Dracula (Universal Studios Classic
Monster Collection) starring Bela
Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David
Manners, Dwight Frye, Edward Van
Sloan
Absolutely Great. Like Revisiting An Old Fiend
When Universal Pictures picked up the movie rights to a Broadway
adaptation of Dracula, they felt secure in handing the property over to the
sinister team of actor Lon Chaney and director Tod Browning. But Chaney
died of cancer, and Universal hired the Hungarian who had scored a
success in the stage play: Béla Lugosi. The resulting film launched both
Lugosis baroque career and the horror-movie cycle of the 1930s. It gets off
to an atmospheric start, as we meet Count Dracula in his shadowy castle
in Transylvania, superbly captured by the great cinematographer Karl
Freund. Eventually Dracula and his blood-sucking devotee (Dwight Frye, in
one of the cinemas truly mad performances) meet their match in a
vampire-hunter called Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan). If the later
sections of the film are undeniably stage bound and a tad creaky, Dracula
nevertheless casts a spell, thanks to Lugosis creepily lugubriou s manner
and the eerie silences of Brownings directing style. (After a mood-
enhancing snippet of Swan Lake under the opening titles, there is no
music in the film.) Frankenstein, which was released a few months later,
confirmed the horror craze, and Univer sal has been making money (and
countless spin-off projects) from its twin titans of terror ever since.
Certainly the role left a lasting impression on the increasingly addled and
drug-addicted Lugosi, who was never quite able to distance himself from
the part that made him a star. He was buried, at his request, in his black
vampire cape. --Robert Horton
This set is so inexpensive, yet you get such a great bang for your buck!
Lugosi is mightily impressive as Dracula. No Dracula since has been
anywhere near as good. He's tall, he's from Romania, he's imposing, he
has a piercing stare - what more could you ask?
The new music score by Philip Glass is a fine complement to Lugo si's
great performance. For some reason, maybe because of tight money in
the early years of the Great Depression, the initial release featured no
original music at all. Glass's score enhances the drama and makes the
film far more exciting than the music-less version.
Glass is one of the best living composers in the world and he shows why
with this score. His repeated patterns build a high level of tension and he
elevates the tension brilliantly during the big moments.
The music is performed by the Kronos Quartet, one of the finest string
quartets in the world. Glass and the Kronos Quartet show that you don't
need a studio orchestra to make great film music. Unless you don't really
like music at all, you will want to watch the film with this magnificent score.
As for the other elements of the film, the other actors are fine, though not
special, save for the wonderfully campy Dwight Frye as Renfield and
Charles Gerrard providing comic relief as Martin. The cinematography is
great, the sets are great, the script is good and Tod Browning's direction is
at least adequate.
Still, the main reason to watch this production is for Lugosi's iconic
performance, brilliantly complemented by Glass's music. Bravo!
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