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Bram Stroker's Dracula (1992) - Collector's Edition


DVD Cover
Four out of Five

Movie

Rating: R (for sexuality and horror violence)
Length: 128 minutes

Video

Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Audio

ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
SPANISH: Dolby Digital 2.0
PORTUGUESE: Dolby Digital Mono

Captions

English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish

Purchase

Plot

Dracula (Oldman) comes to England to recapture his queen reincarnate (Ryder) and to reek havoc amongst their citizens; hey, that's what vampires do.

Pros

This story actually mixes the real-life Vlad "The Impaler", the prince of Romania in the 15th Century, and the legend of Dracula. Gary Oldman steals the show as Dracula; he manages to pull off both the older and younger Dracula flawlessly. Other actors also stood out in this film; Waits as the crazy Renfield, Hopkins (as usual) as the eccentric Professor Van Helsing and Ryder for the always essential eye candy. The video is stunning and the special effects will not disappoint. There are also some nice extras for junkies like me and guys, if you're looking for topless women, they surface from time-to-time (except for Ryder).

Cons

As much as I hate beating up on actors, Reeves was not up to standards for this film. He excels at films when he's not required to show emotion (The Matrix, Constantine) but doesn't do well at all when he is (this film, Speed, The Devil's Advocate). And, since this is the 3rd DVD release of the film, why couldn't it have included a DTS 6.1 audio track or will that have to wait for a 20th Anniversary Edition in five years?

Extras

  • High Definition Transfer
  • Film Introduction: Watch With Francis Coppola
  • Audio Commentary With Director Francis Coppola
  • "The Blood is the Life" - The Making of Dracula
  • "The Costumes ar the Sets" - The Design of Eiko Ishioka
  • "In-Camera" - The Naïve Visual Effects of Dracula
  • "Method and Madness" - Visualizing Dracula
  • Deleted Scenes

Recommendation

Is this worth a double-dip if you own one of the other versions?
  1. If you own the movie only version and really like this film, then this new release is for you. The video enhancements and extras make it worth while.
  2. If you own the Superbit version then only pick this up if you just have to have the extras.
  3. If you own either version and are just a casual fan of this film then I wouldn't bother.
This is one of my favorite "modern/color" vampire movies so picking it up was a no-brainer.

Director

Francis Ford Coppola   [Apocalypse Now, The Godfather Parts I/II/III, The Outsiders]

Actors

Monica Bellucci - Dracula's Bride
[Brotherhood of the Wolf, The Brothers Grimm, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, The Passion of the Christ, Shoot 'Em Up, Tears of the Sun]
Michaela Bercu - Dracula's Bride
Bill Campbell - Quincey P. Morris
Cary Elwes - Lord Arthur Holmwood
[Days of Thunder, Glory, Hot Shots!, The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Saw, Shadow of the Vampire, Twister]
Laurie Franks - Lucy's Maid
Sadie Frost - Lucy Westenra
Richard E. Grant - Dr. Jack Seward
[Corpse Bride]
I.M. Hobson - Hobbs
Anthony Hopkins - Professor Abraham Van Helsing
[Amistad, Beowulf, The Bounty, The Bunker, The Edge, The Elephant Man, Hannibal, The Lion in Winter, The Mask of Zorro, Nixon, Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, Titus]
Florina Kendrick - Dracula's Bride
Gary Oldman - Dracula
[Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Fifth Element, Hannibal, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, JFK, Léon, Lost in Space, True Romance]
Keanu Reeves - Jonathan Harker
[Constantine, The Devil's Advocate, Johnny Mnemonic, The Matrix/Reloaded/Revolutions, Point Break, Speed]
Jay Robinson - Mr. Hawkins
Winona Ryder - Mina Murray / Elisabeta
[Alien: Resurrection, Beetle Juice, Edward Scissorhands, Heathers]
Tom Waits - R.M. Renfield
[The Outsiders]

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