DVD Collection
Dracula (The Legacy Collection – 1931)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Universal Studios / 2004
Director: Tod Browning
Writers: Bram Stoker (novel), Hamilton Deane
Starring: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, Dwight Frye
Review by Vaughn Drake
The film starts with Renfield traveling to Dracula’s castle against the warnings of the local villagers, through the fog and early evening. He arrives at the castle, and meets the infamous Count Dracula, a feared man, and within no time, falls into the Counts grasp…and slowly starts going insane. Once the Count and Renfield arrive in London, we meet the remainder of the cast: Harker, Van Helsing, Mina and Lucy. All the characters are familiar to the modern viewer, as is the story of history’s most famous vampire: Count Dracula.
Tod Browning (Freaks) directed this, the first Hollywood version of Bram Stokers 1897 novel, Dracula. He managed to get Bela Lugosi to play the count; a role Bela knew well from having played it on stage for years. Completely devoid of a musical score, due to sound being new to film, and featuring long sections with no dialogue, the movie is known primarily for Bela’s iconic personification of the Count.
Bela’s portrayal of the Count, although different from the novel, and different from many other actors’ versions, is still the most widely known onscreen version of Dracula; his mannerisms and style of speaking are ingrained in our culture. Due to our heightened desensitization to violence and sex, we take it for granted that this film, and Bela’s portrayal of the Count, terrified audiences back in 1931.
If there’s one thing that can be improved, it would be the long silent sections. Thankfully Philp Glass’s musical score, available as a bonus feature, helps scenes seem less static. Glass doesn’t try to reinvent the movie with his use of music, but rather he created a soundtrack that could have been written in 1931, and enhances the tension Browning created.
Dracula is one of horrors true classics and one of the genres most important films. Not to be missed.
Although short in length, its impact on our pop culture cannot be denied. Lugosi’s Dracula is a true icon, and like the Nike swoosh and Karloff’s Frankenstein, Bela as the Count stands as a symbol of the 20th Century, and the films impact on history cannot be denied.
