cinemabon

In 1977, Hamilton Deane and John Balderston made an adaptation of the original dramatized version of Dracula from 1931 that later starred Bela Lugosi. They wanted to emphasize the "sexy" Dracula and cast young Frank Langella to play Dracula who seduced young women in romantic bedroom scenes. The play ran to sold out crowds and won a Tony award for the production (Langella was also nominated). Film director Tod Browning so loved the play he wanted to make a film version. Since Universal owned the rights, it was easy to adapt the original screen and modernize the text. However, the production didn't go as planned and ran into several problems. By the time it debuted, critics universally slammed the film as a crude adaptation. I liked parts of it. Frank Langella recreated his Broadway role with panache. John Williams wrote a dynamic and effusive score. Shot in super-widescreen Panavision, the film has everything a good horror film should have except brevity. Many scenes last too long and get bogged down in senseless dialogue. Still, there are parts that thrill and shock, which is why I gave it 8 stars and not four or five the way most people have.

While I'm sure Alexandre Desplat is a competent composer, the series ends with the image underscored by themes composed by John Williams, not Desplat, whose major contribution to this film consisted of loud contrapuntal music that underscored the fight scenes. However, the music we love, the music we remember are the themes Williams employs with ever film he scores, giving characters unique music cues that help the audience identify with them when they appear. We wouldn't feel about Potter the way we do without those themes, as his contributions to cinema are vastly underrated and underappreciated. John Williams is the greatest film composer of all time for a reason. He's just brilliant. He can take any piece of cinema and turn it into one of thrilling amazement without the viewer understanding that it is music that brings the visceral connection most people subconsciously identify. Williams scores make movies great and memorable. Where would Indiana Jones, Superman, ET, and Luke Skywalker be without John Williams giving us a cue that help us "feel" the way we do about them. So to give Williams a tiny credit at the end of this movie is a disservice to the composer. The final shot of the movie is one that makes us laugh, makes us cry, gives us emotional connection because it is John Williams music that underscores the final shot.