DVD Artwork
The Universal monsters are just that universal. There isn’t a human alive that isn’t familiar with the stories of the The Wolfman, Frankenstein or Dracula. They are iconic in the American mind (and from what I understand the international mind). Every time the stories are retold they are given a greater and deeper mythology that becomes increasingly interesting. Sometimes when you go back to the original, without all of that mythology in place, with the story stripped down to it’s very basics, the story looses some of its power.
Dracula is an impressive movie, especially considering its stunning originality for it’s time, but in spite of that I had a hard time really getting into it. Not because I didn’t enjoy the film, but because it has been played out before my eyes so many times. Even in ilk like Dracula Dead and Loving It, we see the exact same story played out but for laughs. It is that nagging, “God I’ve seen this so many times before,” in the back of my mind that frustrates me about watching the classics.
The plot is basic, Dracula (Bela Lugosi, White Zombie) with the help of his bug eating lackey Renfield (Dwight Frye, The Vampire Bat) comes to England and begins to feed. After Dracula attacks the beautiful Mina (Helen Chandler, Rough Romance), the attention of Dr. Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan, The Mummy) is raised. A showdown is inevitable and let’s just say that Dracula gets the short end of the stick.
They don’t make movies like this anymore though. The landscapes alone make this worth watching. They are lush and intricate in a way that could only come through in a black and white film. You feel like you could fall right into the scenes they are that detailed, but they are obviously still paintings. I would kill to own one of those paintings.
This is a movie from a different era. Made in 1931 it is damn near a silent movie. Though the score is sweeping and amazing the dialogue is spares. Instead of sound effects and words they often rely on Lugosi’s eyes to show his unnerving power over people. One of the best scenes in the movie is when Van Helsing and Dracula are having a face off. They silently stare each other down and Van Helsing almost looks like he is going to cave into Dracula’s power, then he pulls it out and stands strong. Sweet sequence of shots that is played out in absolute silence. No dialog, no nothing, amazing stuff. This is the kind of subtle horror that is missing today.
The Legacy Edition of this film is decent. It came out to coincide with the release of the deplorable Van Helsing, almost all of the special features somehow tie back into that movie. The transfer is decent but you would think that a movie house like Universal would be able to clean it up a little bit more than they did. I have to say though that this is a classic for a reason. It comes from a time when plot and character and setting were the most important elements of a film and it shows. The “special effects” are non existent, the humor is lame, but still this film stands up on its own three quarters of a century later. They just don’t make them like this anymore.
