After Last Voyage of the Demeter came out last year, I was keen to acquaint myself with other Dracula adaptations.
I have posted a couple of reviews so far (see below), and this was one of the more intriguing examples.
Watching variations of the same story can get tedious, but each adaptation I have seen takes so many liberties, it never feels repetitive.
A BBC production directed by Philip Saville, Count Dracula is defined by its relative faithfulness to the narrative of the novel.
Combining exteriors shot on film with video-shot interior sequences, it has a unique atmosphere that is more compelling than some of its big screen cousins.
Some of the video effects are ineffective on their own, but they give the piece the feeling of a dream. While the visual effects and makeup are limited, the filmmakers lean into the story and their production’s potential for surrealism - the two-part epic is perhaps not the stuff of nightmares, but it is effectively unsettling.
Despite its fidelity to the source narrative, the film is effective in milking tension from Harker’s captivity in the early chunk of the story.
What marks it as televisual - the more intimate framing, the focus on a small set of locations, the roughness of the visual effects - give it its own unique atmosphere.
Louis Jourdan’s Count may not resemble the character of the novel, but Jourdan’s urbane, suave characterization is effective.
I am most familiar with the actor from his villainous role in Octopussy, but on this evidence, I am keen to see his other work.
He takes the more sensual aspects of Lee, without the sense of physicality or overt malevolence.
He is more of a Devil figure, able to lure victims in with an understanding of their weaknesses and desires.
His quiet, gently mocking performance is beautifully complemented by Bosco Hogan as Harker and, in the second instalment, Frank Finlay as Van Helsing.
It loses steam in the third act, but overall, Count Dracula is a fantastic adaptation of the book, and a fascinating example of how to use your medium to its most uncanny effect.
Related
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
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