Dracula (1979)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Bram Stoker (novel)
Hamilton Deane (play) ...

Release Date:

20 July 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Romance

Tagline:

Throughout history he has filled the hearts of men with terror, and the hearts of women with desire.

Plot:

When a ship is wrecked off Whitby, the only survivor, Count Dracula, is discovered lying on the beach by the sickly young Mina...

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Asylum | Dracula | Villain Played By Lead Actor | Eating Insect

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 25

12:15 AM

AMC

Cast

Frank Langella	...	Count Dracula
Laurence Olivier	...	Prof. Abraham Van Helsing
Donald Pleasence	...	Dr. Jack Seward
Kate Nelligan	...	Lucy Seward
Trevor Eve	...	Jonathan Harker
Jan Francis	...	Mina Van Helsing
Janine Duvitski	...	Annie
Tony Haygarth	...	Milo Renfield
Teddy Turner	...	Swales
Sylvester McCoy	...	Walter (as Sylveste McCoy)
Kristine Howarth	...	Mrs. Galloway
Joe Belcher	...	Tony Hindley
Ted Carroll	...	Scarborough Sailor
Frank Birch	...	Harbormaster
Gabor Vernon	...	Captain of Demeter

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English | Dutch | Romanian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:X (theatrical rating) | Singapore:PG | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Netherlands:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Carlyon Bay, St Austell, Cornwall, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The part that Teddy Turner played was spilt into two because the production team wanted to cast Sylvester McCoy in a role.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: A common problem with many vampire movies is repeated here: the bite marks on the ladies' necks are placed in such a way that the vampire's teeth would have to be one behind the other, not along side each other. The placement of the bites would have Dracula performing a serious contortionist act to get his teeth into the willing victims.

Quotes:

Lucy Seward: Before you arrived we were looking at the ship's log.
Count Dracula: It wasn't lost at sea?
Lucy Seward: No. The very last entry was a strange word. A word that Mina thought meant "undead".
Count Dracula: Undead?
Mina Van Helsing: Yes. "Nosferatu".
Count Dracula: Ah! It means "not dead".

Movie Connections:

Remake of Dracula (1931)

The best of the Dracula's

Having been privileged to see Mr. Langella in the Broadway production several times, This film is the best in the series. Mr. Langella is one of only a handful of actors and actresses whose persona is very keenly transferred to film. The film contained the same romance, suspense, horror and humor as the play, holding true to the Edwin Gory staging where possible. Mr. Langella's eyes danced, his stature towered and powered, and his presence was awesome. I was happy to read that there is a new DVD release from Universal. For anyone who has not seen a Dracula film, this one with Mr. Langella's fine performance is a must, to experience some of the more subtleties of the psyche of Dracula.