The centuries old vampire Count Dracula comes to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker's fiancée Mina Murray and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
This version of Dracula is closely based on Bram Stoker's classic novel. Young barrister Jonathan Harker is assigned to a gloomy village in the mists of eastern Europe. He is captured and imprisoned by the undead vampire Dracula, who travels to London, inspired by a photograph of Harker's betrothed, Mina Murray. In Britain, Dracula begins a reign of seduction and terror, draining the life from Mina's closest friend, Lucy Westenra. Lucy's friends gather together to try to drive Dracula away.Written by
Goth <brooks@odie.ee.wits.ac.za>
The majority of gowns worn by Mina and Elisabeta are in shades of green. In many cultures, green is associated with love, lust, and sexual desire. Mina and Elisabeta's gowns also frequently feature leaf-motifs, most likely Rosemary leaves, which symbolize both love and fidelity (in wedding bouquets) and death, loss, and grief (in funeral wreaths). See more »
Goofs
Elisabeta's eyebrows and eyelids twitch visibly when Prince Vlad stumbles down to view her dead body. See more »
Quotes
Mina:
I love you! Oh, God forgive me, I do!
See more »
Alternate Versions
In 1995, a heavily censored version of the film was broadcast on FOX, garnering much criticism from fans and critics alike, not to mention Francis Ford Coppola himself. Some of the more obvious cuts involve:
the character of Renfield is removed entirely
the Brides are wearing rags instead of being topless
the scene when Dracula gives the brides the baby is gone
there are no close ups from Arabian Nights
Lucy's comments about sexuality during her introductory scene are removed
the kiss between Mina and Lucy in the maze is gone
all shots of the Demeter are gone
all shots of Dracula howling as the wolf creature are gone
the shot of Dracula 'raping' Lucy is gone, and in the close up, Lucy's breast is no longer exposed
indeed, Lucy's breasts are seen several times in the uncut film, but in all such cases here, the shot has been altered to remove them and make it look like her clothes aren't actually ripped
the destruction of Lucy's body by Van Helsing is gone
Van Helsing's exorcism of Carfax Abbey is shortened
Mina drinking from Dracula's heart is considerably shortened
when Mina slams the sword through Dracula's chest at the end, the shot of it coming out his back and sticking into the floor is gone.
Exeloume
Written and Performed by Diamanda Galás (as Diamanda Galàs)
Courtesy of Mute Records Limited
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products See more »
As is the case with many of these latter-day horror movies, this is visually stunning. This one is particularly so, with beautiful colors, wild special effects, lavish sets and a handful of pretty women, led by Winona Ryder.
It isn't all beauty; there are some horrific, bloody moments in here. I've seen the film three times and the first two times was terrifying to me in parts. The last viewing wasn't as scary, but maybe I was distracted by seeing this on DVD for the first time, which enhanced the visuals and added some nice 5.1surround sound.
At two hours and 10 minutes, it's a bit long but there are very few lulls, if any. Gary Oldham gives his normal intense performance as Dracula and it never hurts to have Anthony Hopkins in the film.
The only negative I found was Keannu Reeves, who sounds a bit wooden in his lines. Is it my imagination, or is he a terrible actor? Maybe it's just his voice. Nonetheless, Cary Elwes, Richard Grant, Sadie Frost and Bill Campbell all give good support to this film which is a real feast for the senses.
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As is the case with many of these latter-day horror movies, this is visually stunning. This one is particularly so, with beautiful colors, wild special effects, lavish sets and a handful of pretty women, led by Winona Ryder.
It isn't all beauty; there are some horrific, bloody moments in here. I've seen the film three times and the first two times was terrifying to me in parts. The last viewing wasn't as scary, but maybe I was distracted by seeing this on DVD for the first time, which enhanced the visuals and added some nice 5.1surround sound.
At two hours and 10 minutes, it's a bit long but there are very few lulls, if any. Gary Oldham gives his normal intense performance as Dracula and it never hurts to have Anthony Hopkins in the film.
The only negative I found was Keannu Reeves, who sounds a bit wooden in his lines. Is it my imagination, or is he a terrible actor? Maybe it's just his voice. Nonetheless, Cary Elwes, Richard Grant, Sadie Frost and Bill Campbell all give good support to this film which is a real feast for the senses.