a lonely, romantic hero —
relishing the opportunity to interact with polite society and
show them up with cutting wit and sarcasm. In short, he possesses
the presence and athleticism that made Christopher Lee so memorable
in the role, but unlike Lee he is given the opportunity to really
do something and he certainly makes the most of it. As
Van Helsing, Olivier gives a solid and believable performance.
Though frail and very ill when he made the film, he invests
Van Helsing with the moral strength and cunning that makes the
character an ideal foil for the Count. Olivier's oft-criticized
Dutch accent sounds completely believable. The supporting cast
also does fine work, with Donald Pleasence's quirky Dr. Seward
and Kate Nelligan's fiercely determined Lucy really standing
out. The former's use of props —
notably an ever-present bag of candy —
as a means of stealing scenes makes him into a more humorous
presence than the script likely intended, while the latter conveys
great strength, intelligence and sexuality in a role that traditionally
doesn't offer much of a challenge to actresses. Production values
are absolutely first class, with Gilbert Taylor's cinematography
evoking the best Gothic tradition and Peter Murton's stylized
production design giving the eye something to appreciate at
all times. John Williams' score is one of the composer's very
finest —
though not as well known, or appreciated, as his somewhat bombastic
and saccharine scores for Spielberg, his music here is achingly
beautiful. Badham directs with considerable style, making terrific
use of the Panavision frame and keeping the pace going at a
decent clip. His error in judgment with regards to the 'laser'
sequence to one side, he shows a surprising affinity for the
genre and treats the material with more restraint than Francis
Ford Coppola did in his later 1992 adaptation of the story.
While the general tone of the film is romantic, Badham doesn't
shy away during the more horrific moments —
whether it be the juicy arterial spurt that accompanies a throat
slashing in the opening minutes, or dwelling on macabre details
during the genuinely creepy sequence in which Olivier confronts
his undead daughter in an abandoned mine. The climax —
goofy final shot aside —
is also genuinely exciting.
All told, Dracula
is too flawed to be a truly great film. But in terms of artistry
and entertainment value, I would argue it has a bit more going
for it than even some of the more famous screen versions. If
ever a horror film were ripe for reevaluation, this would be
one of them.
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Universal's
new special edition of Dracula is
a mixed bag. The transfer looks more or less identical to Image's
now out of print release, though it looks to have been cleaned
up a little bit. The 2.35 framing is vital in appreciating Badham
and Taylor's stylized imagery, but the transfer has some problems.
Originally Badham had
wanted to film Dracula in black and
white. When this idea was vetoed, he attempted to control the
film's color scheme during production and had hoped to be able
to "drain" the color from the print during the post-production
process. Vetoed again on this idea, he opted for a more golden
tone, with rich colors, during the initial theatrical and video
release. When the time came for the film's widescreen debut, via
MCA/Universal's laser disc, Badham was allowed to finally tinker
with the color as he saw fit. The end result is, at times, striking.
Some of the bleached exterior shots look a lot better than they
did with the more vibrant colors. However, in going for such a
uniform look throughout, some interior shots look dark and dull,
thus doing a disservice to Taylor's cinematography. A happy alternative
for this special edition would have been to offer both versions
of the film, but Universal opted to basically port over the old
Image transfer instead. Enhanced for 16x9 TVs, the image looks
as good as the 'revisionist' cinematography will allow; the print
has some speckling, but is in good shape overall. The 2.0 stereo
track is very strong, doing a good job of presenting Langella's
impeccable delivery as well as giving plenty of presence to Williams'
soundtrack. Extras include a still gallery, a featurette and a
commentary track with Badham.
The featurette, The
Revamping of Dracula (40 min.), is really interesting and
features comments from Langella, Badham, producer Walter Mirisch,
Williams and screenwriter Richter. Among the many interesting
anecdotes is Langella's open dislike for the 'laser' scene, which
is in turn defended by Badham and Mirisch. Badham's commentary
is also well worth a listen —
it's a little dry at first, but he fits in a lot of trivia and
production detail, as well as appreciative memories of his cast.
10/28/04 |
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