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"I don t drink...wine."- The Dracula Thread

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  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,824
    Am I the first one who first discovered Dracula directly? I certainly read the novel before I saw any movie. Before that I had read JH Brennan's Dracula's Castle gamebook, but that's it.
  • Some_Kind_Of_HeroSome_Kind_Of_Hero
    Posts: 6,844
    Directly as in you met the guy?

    How is he in person? Seems like he’d be a real pain.
  • GerardGerard
    Posts: 5,808
    One Dracula that wasn't mentioned before :

  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,824
    Some_Kind_Of_Hero wrote: »
    Directly as in you met the guy?

    How is he in person? Seems like he’d be a real pain.

    I mean directly from the source material. Not through movies or TV series.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited September 2018 Posts: 23,334
    I saw the majority of the Dracula films before I read the novel, the Hammer movies led me to watch vampire movies like Near Dark, Lost Boys and Fright Night with the great Roddy Mcdowall...



    ... then I went onto Universal Horror movies a little later.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,691
    IMO, the best is Horror Of Dracula 1958 (Dracula UK title),
    My favourite is Dracula AD 1972,
    And my one in between them is Dracula Has Risen From The Grave 1968.
    The rest are cool, but they sort of blur in my memory... and I just watched them all last Halloween!
  • ToTheRightToTheRight
    Posts: 15,818
    Gerard wrote: »
    One Dracula that wasn't mentioned before :


    YES!!!!!! Saw this on television when I was 6 expecting a traditional Dracula movie. A bit disappointed, but it introduced me to the legend that was David Niven. The U.S title was OLD DRACULA. The film is an acquired taste, and one I should add to my Dracula collection sometime. Been ages since I've seen it

    .
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    My first Dracula was the Jack Palance tv movie. I was scared to go down the basement stairs that night.

    I saw it around Halloween time in 1981 and was the first Dracula film I saw that displayed his fangs. Langella, Lugosi and George Hamilton never wore them. Palance, IMO remains the most intense Dracula and ranks alongside Lee and Lugosi as my favorite.

    chrisisall wrote: »
    IMO, the best is Horror Of Dracula 1958 (Dracula UK title),
    My favourite is Dracula AD 1972,
    And my one in between them is Dracula Has Risen From The Grave 1968.
    The rest are cool, but they sort of blur in my memory... and I just watched them all last Halloween!

    I'd say we're pretty close in that ranking. HORROR is the best, IMO, though my favorite tends to switch between HAS RISEN, SCARS, and AD '72.

    I also love PRINCE OF DARKNESS.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,824
    Nobody else started with the novel?
  • GerardGerard
    Posts: 5,808
    I did ! Way back when in Berlin. That's also where I discovered Frankenstein, and learned there was a second person singular in English. I read those editions, loaned to me by a schoolmate :

    s-l300.jpg s-l300.jpg
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    edited September 2018 Posts: 23,334
    Reading this thread has prompted me to buy the kindle edition of Dracula along with Frankenstein, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Island of Dr. Moreau

    92p for the lot a bargain all great stories, I have them in paper back though Kindle is incredibly convenient I'll start re reading Dracula tonight.
  • ToTheRightToTheRight
    Posts: 15,818
    I had my first copy of the novel when I was about 8 years old and attempted to read it then. It was probably around middle school that I finished the entire novel for the first time. I read it again in high school and a few more times over the years.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Gerard wrote: »
    I did ! Way back when in Berlin. That's also where I discovered Frankenstein, and learned there was a second person singular in English. I read those editions, loaned to me by a schoolmate :

    s-l300.jpg s-l300.jpg

    Of those two, I actually prefer Frankenstein.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,824
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    Gerard wrote: »
    I did ! Way back when in Berlin. That's also where I discovered Frankenstein, and learned there was a second person singular in English. I read those editions, loaned to me by a schoolmate :

    s-l300.jpg s-l300.jpg

    Of those two, I actually prefer Frankenstein.

    Frankenstein might be the superior novel, but I find Dracula far more entertaining and bona fide horror.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    Gerard wrote: »
    I did ! Way back when in Berlin. That's also where I discovered Frankenstein, and learned there was a second person singular in English. I read those editions, loaned to me by a schoolmate :

    s-l300.jpg s-l300.jpg

    Of those two, I actually prefer Frankenstein.

    Frankenstein might be the superior novel, but I find Dracula far more entertaining and bona fide horror.

    As for the movie adaptations, the only good Frankenstein I saw was the first Karloff, whereas Dracula has spawned several (although more bad than good).
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,824
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    Thunderfinger wrote: »
    Gerard wrote: »
    I did ! Way back when in Berlin. That's also where I discovered Frankenstein, and learned there was a second person singular in English. I read those editions, loaned to me by a schoolmate :

    s-l300.jpg s-l300.jpg

    Of those two, I actually prefer Frankenstein.

    Frankenstein might be the superior novel, but I find Dracula far more entertaining and bona fide horror.

    As for the movie adaptations, the only good Frankenstein I saw was the first Karloff, whereas Dracula has spawned several (although more bad than good).

    The Hammer Frankenstein movies are often great. Although very freely adapted. At least there's a few faithful adaptations of Shelley's novel.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,544
    I actually prefer Hammer's Frankensteins to their Draculas. Cushing is absolutely delicious as Frankenstein. FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN and FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED are my two favourite Hammer films bar none. Even the Ralph Bates Frankenstein works fine for me.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I have to admit there are many I haven t seen.
  • TR007TR007
    Posts: 1,165
    I wish Hammer released a collection of all the Lee Dracula movies. That would be a fantastic Halloween treat!
  • GerardGerard
    Posts: 5,808
    Seconded !
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Sesame Street s Count Von Count.
    Reminds me of someone.
    212-reasons-you-should-be-following-the-count-fro-2-4028-1428343108-4_dblbig.jpg
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,824
    Gerard wrote: »
    Seconded !

    +3
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,824
    Some observations about Dracula's Guest, from yours truly: I think Dracula's Guest is basically an early draft treatment of the beginning of the novel, something that was abandoned at a later date because Stoker had a better idea of what he would write and also because it did not fit with the direction the novel was taking. There is some evidence backing this up: the short story is set in Austria, where Stoker first considered placing the residence of the Count, the Englishman character seems to have the same role as Jonathan Harker, but is not like Harker and the story has too many supernatural elements from the beginning to be the "missing first chapter" that people thought was truncated from the novel. It doesn't "stick" with the novel, because it was never meant to be part of it. I am not literary geneticist, but that's what the evidence I have leads me to think.
  • CraterGunsCraterGuns
    Posts: 615
    Two "latter-day" Hammers just announced for North American (Region A) Blu-ray release, likely by the end of this year... Groovy!

    attachment.php?attachmentid=20903&d=1537302005

    attachment.php?attachmentid=20908&d=1537306737
  • ToTheRightToTheRight
    Posts: 15,818
    CraterGuns wrote: »
    Two "latter-day" Hammers just announced for North American (Region A) Blu-ray release, likely by the end of this year... Groovy!

    attachment.php?attachmentid=20903&d=1537302005

    attachment.php?attachmentid=20908&d=1537306737

    YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's about time we get an anamorphic decent looking SATANIC RITES.

    Looking forward to AD 1972 as well.To be honest, I felt the transfer used on the Warner Bros VHS copy from the late '90's was better than the later DVD version.

    Now if they can just get around to HORROR all will be right .
  • CraterGunsCraterGuns
    Posts: 615
    Tentative release for the two Drac Blu-rays is October 23rd... Next month!
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,824
    For all its flaws I really enjoyed The Satanic Rites of Dracula. Although I suspect like for many of Hammer's Dracula entries the count and vampiric elements were added at a later stage of development.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,894
    Satanic Rites is the only one not released in the UK. My copy is a 2 disc Region 0 DVD release.
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,824
    Article about the Catholic subtext in the novel Dracula. I wish I had written it as I picked up on it during my very first read: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://eprints.qut.edu.au/5244/1/5244_1.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjp_5jLhcrdAhXPT8AKHSrRAB8QFjAAegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw2Oc2VA1U0z2fj-gOhTHffL&cshid=1537462390519
  • CraterGunsCraterGuns
    edited September 2018 Posts: 615
    Ludovico wrote: »
    For all its flaws I really enjoyed The Satanic Rites of Dracula.
    It has its goofy moments but I like it, too. After all, it's Count Dracula versus MI5 (and Scotland Yard)!

  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 14,824
    CraterGuns wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    For all its flaws I really enjoyed The Satanic Rites of Dracula.
    It has its goofy moments but I like it, too. After all, it's Count Dracula versus MI5 (and Scotland Yard)!

    It's also one of the very few where there's an actual scheme and of proper scale. Too often in Hammer (and other) movies Dracula is a glorified slasher antagonist wanting petty revenge against some middle or upper class Brits. The original character is up there with Blofeld, Fu Manchu and Moriarty and they give him Freddy Krueger's motivation!
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