Il bacio di Dracula

Dracula is a major presence in our house (along with his relatives the Mummy, the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, zombies, ...) I cannot claim to have seen all of the many films which are descendants of Bram Stoker's original work -- the "Dracula" name has been applied to everything from sex farce to psychological allegory, and some of it is pure trash. But we have seen more than our share of not only Dracula movies but also vampire movies in general, as well as any number of play adaptations.

It seems that most Dracula movies are not adaptations of the book, but rather adaptations of previous movies. Admittedly, the book is devilishly hard to stage/film, as it is structured as a series of excerpts from journals, difficult to weave into a consistent narrative flow. But one often gets the impression that the directors (or screenwriters!) of some of the films haven't bothered to read Stoker's novel, contenting themselves with merely screening some previous efforts.

So it is always with some trepidation we watch a new "Dracula" film, bracing ourselves for yet another schlock assault with only passing connection to the original. (Not that we are against schlock per se -- only when it masquerades to deceive.) Frankly, the cover art and copy of "Dracula's Curse" didn't give us much hope of quality.

Thus, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it is a well-appointed, thoughtful, and reasonably faithful version of Bram Stoker's book. Obviously, the production team had not only read the book but understood it, and labored to bring it to the screen as accurately as possible. In this, it stands head and shoulders above most "true to the novel" versions, including Coppola's (don't get me started on *that* one...)

The film does strike several sour notes -- the flying effects are in my opinion quite overused, and in fact unnecessary -- and at several points is at odds with tradition. (Vampiric insensitivity to sunlight will jar most people.) But many of these "traditions" are actually creations of earlier films, as careful reading of the novel will show. The ending is also rather rushed, as though the production was running out of money and could not afford the chase across Europe to save Mina.

The multinational cast does take a bit of getting used to, with as many accents as there are actors. But even this is true to the spirit of Stoker, who inserted an "exotic" American and the European Van Helsing into his story to lend it an international flavor.

Some of the casting plays against movie convention; Dracula (Patrick Bergin) in particular is at odds with what many people expect of the bloodsucking count. He looks far more authentically Romanian than any other Dracula we have seen (like a cross between Robert Goulet, Harvey Keitel, and Lech Walesa). Unfortunately, as the "aged" Dracula he looks distractingly like Scots comic actor Billy Connolly. But he has appropriate menace as well as some regal bearing, and is closer to Stoker's description than most.

The film is set in the present day, but by clever and deft scripting allows whole sections to feel as though they are set during Stoker's time. The locations and settings are sumptuous; the film makes very effective use of Budapest scenery to set the mood. Great care was obviously taken to achieve interesting camera angles.

And more of Stoker's dialogue is present than in perhaps any other version of the story, including the Louis Jourdan mini-series.

For someone who has only seen other "Dracula" movies, this one may seem slow and overstated. But to anyone who has read the book and enjoyed it, this movie is a refreshing attempt to bring Bram Stoker's original vision to the screen. Rather than rely on gratuitous gore and nudity, this production builds on mood and a fluid sensuality. Just as Stoker intended.

By far one of the best screen version of Dracula ever. The screenplay for 90% of the movie is absolutely faithful to the original novel even if the story is set in the XX century and not in the XIX. The location in Hungary and in general in eastern Europe give to the story the right atmosphere for a vampire who is in fact a noble from Valacchia. Patrick Bergin is a lot more belivable as Dracula then Gary Oldman ever was, and even if of course he doesn' have the phisique du role of Christopher Lee, the psicologhy is a lot more close to the original character then in any Hammer flick. A wonderful discovery.

After having searched for "Dracula's Curse" like the above viewer (the title I rented it under), I better post something to make it worth my while. Wow. What can you say about this one? Other than don't worry about watching it, that is. Maybe that's a little unfair. Patrick Bergin does a stand up job as Dracula (even has a nifty Bela Lugosi accent), he's very moody and creepy. And Giancarlo Giannini as the Van Helsing character (what the hell did they call him?) lent some nice talent. Their Renfield was right on but underused. Every now and then, there was nice camera work, but very little. Of course, Stefania Rocca and Muriel Baumeister were great eye candy (especially Stefania as Lucy in the red dress...sigh). But.... Hardy Kruger Jr. as Jonathan Harker made Keanu's turn like like Kenneth Brannagh doing Henry V. It's pretty bad when a guy like Kruger could take acting lessons from Ben Affleck. The story (while obviously familiar) took no turns or interesting takes and just drudged on and on. There was some surprising theological and philosophical discussion intertwined, but I really felt that this movie got made because Bergin was itching to play Dracula. Thank God it was him, or it wouldn't have had a whole lot going for it. For a great version of Dracula, stick with Coppola's film or, better yet, the original Lugosi or "Nosferatu". You'll thank me.

The Count Vladislav Tepes wants to leave wayward and superstitious Transylvania (and who wouldn't) and involves a wealthy soon to be married investment banker in getting him some new digs. All while sucking the local population dry of their life's blood. Woo hoo it's yet another tired adaptation of the classic Dracula mythology with their own personal slant.

This umpteenth millionth adaptation of the great Bram Stoker's Dracula gives the film a more modern slant with mixed results. The TV production does stall a bit here and there with the lack of atmosphere but it's not a complete loss. 2 of 5

In the present days, in a ballroom of a hospital charity party in Budapest, the successful American lawyer Jonathan Harker (Hardy Krüger Jr.) surprisingly proposes his girlfriend Mina (Stefania Rocca) to get married with him on the next week. Their common friends Lucy (Muriel Baumaster), Quincy (Alessio Boni) and Arthur (Conrad Hornby) have been invited by Jonathan and have just arrived for their wedding without the awareness of Mina. Meanwhile, they are introduced to the promoter of the party, the psychiatrist Dr. Seward (Kai Wiesinger), and they stay together along the night. Later in the same night, Jonathan is called by a rich client, Tepes (Patrick Bergin), who hires him to prepare the inventory of the wealth of his uncle, the count Vladislav Tepes (Patrick Bergin), in Romania. Jonathan travels to the Carpathian Mountains in his Porsche, has an accident and finally arrives in the count's old castle. From this moment on, his life and the lives of his friends are jeopardize by a terrible menace. "Dracula" is an excellent contemporary version of Bram Stoker's famous novel. I expected a bad movie, based on the low IMDb User Rating, but this movie is surprisingly good. I have watched it on VHS in a version of 104 minutes, and I found many favorable points. The locations are amazingly beautiful; the camera and the photography are excellent, inclusive the introduction in a ballroom is fantastic; the story is a great adaptation of the Bram Stoker's novel to the present days; last but not the least, the unknown (at least for me) actress Muriel Baumaster is certainly one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen on the screen. The important role of Jonathan deserved a better actor, but anyway, fans of vampire movies like me will not be disappointed with this version. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Beijo do Drácula" ("The Kiss of the Dracula")