As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.
Session: The Blood is the Life, Mr. Harker (week 3)
Movie: Count Dracula (1977)
Directed by Philip Saville
A lawyer travels from London to Transylvania to help Count Dracula buy a new home. And that's when his troubles begin. Horror ensues.
Reaction and Other Folderol:
I didn't expect it, but Louis Jourdan is possibly the best Dracula that cinema has ever produced. Christopher Lee and Bela Lugosi have been great in the role. But none of them approach the suave charm of Jourdan. He is truly the James Bond of Draculas. In addition, Keith tells me that this movie is probably the truest representation of Bram Stoker's original. Truth be told, I wouldn't know, since I never read the novel.
A lot of the movie played with the boundary between erotic and creepy. Largely because of Judi Bowker's portrayal of Mina. She often exudes sexuality, but then there are shots that make her appear underage -- though the character is not intended to actually be a minor.
Jack Shepherd's portrayal of Renfield was really well done. A couple weeks earlier, I really enjoyed Klaus Kinski's mute version of the character. Shepherd has no trouble talking, and in his dialogue does a great job of seeming insane. Not that it matters, but I note that he also seemed oddly like a young Brent Spiner.
The simple but effective special effects -- they used negatives, black and white shots and vivid painting on the screen -- added an interesting psychedelic effect. and the effects in the climactic fight were much better than what we saw in the Christopher Lee movie a couple weeks ago.
On the other hand, I really didn't care for the portrayal of Lucy, and Quincey's fake Texas accent was just awful.
Ratings
Cats: No, there were no cats. But there were wolves and domesticated birds.
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