Dracula (1979) [Blu-ray]

One of the best Dracula movies ever next to a few of course but this one's classic and original the actors are amazing

This film is a little older, but it was engaging and provided a nice old-fashioned horror style; none of the over-the-top techno special effects that distract from the story like some of the newer versions, but enough special effects to communicate the supernatural aspect.

Funny watching it all these years later. Still think he makes a great Dracula but watching the special effects is funny

I think this version of Dracula kind of gets lost sometimes, due to the sheer multitude of Dracula versions out there. He's got to be one of the most filmed characters ever. I myself forgot about this one until a couple days ago. With it being Halloween, I've been watching a lot of old horror movies, from the '30s and '40s monster movies to some of the more recent versions. I was watching Christopher Lee's version of Dracula when I remembered about this one and how I hadn't seen it in ages, so I bought the Blu-Ray.I call this a version of Dracula because it's hardly an adaptation, at least not of Stoker's original novel. It's based on the Broadway play, in which Frank Langella played the Count and that the producer saw and decided to make a version of. I have no idea how close this movie gets to that play because I've never seen it, but I've read the book a couple times and this is pretty far removed from the book. But, that's OK because a character like Dracula is certainly one that you can do different things with.Joining Langella in this movie are the late great Sir Lawrence Olivier and the late great scene stealer Donald Pleasance, along with what was at the time a lot of fresh young talent. It's really a good cast. Langella's Dracula is more of an aristocratic, charismatic and romantic character than what Stoker wrote in his novel, where Dracula was basically pure evil. Instead, Langella's portrayal shows him as more of a sympathetic character. His performance is almost understated, rather than over the top and grandiose as a lot of others have been, and that's not a criticism. It's a different take on Dracula. The rest of the cast is fantastic in their respective roles.Adding to the wonderful cast are some fantastic locations and sets. Carfax Abby is a particularly fantastic set, probably the best version of it I've ever seen. Since the movie takes place entirely in England, with no look at Transylvania and the interior of Dracula's castle, Carfax Abby kind of fills in as his castle. The insane asylum is also a good set. The whole movie has a nice atmospheric feel to it. The sets are accented by some fantastic costumes and and a wonderful score by John Williams.One stylistic choice that it's funny to see people complain about is the colors. They wanted to make a black and white film in homage to the earlier Dracula films, but the studio said they weren't allowed to. Instead, years after the film came out, they intentionally went back to it and muted most of the colors to make it almost black and white. This was a stylistic choice, not a mistake, as some people seem to think it was. If you liked the movie better with its original colors, you have to find a print from before 1991 to watch.So, all said and done, this is a good version of Dracula. It's not my favorite, but it's certainly good. The Blu-Ray is a good transfer, excellent picture and sound. Fans of Dracula should definitely give this one a watch, just be prepared for a version that's different from any other version out there.

REVIEW UPDATE AFTER WATCHING THE BLU RAY: (October 2014)As most of Dracula (1979) fans feared, sadly.... the blu ray features ONLY the desaturated muted colors version and a DTS 2.0 audio track. No new extras, not even the original theatrical trailer (problably Badham didn't want us to compare the original color palette with his muted version) which is a stupid move since it's available on HD 720p on YTI must say though even in that lifeless print, the new HD transfer is outstanding and the detail on textures, sharpness and lack of grain in the picture is amazing. The sound is just ok, but it could've been much better remastered on 5.1 DTS sound, preferably with an isolated track of the gorgeous score composed by John Williams (time to re-issue the soundtrack remastered too btw)All things considered, and since it seems pretty unlikely we're going to have the chance to see the 1979 theatrical cut (crossing my fingers thinking on you Scream Factory!) I must say that the blu ray it's a BIG improvement over the previous DVD release and once more I confirmed my total love for this adaptation of Dracula. Could've been perfect if a stubborn movie director would have listen to the fans instead of feeding its own ego. The only ones supporting the film since day 1, when most critics worldwide trashed his "Dracula" completely. I'm afraid I'd have to continue turning the color adjustment to the max everytime I want to see it.... so... thanks for nothing, mr. Badham.First of all, I LOVED this film to pieces as it was released back then in 1979. I watched several times on the theater and I was especially fascinated with two technical aspects of the movie, the masterful music of John Williams (still one of his best scores ever) and the technicolor cinematography created by Gilbert Taylor.I bought it on super 8 2reel long time ago, watched and recorded on tv, later purchased the VHS, laserdisc, dvd and I'm eager to get it for the first time on HD. But I can't help to be COMPLETELY dissapointed about the stubborness of mr. John Badham and Universal studios refusing the fans the inmense pleasure of re-watching the movie as it was released in the first place.Personally I would be happy to pay even a higher price "IF" the original technicolor print was included in the blu ray version alongside with the awfully looking muted version approved by the director, as I think many fans of the film would be too.I think we've waited too long already people from Universal Studios and mr. John Badham. Is soooo SAD having to turn to the max the colours of our tv sets and projectors to get the illusion of watching the movie as we loved it when it was out.You had your own vision of the story released already, let the viewers to have their own too. Not to mention that you'd be doing a LOT more money with the two versions than releasing the HD transfer of an already trashed dvd by most "Dracula" (1979) fans.So, please... let us see THE LIGHT as we remembered it, and stop being so George Lucas.Beggin' here and praying to be wrong about my assumptions

I first saw this movie decades ago when I was a kid and the only thing I could remember about it was the mineshaft scene between Laurence Olivier's Van Helsing and his daughter, Mina, played by Jan Francis. The movie seems to be forgotten. Never played on TV, not mentioned in books about horror films (at least, none of the books I own). Which is a shame, because for my money it's the second best retelling of this oft-told tale, beaten only by Coppola's dazzling 1992 version. Frank Langella is haunting and hypnotic in the title role and the support cast features a wealth of British character actors, from Teddy Turner and Tony Haygarth to a young Trevor Eve and Sylvester McCoy. Badham's direction is workmanlike yet effective and the colour palette suitably grim and washed out. The film takes many liberties with Stoker's novel, completely missing out the top and tail sequences set in Transylvania, and even, for some reason, swapping the characters of Mina and Lucy. But, if anything, these changes only serve to make the film more interesting. All in all, and undeservedly underrated gem. Even the mineshaft scene remains horrific.

Un Dracula oublié, faut dire que 13 ans plus trad le Dracula de Coppola explosait tout et reste la référence aujourd'hui encore.Si vous aimez le conte, plongez vous dans celui ci, différent, plus romantique, une touche 70's, John Badham sortant juste de Saturday Night Fever, et on sent chez Franck Langella le style Italo romantico du dance floor.Et la désaturation de l'image, voulue par le réalisateur, apporte une touche de je ne sais quoi...

Il film è valido, ma la recensione è riferita solo alla qualità tecnica del prodotto (edizione ESC contenente due bluray e 1 dvd).Un bluray contiene la versione con i colori della versione uscita a suo tempo nelle sale di tutto il mondo. mentre l'altro contiene la vesione con i colori "desaturati" voluta dal regista ed uscita in dvd anche in Italia (ed. Dell'Angelo). Entrambi i dischetti contengono alcuni interessanti extra (solo in inglese, con sottotitoli in francese, o francese a seconda del tipo di documentario).Il dvd contiene la sola versione con colori "originali" e solo uno degli extra previsti per i bluray.ATTENZIONE: attualmente la scheda presente su Amazon (sarebbe bello che venisse corretta" scrive che sono presenti le seguenti lingue, per il film:Doppiaggio: ‏ : ‎ Tedesco, Inglese, Spagnolo, Francese, PortogheseSottotitoli: ‏ : ‎ Inglese, Tedesco, Francese, Spagnolo, PortogheseFALSO: il film è presentato solo in Inglese e francese. I sottotitoli sono solo in francese (escludibili) se si sceglie l'audio inglese.Le altre lingue proprio non ci sono.

Ésta va a ser una revisión informativa para los fans de la peli como yo que andarán despistados ante las cinco versiones (que he comprado) en blu ray y que hay editadas hasta el momento de éste maravilloso é infravalorado clásico de John Badham.Primero Universal editó el blu ray con la horrorosa versión desaturada por el propio director, que directamente se cargó con su errónea decisión el increíble trabajo del director de fotografía Gilbert Taylor. Sólo les gustó éste horror de edición a los cuatro incondicionales de dicha versión.En 2019 Shout/Scream Factory editó la larguísimamente esperada y desaparecida en combate edición cinematográfica, con los colores restaurados en brillante y dorado Technicolor. El problema es que los "elementos fílmicos" proporcionados por Universal a Shout para la edición eran bastante penosos, y la imagen, a pesar de recuperar parte del brillo y colores también sufría de pasajes borrosos y mucho grano en algunas partes (llegada de Drácula a la cena en casa del dr. Seward) y también manchas en la imagen (títulos de crédito iniciales y escena de Drácula llevando en brazos a Lucy por los bosques) con rayas y artefactos en los fotogramas. Dichos problemas convertían a la versión desaturada en la estrella ya que incompresiblemente tiene una imagen totalmente nítida en todo momento y libre de manchas, lo cual decepcionaba enormemente a todos los fans que todavía guardamos en nuestra memoria como lucía la impecable versión original en salas cinematográficas. De hecho en dicha edición la versión cinematográfica se trata como un "extra" más que otra cosa.También en 2019 la compañía alemana Koch Video lanza el mismo blu ray original que editó Universal conteniendo únicamente la versión desaturada y algunos extras nuevos. Audio en alemán e inglés y subtítulos en alemán.Un año después, en 2020 la misma editora lanza una edición europea llamada "Cinema Edition" en dos versiones, una de dos discos (blu ray y dvd con los extras) en la que sólo se incluye la versión "reconstruída" según ellos de la versión original cinematográfica y varios extras ya editados en su edición previa desaturada y otra versión de 5 discos incluyendo dos blu rays y 3 dvds más un poster enrollado del nuevo artwork (bastante feo en mi opinión)Lo interesante es que la edición alemana no utiliza la misma copia en technicolor que editó Shout factory sino que su versión "reconstruída" no es ni más ni menos que una versión de un fan canadiense colorista profesional que ya nos ofreció dicha versión online bajo el nombre "Dracula The 35mm Silver Screen Edition" Es dicha versión la que incluye ambas ediciones de Koch, es una versión que mejora considerablemente la edición de Shout pero que se ha de decir que no incluye nuevos elementos fílmicos ni negativos originales. Más bien un trabajo de chapa y pintura por lo cual algunos pasajes no tienen ni el mismo contraste ni el detalle en las sombras del negativo original.Y finalmente en 2021 la editora francesa Esc. edita ésta edición que incluye los masters utilizados en la edición Shout Factory y le añade algún extra de producción propia. El problema es que se anuncia que incluye subtítulos y doblaje en castellano cuando no es así. Sólo hay audio en francés e inglés y subtítulos en francés.Lo mejor de ésta edición y la razón por la que le doy 5 estrellas es el maravilloso artwork original y belleza del digiboook que contiene los blu rays y el dvd en el interior. Estéticamente la mejor edición de todas. Hay también que añadir que contrariamente a la edición Shout, ésta incluye también la versión cinematográfica en dvd aunque con las mismas opciones de audio y subtítulos.En fin, todo un lío lamentable el que rodea a una maravillosa versión de Drácula, la mas cercana a la versión de Lugosi pero que su propio director se encargó de mutilar desde el año 1991 en adelante. Al menos ahora tenemos algo parecido al original para disfrutarla como se debe.

"Dracula", der weltbekannte Roman von Bram Stoker aus dem Jahr 1897 schuf mit dem unheimlichen Grafen aus Transsilvanien den wohl berühmtesten Untoten der Literaturgeschichte und wurde nicht zuletzt durch viele erfolgreiche Verfilumgen zum berühmtesten Filmvampir.Weltbekannt wurde schon die erste erfolgreiche Verfilmung durch Murnau mit Max Schreck in "Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens"In Hollywood zog Tod Browning 1931 mit der berühmten Bela Lugosi Verfilmung nach.Erst die Hammerstudios konnten 1958 mit dem Briten Christopher Lee einen ebenbürtigen Grafen unsterblich machen.Beachtung fand die Werner Herzog Verfilmung mit Kinski "Nosferatu", die sich sowohl als Bilderfilm als auch als Remake des Stummfilmklassikers versteht.Die opulenteste Verfilmung schuf wohl Francis Ford Coppola 1992 mit einem Gary Oldman in der Titelrolle, sein Dracula war als tragisches, trauriges und auch liebendes Wesen konzipiert, also wesentlich melancholischer und viel weniger gruslig als seine Vorgänger mit bedrohlich blitzendem Horrorgebiss.Vor allem der blutrünstige Beisser ala Christopher Lee prägte sich doch merklich ins kollektive Bewusstsein ein.Insofern ist John Badhams Variante von 1979 eher den Weg der Browning Verfilmung gegangen, er zeigt den Vampir als den Verführer der Frauen, die ihm sehr schnell verfallen.Leider wurde diese "schöne" Verfilmung kein besonders grosser Erfolg an der Kinokasse und auch die Kritiker waren eher negativ auf den "Schönling" Dracula gestimmt.Ein Schiff fährt in dunkler Nacht und bei einem schweren Unwetter in den Hafen der Stadt Whitby ein, es ist ein Totenschiff. Die Mannschaft ist verschwunden, nur der an das Steuer gebundene tote Kapitän mit einer schrecklichen Wunde am Hals wird aufgefunden. Kurz vor der Bruchlandung am Hafen springt ein großer Wolfshund an Land. Mina van Helsing (Jan Francis), die Tochter des holländischen Gelehrten Abrahm van Helsing (Laurence Olivier) befindet sich zu dieser Zeit auf Besuch bei ihrer Freundin Lucy (Kate Nelligan) der Tochter des Irrenarzt Dr. John Seward (Donald Pleasence. Sie wird durch die Havarie wach und findet den einzigen Überlebenden am Ufer. Es ist ein Graf Dracula (Frank Langella),zufälligerweise ein Klient von Lucys Verlobtem, dem Rechtsanwalt Jonathan Harker (Trevor Eve), der im Auftrag dieses Grafes ein altes Haus in England kaufen musste...Ich habe den Film farbiger in Erinnerung. John Badham hat den Film für den DVD-Start digital bearbeitet, um einen nostalgischen Eindruck zu erwecken, wirken die Bilder etwas künstlich wie alte Kupferstiche - das ist bei manchen Einstellungen gelungen, bei anderen weniger.Insgesamt war ich etwas irritiert, dem Film die Farbe zu entziehen und ihn blass erscheinen zu lassen, in ganz ungünstigen Bilderkompositionen hat man sogar sekundenweise das Gefühl einen s/w Film zu sehen.Badham hat Stokers Vorlage radikal gekürzt hat, er und Drehbuchautor Richter veränderten auch ganze Passagen.Die Vorgeschichte in Transsylvanien liessen sie komplett weg und verlegen die Geschichte ins England zur Zeit des 1. Weltkrieges. Dracula ist ein einsamer, kultivierter Monarch, der Leben und Gesellschaft sucht. Seine Methoden sind nicht unbedingt brutal, er ist ein charmanter und diabolischer Verführer. Attackiert seine Opfer nicht, er verführt sie charmant und galant.Auf alle Fälle lohnt sich diese Dracula Verfilmung, sie ist in keiner Weise schlechter als die bekannteren Versionen. Ganz im Gegenteil: Tolle Einzelszenen und Vielleicht ist dies sogar die atmosphärischste Verfilmung über den Vampir der Vampire, über den Letzten seiner Art....