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Taste
The Blood Of Dracula
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8
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6 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Guest
Review by Troy
Howarth |
Three
seemingly upright but actually hypocritical Victorian gents
(John Carson, Geoffrey Keen, Peter Sallis) accept an offer from
a Satanist (Ralph Bates) to participate in a Black Mass for
kicks. What they fail to realize is that the ritual will revive
Count Dracula (Christopher Lee)...
Taste The Blood Of
Dracula, its title rightly mocked by star Christopher
Lee as "corny," is one of the more controversial entries in
Hammer's long-running series of Dracula pictures. Originally
designed as a showcase for up-and-coming Ralph Bates, cast as
a disciple of Dracula while the Count was not intended to appear
(Lee and Hammer were on the outs once more over salary disagreements),
it was hastily rewritten to include Lee when Warner Brothers
threatened to pass on distributing the picture in the United
States. The end result certainly bears traces of this last minute
rewriting, as Lee is reduced more than ever to being a virtual
demonic jack in the box, but its good elements are so good and
so abundant that it still stands out as a series highlight.
The
unusually astute screenplay by Anthony Hinds (using his John
Elder alias) is more of a critique on Victorian society than
anything else, as well as a variation on the "sins of the father"
motif that dominates so many British horror films (e.g., The
Reptile, 1966). The central concept of three stuffy Englishmen
who pretend to do charity work once a month in London's run
down East End — only to visit a brothel behind a soup kitchen
— is wryly amusing and serves to skewer the hypocrisy of the
elder generation that looked on disapprovingly at their children
while secretly indulging in far worse vices. Hinds' script also
introduces elements of incestual tension to the relationship
between William Hargood (a perfectly despicable Geoffrey Keen)
and his daughter Alice (Linda Hayden, Blood
On Satan's Claw, 1970) during the scene in which the
drunken, abusive father threatens to beat the girl for going
out against his orders. The way the scene is played out hints
at sexual abuse past and present.
Though Dracula is reduced
to puppet master status, his function in the film is at least
somewhat thoughtfully presented: determined to avenge the murder
of his disciple, Dracula enslaves the three men's children and
forces them to turn on their fathers. With more dialogue and
a few extra sequences, Lee's participation would feel far less
arbitrary, but the actor does a fine job with what little material
there is to play with and his performance feels far less tentative
than in the following year's Scars
Of Dracula. Despite the absence of Peter Cushing's Van Helsing,
the film offers one of the strongest casts to ever grace a Hammer
film: John Carson, Geoffrey Keen, Ralph Bates, Gwen Watford,
Roy Kinnear, Michael Ripper and a young Anthony Higgins appearing
under his favored name of the period, Anthony Corlan. The entire
cast does fine work, even if Bates hams it up a little bit,
but the best impression is left by Carson, a superb and underrated
character actor who invests his role with dignity and gravitas;
he's by far the most sympathetic of the three fathers and, in
giving the young hero the knowledge necessary to destroy Dracula,
he functions as a kind of Van Helsing stand-in.
Technical
credits are superb. Scott MacGregor's production design and
Arthur Grant's lovely autumnal photography belie the low budget,
while James Bernard contributes one of his loveliest scores,
dominated by an achingly beautiful main theme that spells out
the grotesque title with uncanny poetry. First time director
Peter Sasdy (who with this film and two other Hammer titles,
Countess Dracula and Hands
Of The Ripper, became one of the studio's most interesting
directors) handles the proceedings with style, flair and a good
sense of pacing.
If
only Dracula had more to do...
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Brothers' DVD release of Taste The Blood
Of Dracula is a gem, and quite possibly their most satisfying
Hammer release to date. Originally shorn of 4 minutes of footage
to gain a PG rating, the film is now available for the first time
(officially) in the U.S. completely uncut. The first Hammer Dracula
to have nudity (albeit tame and above the waist only), it also
wallows in blood and violence a bit more than the proceeding entries.
All the cut footage —
the erotic footage in the bordello sequence, added footage in
the demise of the three fathers, etc., etc. —
is back where it should be, and that in itself is reason to rejoice.
The transfer is also first class. The 1.85 framing looks about
accurate (though it was likely intended for 1.66, it seems Sasdy
and Grant took U.S. theaters into account) and the picture is
enhanced for widescreen TVs. Colors are beautifully rendered and
print damage is very minimal. Audio quality is above average,
serving up the Bernard score to good advantage. There are no instances
of drop out or background noise. Extras are limited to a theatrical
trailer.
5/03/04 |
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