John Williams composed a hell of a score for this film.

@agent_meister477

2 жыл бұрын

Of course he did. He's John Williams.

@lLadyAszneth

2 жыл бұрын

Yes he did and I think it's one of his all-time best! 😀

@Cre80s

Жыл бұрын

Yep, had it on 8-track and played my Panasonic Dynamite 'til it blew up. I was the weird kid playing John Williams more than anything. It was ages before I got to see the film, and it was odd to move that direction in which was familiar first.

@kathrynkathryn5493

9 ай бұрын

Oh my gosh, I had a Dynamite Box too. Mine was Turquoise Blue. I loved that box. I remember the day I gave it away because I got a cassette player. Gosh, what a bad move on my part, - Chéers@@Cre80s

@hcu4359

8 ай бұрын

Best thing about the film, followed by Langella and Nelligan

Dracula does not fall in love with Mina in the book. He's just a predator.

@melissaking6019

6 ай бұрын

After more than a century, we're still waiting for a Dracula film that's a true, canonical adaptation of Stoker's masterful novel.

@doltBmB

Ай бұрын

@@melissaking6019 the 1992 version get very close but they had to work with that silly love story

True story: in 1979, I was in my first year at uni. I tended to dress in a very new romantic style with pale skin, red lips, and dark eye make-up. I also wore a black cape because I was dramatic and 18. Two girls crossed my path on campus after dark. They screamed, turned on their heels, and ran. One of them stopped me (in daylight) the next day and explained that they'd just come from a showing of Dracula and were convinced I was a vampire.

@danieldumas7361

11 ай бұрын

Just to put things in context in your specific case, this version of Dracula was known as the Romantic Dracula and therefore the perfect date movie. Guys would go for the horror (and clinging girlfriend) while the girls would fall in love with Frangella's Lips (not kidding). Hope this Look worked for you!

@fabrisseterbrugghe8567

11 ай бұрын

@@danieldumas7361 It was certainly memorable.

26:51 BelaLagosi went from Stage Dracula to Movie Dracula , as well.

In the book Dracula definitely doesn't fall in love with ANYONE.. He's not human....

@davidlynn5362

Жыл бұрын

Stoker, Bram. "Ch 3, Jonathan Harker's Journal". Dracula (PDF). p. 57. 'Yes, I too can love. You yourselves can tell it from the past.'

@filthycasual8187

Жыл бұрын

@@davidlynn5362 He says he can. Doesn't mean he does.

@davidlynn5362

Жыл бұрын

@@filthycasual8187 that's not what I was arguing. The OP said he doesn't fall in love with anyone, insinuating bc he's not human, when Dracula clearly says that he can love. Doesn't matter if he is human.

@bradleylawson2956

Жыл бұрын

Dracula is soulless in the novel

@eugeniogentili1048

4 ай бұрын

The best Dracula movie, no doubt about It

I hope Oliver Harper is recognized for his talents at making trailers for movies... He has a talent for turning a trailer into an award worthy type of film, and those talents should be tapped by any movie studio looking to create big time buzz for their upcoming releases.

@WhistleMeThis

2 жыл бұрын

Agreed.

I was in Junior High school when my Drama Class took a field trip and watch Frank Langella on Broadway as Dracula. Both his onscreen and stage performance was captivating. 🙂

@alexdarko80

2 жыл бұрын

Lucky you…what year was that?

@ericsanchez6263

2 жыл бұрын

Rail Julia was D as well.

@carolzerucha7429

Жыл бұрын

I think the late Christopher Bernau was also Dracula in this production. One of Bernau’s early roles was on Dark Shadows. He was later well known and fantastic as Alan Spaulding on Guiding Light.

@sandtats

13 күн бұрын

Saw him as Dracula on Broadway (1977) as well! He was amazing, captivating!😋

I have always referred to this version of Dracula as “Disco Dracula” . Langella’s hair looked like he spent all day at Vidal Sassoon.

@skulldini1766

2 жыл бұрын

Well, a COUNT would be well-groomed after all.

@moserbite2159

2 жыл бұрын

Well, a COUNT would be well-groomed after all.

@d3l3tes00n

2 жыл бұрын

He's serving vampire realness

@007beck9

3 ай бұрын

Well the director did direct Saterday Night Fever

You are a major talent ,,this channel should have more subscribers,,,live long and prosper

This movie was my introduction to Dracula

I've always found this movie maddening -- it gets so much right but so much wrong as well, chiefly that Dracula was *too* charming and didn't carry that layer of threat as you said. That said, Langella owned this role and Kate Nelligan is absolutely incandescent.

Next, I think you should review Nosferatu the Vampire, a remake of the 1922 German take on the character which, coincidentally, came out the SAME YEAR as THIS one (1979).

@WhistleMeThis

2 жыл бұрын

Yes, please! I love Nosferatu the Vampyre. After Coppola’s Dracula of course, that’s my favorite film version of the story.

I love this movie! My favorite version of Dracula.

@ricktaylor3748

7 ай бұрын

Same, it's the best.

@eugeniogentili1048

4 ай бұрын

The best Dracula movie, no doubt about It.

@einarvalentinoronn9870

2 ай бұрын

Jack Palance Dracula is the best

I remembered this movie for decades until at last I managed to get it on disc a few years ago. I only had a few hazy childhood memories of it, but was a lifelong fan. Thank you for the cool background info

Dracula has the same hairstyle as my grandma, which makes it hard for me take him seriously. Also, Harker's hair seems very 1970s.

@coleslaw9181

2 жыл бұрын

Were you expecting Dracula to have a buzzcut or flat-top or a chrome-dome like some lumberjack or army trainee or something?

@Pandaemoni

2 жыл бұрын

@@coleslaw9181 I was just not expecting granny hair. I suppose I never imagined Dracula needing to buy hairspray, or having to "fix his hair" before he goes out (which is a pain to do without a mirror)

@pheonix5597

2 жыл бұрын

What a superficial douchebag. What's his hang up with hairstyles?

Love this version- it's so beautiful

The first DRACULA MOVIE I EVER SAW!!♠️🤘❤‼🇬🇧🇺🇲

After Gary Oldman, Frank Langella is my most favorite Dracula. He just oozed sex appeal and gothic romance. Plus, the Texas heavy metal band *Helstar's* 1989 album *_Nosferatu_* features clips of Langella's best lines within the songs.

I remember watching this movie with my mom. Frank Langella was awesome as Dracula while Lawrence Olivia was a perfect counterpart as Van Helsing. It's a shame not many people talk about it nowadays.

Wow, I’ve always been a pretty big fan of vampires, but I’ve never heard of this particular Dracula movie

@orinanime

2 жыл бұрын

It's my favorite definitely worth checking out

@juanperaltaromero6947

Жыл бұрын

@@orinanime l

@orinanime

Жыл бұрын

@@juanperaltaromero6947 I... What?

@Rosary1971

Жыл бұрын

Check out the BBC 1977 version way better . Its on KZread.

@orinanime

Жыл бұрын

@@Rosary1971 well... More accurate to the source material. That's for sure. Not necessarily sure of it's better overall. The atmosphere, editing, pacing, acting, are all a little lacking. It's good. And I will always praise fidelity to the source material. But I don't know if it's necessarily better.

I always love watching your retrospectives! They're always so in depth!

I saw this at the local drive-in and I think it made the experience more terrifying to my ten year old self. It took years before I could watch Langella in anything. Still, though, it stuck with me for over 40 years.

Oliver you've done it again thanks for doing this wonderful piece on my favorite Dracula movie. Which also has my favorite movie composer Mr John Williams. Great job doing this.

It's an interesting version but imo it suffers hugely for leaving out the parts of the story set in Transylvania. Castle Dracula is one of the great settings in fiction and for me personally it's an essential element. I like what they did with Carfax here but it's no substitute.

Funnily enough, in my house growing up, the definitive Dracula for us was Louis Jourdan from the BBC adaptation two years prior to this movie.

I will never forget watching this movie for the first time. It was on TV and I was a freshman in high school and I was completely blown away! A fantastic adaptation of "Dracula" and a very underrated movie.

You should do John Carpenter's Elvis & Gremlins 2 - The New Batch

Prior to Bram Stoker's Dracula, this was the Definitive version of Dracula 's story here in the U.S. I remember quite a few fans and reruns on television.

@alexdarko80

2 жыл бұрын

I think this film is superior to Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

@WhistleMeThis

2 жыл бұрын

@@alexdarko80 Coppola’s Dracula ended all Dracula films.

@alexdarko80

2 жыл бұрын

@@WhistleMeThis I don’t think so…many Hammer films about Dracula are better than Coppola’s.

@eugeniogentili1048

4 ай бұрын

The best Dracula movie, no doubt about It

For me Frank Langella is above Christopher Lee as Dracula. This is my favorite Dracula film of all time. And of course I'm a fan of John Williams and the soundtrack to this film is amazing.

Frank had some things in common with Bela they both did Dracula as a play & played the character onscreen but unlike Bela Frank was chosen to play Dracula on the big screen. Plus Frank had gone on to have a successful career whereas Bela's career took a nosedive.

@anthonylogiudice9215

2 жыл бұрын

Langella has more things in common with Chrisopher Lee - Both are 6 foot 5, both have Italian ancestry, and both are regarded as great Draculas. Both are great actors.

@catspaw3092

2 жыл бұрын

@@anthonylogiudice9215 Ya got that right & they almost look alike.

@edydon

Жыл бұрын

My understanding is that Lugosi couldn't overcome his language problem.

@nomobties

7 ай бұрын

@@edydon that and he took the role on the cheap. For Universal he was a bargain basement actor.

@nomobties

7 ай бұрын

@@catspaw3092 they look nothing alike

I taped this movie when it was shown on tv during the 80’s and watched it many times. Haven’t seen it recently though and so it’s good to see your retrospective of it. I’m wondering if Frank Langella’s Dracula gave some inspiration to Jerry Dandrige in Fright Night.

I remember watching this as a kid , it was terrifying one scene that stuck with me was mina rising from the dead lawrence olivier was amazing in this movie , one of my favourite draucla movies.

@davidhiltebrand3987

2 жыл бұрын

That part traumatized me as a kid. I think it was her voice

@lisabagdonjones1950

2 жыл бұрын

When he began to cry after staking Mina, that broke my heart

@ricogomez4020

2 жыл бұрын

Olivier was awful in this movie.

I was in grade school when this first appeared on TV, and while I was mostly disappointed in it as a horror film, with the romantic aspect understandably lost on me, the scene with Mina and Van Helsing in the mines has stayed with me for my entire life.

@colkbassad

Жыл бұрын

I know this is a late reply but I was wondering if someone would bring up this scene. I was young as well watching it on TV and I've also never forgotten it. Stephen King made a special mention of it in his book Danse Macabre. It's up there with the old lady in the bathtub in the Shining and the Jump Scare in Exorcist III.

The Andromeda Strain (1971) we only real sci-fi movie and best of all Sci-fi movies. Albert Whitlock who worked on The Birds.[2] made very convincing paintings for movie even best CGI and computer graphics can not compare to human artistic endeavor.

@markelijio6012

Жыл бұрын

He did several matte paintings at his own Illusion Arts shop with his staff: Syd Dutton, Bill Taylor, Dennis Glouner and others since 1978.

Yeah, this was a pretty good portrayal of the old Count. Kind of suave, yet also sinister and ferocious.

@hcu4359

8 ай бұрын

I would say Langella was the last really effective portrayal of the Count, kind of a hybrid of Lee's "Latin lover" vibe and hideous monster moments with Lugosi's suave drawing room manner. Everyone since then has been ridiculous at worst (Oldman) or adequate at best (Bergin).

@eugeniogentili1048

4 ай бұрын

The best Dracula movie, no doubt about It

John Williams, JAWS, JURASSIC PARK, E T, STAR WARS, Indiana Jones, and SCHINDLER'S LIST did the music for the movie! I have this movie on DVD/BLU RAY from The Shout Factory, as part of the films 40th Anniversary Edition.

@xxMpEGxx

2 жыл бұрын

I think Home Alone too

This is one of my all-time fav Dracula Movie!

Oh Yeah, I remember seeing this movie. Yes it scared the heck out of me. It was incredible

Rosemary's Baby was a 1968 film so it's not a 70s film

One of my favourite Dracula’s so much charm

Underrated gem that I will need to check out. I only know it as the Frank Langella Dracula from his early career.

After watching the “color” version on the Blu-Ray, I won’t watch it any other way now. It’s gorgeous.

It's such a shame John Badham forced the desaturated version to be the only one available for all those years. The theatrical version is so much better.

Well, it's not like THIS movie was the first to feature a SEXY Dracula. Chris Lee was pretty sexy too, in the EARLIER films of HIS series at least. And they actually DID have automobiles during the time in which this movie takes place, they just weren't so COMMON yet is all. Only rich people owned them, not the majority of common average Joes like today, THEY were still using horses.

@james3414

2 жыл бұрын

You still use horses.

This actually was my introduction to the Dracula character. The sound track was great and it spooked me as a kid.

Frank Langella was such a good actor especially in masters of the universe

@aaronsakhai

2 жыл бұрын

I had no idea that was him, pretty crazy

@dnasty312

2 жыл бұрын

I first saw Frank in _Dave_ and _Junior_ but first knew him by name as *Archer,* emissary of the Gorgonites

@windi1982

2 жыл бұрын

Whole movie was about Skeletor, …. for a reason! 💪🏻

@creepyskulldini581

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, this was a pretty good portrayal of the old Count. Kind of suave, yet also sinister and ferocious.

@TorontoJediMaster

2 жыл бұрын

Apparently, he took the role of Skeletor because his kids were huge "Masters of the Universe" fans. He's said that it's his favourite role out of all of his films.

Frank Langella was a PERFECT choice for this role.....just that gaze he has in this film how could you not fall under his spell....❤❤❤

Weird to have never seen, or even heard of, this film before. it looks like it would have been a weekend staple throughout the 80's and 90's in the UK particularly with all the UK acting talent on show.

I was 8 when this movie came out and was huge into vampires. I convinced my dad to take me to see it. I was the only kid there because it was rated R, and my dad got a few dirty looks from some people. The only things I remembered from the movie was the dude with his throat ripped out, putting the mirror to the chicks face, and the end. 8 year old me thought it was boring with not nearly enough Dracula stuff. Seen it again recently and it's much better now, but the bloodthirsty child I used to be wasn't having any of that :)

Best ever Dracula was in the 1985's Fright Night.

@rosemaryfarell5264

2 жыл бұрын

Watching that now on the horror chanel in the uk as im watching this too.

Saw this when it first aired on NBC and my parents thought it would be fine. It’s Dracula on NBC, how bad could it be? I’m 46 now and still getting over that Mina scene in the mines…

Wow, I didn't know Langella was such a dish in his day!

I have never heard of this, but in two minutes in, and this soundtrack is incredible, and visuals are gorgeous

He is the sexy Dracula. I love this film. Not perfect but not awful and wonderfully shot too. Kate had a fantastic film with Donald Sutherland in Eye of the Needle.

@pheonix5597

2 жыл бұрын

Chris Lee was pretty SEXY too, in the EARLIER films of HIS series at least.

@sandtats

13 күн бұрын

Eye of the Needle is a terrific film!

Langella is an absolute marvel in the role, he has the character down to a T.

I had saw Dracula back in 1979 with my parents on Times Square UA theater in NYC, I do belive it was released the same time as Time After Time, which was also a great film. Before the movie came out I remember my dads Taxi Cab which he would rent had an Ad for Dracula on Broadway Featuring Frank Langella, and Later the ads were changed to Draula with Raul Julia. The scene that scared me was Mina coming back rotted with those red eyes glowing, or Redfield getting his head twisted. This was one of my earliest memories of watching movies at the theater.

One of my favorite interpretations of Dracula ❤️

@LucyLioness100

2 жыл бұрын

Same here, my other favorite is the Hammer version with the late Sir Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing

Another great video. I have always had a soft spot for this film and it just gets better and better with each viewing. Seeing it with it's original color timing is such a treat.

21:30 - Frank was actually very self-conscious of his eye condition. And Told John badham to tell him when they were doing close-ups so he could stop his eyes from shaking (he could momentarily control it by concentrating). John loved the look of the eyes shaking for the very reasons you described. And recorded close-ups of Langella without telling him, so that he could capture the visual. Langella apparently later agreed with Badham that it looked good.

Great retrospective as usual Oliver, Dracula is my favourite novel, and this is one of my favourite versions. One slight nitpick, Dracula doesn't fall in love with Mina in the book, in the book he doesn't fall in love with anyone. It's purely a horror story without any romantic elements.

@HarryBuddhaPalm

2 жыл бұрын

That drives me crazy with every adaptation. In the book, he's more of an animal than a man. He's a predator that needs prey to live on. I hate that "reincarnated love" story crap that most adaptations have. He also doesn't get killed by sunlight.

@johnnycaci1413

2 жыл бұрын

@@HarryBuddhaPalm Yes, I agree, I'd love to see a faithful adaptation of the novel done on screen, the closest we have is the BBC mini series Count Dracula.

@HarryBuddhaPalm

2 жыл бұрын

@@johnnycaci1413 Yeah, I saw it. It was pretty good but the cheesy effects really hurt it.

@johnnycaci1413

2 жыл бұрын

@@HarryBuddhaPalm I know what you mean, but I can live with the them, as bad as they are.

@LucyLioness100

2 жыл бұрын

I think Hollywood was essentially forced into that around this time. In the 1931 film it follows the source novel where Dracula just goes after Mina as a power play

Frank Langella is also great in Diary of a Mad Housewife, 1970 (9 yrs before Dracula) also starring the late Carrie Snodgress as the "mad housewife,"Richard Benjamin as her insufferable husband, Frank as Snodgress' daytime lover. Acting great all around! A must watch!

This is one of my Halloween staples. I have loved this movie since I caught it late night on fix back in the nineties during a long forgotten weekend. I am glad it made it to your retrospectives to spread awareness of it. To me the movie feels surreal and unsettling and I've always liked that about it.

I remember seeing billboards along the highway for this during the summer of 79. I didn't see it until it came on tv as a Sunday night movie on NBC.

I remembered seeing Minas transformation for the first time and it freaked the shit out of me. Had good bumps thinking about it.

The late Donald Pleseance at a great actor for sure.

@LucyLioness100

2 жыл бұрын

He was also legendarily a pain in the ass on set sometimes from stories I read. Frank Langella was told by a good friend to just let Pleasance do his thing and steal screen-time; he said it was sage advice to avoid issues (director John Badham and other cast mates had some difficulty with him)

Mina scared the absolutel crap out of me and still does. Hard to believe that this terrifying creature was played by the lovely jan Francis

In fact, there is no love story in the book. Dracula forces himself on Mina as an act of revenge, and she's never for a moment in love with him. She plays a key role in hunting him down. That said, I enjoy this movie for what it is and Frank Langella is one of my favorite Draculas. He has such a majestic presence. I specially love his death scene. And I prefer the version in full color.

Robin Wood -- a seminal critic (the author of the first English-language critical study of Hitchcock) -- praised this film.

Loved the movie when it came out, then lucky enough to see Langella reprise his role on Broadway; the bite!😋

A great retrospective and appreciate you finding these movie gems Big fan

One of my favorites, changed the perspective of the Count in pop culture.

I was very privileged to see Frank L. in both the play on Broadway as well as the movie when it first hit the Big Screen. The play was MARVELOUS !!!!! I was only about 10 or 11 years old but I feel in love with him immediately, as what I understand happened to mostly every other woman who saw his live performance. I enjoyed the movie for sure but I believe it is because of Frank's involvement. The color fix was a great move because the clarity is so much better. I still give it a 2👍👍's up.

This is (to me) one of the most unremarkable film adaptaions out there. It does not even come close to the dramatic genius of the John Williams score!

This is actually my favorite adaptation of the source material (though it’s based on the same play Lugosi was in and not the actual book). Frank Langella lends such a gravitas to the Count, Sir Laurence Olivier isn’t too bad as Van Helsing (though it’s sad to see him so frail due to his poor health at the time), Kate Nelligan is a pretty good Mina, John Williams’ score is excellent & the atmosphere is so ‘70s Gothic but it grows on you

@Math-in4dd

Жыл бұрын

is a pretty good Lucy... LUUUUUCY !!! XD

Love this movie and Frank Langella was a very seductive and gorgeous Dracula. He had the best voice......

The shipwreck in this film was an actual old boat that was towed by tug to Crinnis beach at Carlyon bay in Cornwall. It was left there after filming finished. As a kid my brother and I used to love playing on “Dracula’s ship”. It was there till the late 80s when it was destroyed by a big storm. Fun fact. The shipwreck can be seen in the music video for “is this love?” By Alison Moyet. Filmed whilst she was performing at the Cornwall coliseum, a venue situated at Carlyon bay right next to the beach.

The “Nosferatu,” remake by Werner Herzog, was released in the same year, both English and German.

@plasticweapon

2 жыл бұрын

my two favorite versions of the story, with nothing in common.

Langella and Olivier's performances are truly striking. They're subliminal, though, making Oldman's otherwise adept performance seem hamfisted and self-indulgent. The editing and certain effects intersect poetics and naturalism really well, and are a reminder of the importance of looking beyond dependence upon CGI conventions which lack expression.

Great film by John Badham who is underrated as a filmmaker. He has got range who can direct action, drama and comedy. Frank Langela is a legend.

Fantastic, Oliver. Just when I think of a movie you should review, you do it.

19:30 _The Fury_ is DEFINITELY the favorite Williams horror score of mine 🎼

There was massive interest in Dracula at the end of the 1970s - the BBC did an excellent drama in 1977. They were turbulent times in the real world and I wonder why that made us turn to vampires! :)

Another great opening montage that really captures the spirit of the film. Well done, Oliver!

The ‘77 BBC version with Bosco Hogan and Louis Jordan was the best adaptation of the novel, and imo the best portrayal of the Count. If you haven’t seen it, it’s available on YT.

One of my favourite Langella roles was in Cut Throat Island as he's so brutal and evil and quite frightening.

Oliver Harper is the Van Helsing of the KZread community.

Haha this one of the few retrospectives, which, just after the bit about the soundtrack, we don't hear Oliver say " The game was released in... and on..." for obvious reasons!

@r.jclark4641

2 жыл бұрын

Videogames were already a big thing in the 70s and Dracula games were already made unrelated to this movie by Japanese companies for the arcades.

If they were to try and remake Dracula today and really try, I don't know how they could make the character scary again. His story has been told so many times and vampires are so engraved into pop culture.

@serenityinside1

2 жыл бұрын

Good point well made.

@anubusx

2 жыл бұрын

I read Nic Cage is playing him in a new Dracula film.

@KingEgyptian

2 жыл бұрын

@@anubusx Nicolas Cage has been doing very well with his recent films, I'm looking forward to seeing how he does as the count.

@anubusx

2 жыл бұрын

@@KingEgyptian His weakness will be bees.

@KingEgyptian

2 жыл бұрын

@@anubusx Oh God not the bees!

This is my favorite Dracula movie and Frank Langella is my favorite Dracula! ... he's also my favorite Skeletor LOL

As someone who has only seen Langella as an old man in his movies, hearing "Langella's sex appeal" is surreal lol. Still, he looks good and the movie does too. Coppola's version will always be my N1 but watching other versions is cool too.

I did a rewatch of this film on my channel, Soundtracks with Birdman, LOVE the John Williams score!!!!

I watch this and think since Adam Driver resembles Frank Langella, I wonder how Adam Driver would play as Dracula. I think he would be an excellent Dracula.

@LucyLioness100

2 жыл бұрын

I would certainly see that! I adore Adam Driver & he would make a fabulous vampire

@goncaloferreira6429

2 жыл бұрын

interesting.

Fun fact: Anne Rice credits this movie, specifically Frank Langella, as creating the sexy and tragic vampire that inspired her to create her Vampire Chronicles books.

It was shown on tv here quite often when I was kid - I always likes this movie even though it’s not perfect. The cinematography is truly beautiful here and Frank plays very well👌🏻

In the early 1980s and the 2000s, Peter MacGregor-Scott was one of the few people at Universal since October 1977, who chose filmmaker John Badham for an more refreshing change on the project. When Peter gives some advice for today's filmmakers, he says "there always be many challenges on any production, but as long as you have these solutions, the problems won't even exist." Sadly he's gone. Peter MacGregor-Scott will always remembered but never forgotten. What an great man he really was. He's simply the best! RIP, Peter.

Ive been meaning to watch this again for ages. Its one of the best Dracula movies ever. I remember being about 9 and seeing this on TV. I dont think I slept all night. Had the covers up around my neck also just incase lol. Nice Retro Oliver.

Cristopher Lee was my favourite Dracula but this was my favourite movie

A good movie & an interesting adaptation of the novel . Frank Langella was very good. Great cast, cinematography & set design. More creepy than scary, but still an enjoyable watch.

I caught the trailer for this film when I went to see the film Love at First Bite, and what caught my attention was when the camera did a close up on his quivering eyes. I knew I had to see it. Then I watched Love at First Bite. All desire to see Dracula as a horror monster left after George Hamilton's take in that film. Playing Dracula as a lonely and love-hungry man was just what the Count needed. The film was funny as well, and as with most Mel Brooks' films sure you can clip out scenes--like the one where the communist commission shows up at Dracula's castle to tell him that the castle was going to be converted into a training camp for Olympic Gymnasts and that he has to pack up and leave--but there are just too many funny scenes to do that. So it would be the Dracula film I always return to--it is the perfect encapsulation of what life was like in the late 1970s. Years later I did get to see this version and I was utterly disappointed. Frank was good as Dracula--the eye thing especially--but the rest of the cast was weak and did not support his pitch perfect performance. So, I have always returned to Love at First Bite.

Saw this as a kid on network television - as the Saturday Afternoon Movie - and I really liked it but the ending particularly stuck with me, felt it was really clever how they got Dracula out of the boat shadows and into the light. Another Saturday Afternoon Movie that I really liked was The Seven-Percent Solution, a team-up between Sherlock Holmes and Sigmund Freud.