Vem var Dracula?

"Vem Var Dracula?" aka. "In Search of Dracula" (1975) is a highly interesting and atmospheric documentary that all true Horror lovers should enjoy. The film's main topic is, of course, the most famous of vampires, Dracula, as well as the real-life person he was based on, the Vlad III. Drăculea aka. Vlad Ţepeş (Vlad the Impaler), the infamous Wallachian Prince who owes his nickname to his favorite execution method of impalement. The narrator is none other than Horror icon Christopher Lee, who famously played the Prince of Darkness in the British Hammer Studios' great Dracula series as well as in several other Dracula films, and who reprises his most popular role here and also appears as the real-life inspiration. It is, of course, obvious that Christopher Lee, one of the greatest and most charismatic actors of all-time, is the best possible narrator for a Dracula-documentary.

"In Search of Dracula" is a Swedish/French/American co-production which offers an insight into the history of Transsylvania and the life of Vlad the Impaler in particular, and entertainingly documents the origins of Bram Stoker's great book. The film also gives some information about other greats of Horror, such as Mary Shelley's Dracula, as well as about Bram Stoker's life and the different film adaptations of his most famous work. Mainly, however, the film handles the gruesome true-story of Vlad the Impaler. "In Search of Dracula" is beautifully filmed in Romania as well as in other authentic European settings, and gives some interesting insights into Transsylvanian customs. The film has the eerie atmosphere one can expect in a good documentary about a Horror-related topic. Since I had previously read a lot on the topic, I didn't gain a lot of new information by watching this film, and yet I highly enjoyed it. Overall, this may not be entirely flawless, but it is a very good and atmospheric documentary that all fans of Horror and History should enjoy. Highly recommended!

1974's "In Search of Dracula" was conceived by American-born Swedish director Calvin Floyd as a tie-in for the yet to be published book by Radu Florescu, greatly aided by the presence and narration of Chirstopher Lee, who shot his scenes on location at Bran Castle in central Romania in September 1971, just before filming his modern Dracula entries for Hammer, "Dracula A. D. 1972" and a year later "The Satanic Rites of Dracula." The first half of Independent-International's 82 minute theatrical release shows us modern day Transylvania in the early 70s, looking much as it had during previous centuries with horse drawn carts and authentic peasant garb, detailing vampire folklore such as how to identify and destroy one. The midway mark brings the focus upon the actual Vlad Tepes, known to his enemies as 'The Impaler' for his penchant for mounting victims on high stakes depending upon rank, mostly invading Turks, and serving guests on dining tables near the fetid corpses (those who complained were doomed to join the dead). Lee's silent performance as Vlad Tepes looks remarkably similar to his likeness, additional location filming in Germany and Austria, where The Impaler's countenance is linked with other historical curiosities. A brief sidetrack to Geneva involves Mary Wollstonecraft's conception of Frankenstein (a few shots from Al Adamson's "Dracula vs. Frankenstein" are used), and John Polidori's novelization "The Vampyre," later joined by Le Fanu's "Carmilla" before Bram Stoker's carefully researched 1897 classic "Dracula." Only during the final reels are we shown silent footage of Theda Bara's female vamp, literally draining unwary men of their luxuries, and Max Schreck's unauthorized rendition of the Stoker vampire as "Nosferatu." Bela Lugosi is only represented by ardent lovemaking scenes from 1925's "The Midnight Girl" opposite Lila Lee, with only a brief mention of Lee's work for Hammer, utilizing much footage from Roy Ward Baker's 1970 "Scars of Dracula." Not bad for what it is, though it inevitably tends to drag at nearly an hour and a half.

This documentary essentially traces some of the myths relating to vampires back to their original Romanian sources and incorporates the legends related to the 15th century Transylvanian warlord Vlad the Impaler-also known as Vlad Dracula. The documentary then details how the writer Bram Stoker used these myths, legends and traditions to come up with the notorious vampire known as Count Dracula in his best-selling novel in 1897. From there it was used in silent films and eventually brought to modern films beginning with the 1931 film "Dracula." And for added effect the documentary is annotated by one of the most popular actors to play the part-Christopher Lee. Now as far as this documentary is concerned, while I liked having Christopher Lee as the annotator and I appreciated some of the clips from his movies, I would have preferred some of the more horrific scenes from these movies rather than the rather lifeless ones presented. Likewise, there have been a number of other movies related to vampires since this documentary was produced which has left much of the analysis here seem somewhat obsolete or out-of-date. Regardless, this documentary didn't really show me anything I didn't already know and for that reason I have rated it accordingly.

Tor Isedal & Christopher Lee will take the viewer on a journey "In Search of Dracula". It starts off with some of the earliest known legends and tales of vampires then we travel through time to the story of the real Dracula Vlad Tepes, onward to Bram Stoker and then vampires on film. The documentary is a wonderful look into legends and folklore, real vampires and a brief look at vampires on screen.

You will see some fascinating footage as well as beautiful works of arts surrounding vampires. Wonderful to see Sir Christopher Lee as Dracula and Vlad Tepes in this documentary.

There is a bit of padding toward the end of the film with Mary Shelby's Frankenstein and a look at Bela Lugosi in one of his silent films The Midnight Girl (1925). But this did not mess up the documentary it simply added some extra interest.

This a good film if you would like to explore further into vampires and Count Dracula.

9.5/10

I'd long been interested in this documentary on the history behind the archetypal vampire figure due to Christopher Lee's involvement (as both narrator and actor) but also given the fact that director Floyd would follow it with the well-regarded THE TERROR OF FRANKENSTEIN (1975), a faithful adaptation of Mary Shelley's horror classic.

However, the result in this case is mainly dull and patchy at best: not only were several of the accounts involving "Dracula" novelist Bram Stoker and the inspirations for his creation (chiefly the notorious Vlad the Impaler) already familiar to me – but such other interjections as J. Sheridan LeFanu's equally famous female vampire story "Carmilla", the way the inherently predatory nature of femme fatales drew upon that of the vampire (hence the epithet 'vamp'), or the documentation of a real-life modern-day blood-sucker (who may well have inspired George A. Romero's MARTIN [1978]) felt like padding more than anything else!

The film's real coup, then, lies in the makers' decision to shoot in authentic locations – which, amazingly, have retained their Old World and genuinely eerie quality. Even so, Lee (who appears as Vlad himself and, of course, Dracula in both an ageing guise – the way he was actually depicted in the original – and, bafflingly, excerpts from the Hammer film SCARS OF Dracula [1971]) looks positively bored throughout, in spite of his typically authoritative voice! Besides, the segment on Dracula's cinematic incarnation – with obvious references to NOSFERATU (1922), Bela Lugosi and, naturally, Lee's own stint in the part – comes across as disappointingly schematic