Film Adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula Over The Years
The stuff of legends in Eastern Europe, vampires have become a staple of the horror film industry. From Max Schreck's Count Orloff in 1922 to Lugosi's Dracula in 1931, to Lee's unforgettable performances with Hammer studios during the 50's and 60's, the vampire has been primped, gussied up and redressed with every theatrical incarnation. In Bram Stoker's Dracula, Gary Oldman dons the fangs and cape and delivers one of the most incredible performances, the count has ever seen. Visually stunning in every detail, Dracula, tells the story of a Romanian prince who slaughtered many in the name of the church only to cradle the broken body of his wife at the conclusion of his conquests. A wife he knew would be safe because of his service to the church. Seeds of betrayal and rage bloomed and in a fit of madness brought on by the sheer pain of grief, Dracul renounced all things holy and set his sights on destroying that which he once fought zealously to protect. The twists in the story and derivations from the novel are plenteous but the overall texture of the film is pleasing to both the eyes and ears. (Higashi, 1978)
Many centuries later, Dracula sets his sights on what appears to be his deceased bride in the semblance of Lucy Westerna (Winona Ryder). Upon his arrival in Great Britain, his sole purpose is to win her hand by the manifestation of his undying love for her as opposed to controlling her mentally and forcing her to bend to his will. This is something of a new concept in Dracula lore. Instead of the general heavy villainous bloodsucker, we are presented with a conflicted soul whose heart was broken but is now mending with the anticipation of re-establishing his connection to what would prove to be a soul mate. Mind you, the story of Dracula would not be much fun if he were a meek kitten seeking out his girlfriend's attention. Bram Stoker's Dracula is full of all the tricks of the trade any good vampire film bears. (Murphy, 1979)
Ultimately, Dracula is bound by this affair of the heart and will stop at nothing to make Lucy his for all eternity. With Dr. Abraham Van Helsing on the trail and a host of newly trained vampire hunter-killers (Nod to Peter Vincent) fast on the hoof, a confrontation of incredible size is soon to take place. Visually, there is no better vampire film. Gary Oldman's performance is nothing short of inspired. There are sights in this film that have never before been attempted. If they have been put to film, they did not bear even an inkling of the panache Coppola imbued this movie with. From set design to costumes and transformations, Bram Stoker's Dracula is at the head of the pack. Not since Tim Curry's Lord of Darkness in Ridley Scott's Legend, has there been a sinister presence so captivating.
Dracula, another popular monster at the matinees, was a vampire played by Bela Lugosi and based on the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker. Vampires were the "undead" (Stoker, 1997) who had great power on the one hand, but on the other hand were subject to very simple detection and elimination. Vampires, being susceptible to sunlight, can only move about after sunset. During the day, they sleep in coffins which must contain dirt from their native land. They cast no reflection in a mirror and their power is greatly diminished by a cross. They are generally charming, attractive and are constantly recruiting others with promises of eternal life. The only way they can exist is by sucking the blood of the living. (Hogan, 1986)
Sexual decadence permeated 1994's Interview with the Vampire. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt wore dandy duds, dwelled in great houses in New Orleans and Paris, and cavorted their way from the 18th century to the present day. As the ravishingly libidinous Lestat, Cruise seduced most everyone along the way, but Pitt's Louis fought his vampire nature. When at last he drank the blood of a young girl, a gorgeous -- but lethal -- family was born....
Though the character is remarkably static for a major character -- he is meant to be seen as completely evil -- he is worth studying as a major character in regards to the origins of his evil and immoral behavior. On the other side of Dracula, Van Helsing, Dracula's foil is portrayed as an older, educated man who is, nonetheless, moral. While Dracula and Van Helsing share many characteristic, including
nineteenth century, the women's suffrage movement was gaining momentum. Appearing out of an era heavily influence by Victorian ideals and beliefs, it was now a question of whether or not women should be allowed to vote, work, eat, and appear as they wished. At this point in history, women were considered significantly inferior to their male counterparts and were not considered so much as citizens of the United States
Allegorical Dracula It seems strange at first to consider one of the greatest of Victorian gothic novels, and the genesis of the entire modern vampire craze as a masterpiece of Christian fiction. However, it is precisely accurate to do so. If it were written today, it would most certainly be considered Christian niche fiction. The entirety of the novel is filled with appeals to the wisdom, justice, and aid of
The character of Dracula is both evil and corrupt in the extreme but he is also a source of sympathy to a certain extent. This apparent contradiction is due to the fact that his longings and desires are perverted in comparison to the normal, but they are still recognizable as human qualities even in their distortion and corruption. In the final analysis, it is possibly this strange mixture of
Bram Stoker's masterwork and greatest novel, Dracula, has been and remains one of the most culturally pervasive novelistic tropes of the last 100 years. Indeed, in multiple film versions as well as in the novel and myriad other mediums, it remains a deeply pervasive cultural idea. Part of the inspiration for the story no doubt takes elements from Stoker's own life and fictionalizes and dramatizes them to the point where
Women counted for little, but not everyone agreed with these Victorian standards. For example, J.S. Mill and Harriet Taylor, a couple who flaunted convention of the time, advocated happiness above all and divorce when necessary (which was unheard of in Victorian times). They write, "If all persons were like these, [happy] or even would be guided by these, morality would be very different from what it must now be; or
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