Travis Simpkins: Dracula

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Dracula (1931): Bela Lugosi as the Iconic Vampire

The first of the classic "Monster Movies" from Universal Studios, Dracula (1931) was an instant success and typecast Bela Lugosi while providing him with the defining role of his career. Full of dramatic atmosphere and cinematography, the film also put director Tod Browning on the map (though his follow up, Freaks (1932), was not as successful). The plot is only loosely based on the famous novel by Bram Stoker, with many liberties taken in regards to both character relations and storyline. Full of classic moments, lines like "There are far worse things awaiting man... than death" stick in one's memory and maintain the legacy of the film, which certainly is, and will remain one of the greatest Horror films ever made.

Dracula, 1931: Bela Lugosi

Dracula, 1931: Vampire

Dracula, 1931: Vampires

Dracula, 1931: Bela Lugosi

Dracula, 1931: Vampire

Dracula, 1931: Bela Lugosi

Dracula, 1931: Vampires

Dracula, 1931: Bela Lugosi

Dracula, 1931

Dracula, 1931: Bela Lugosi

Dracula, 1931

Dracula, 1931: Bela Lugosi

Dracula, 1931: Vampires

Dracula, 1931

Dracula, 1931: Bela Lugosi

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979): Isabelle Adjani and Count Dracula

Written and directed by Werner Herzog, Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) is more of a stylistic homage to F.W. Murnau's 1922 Silent Film, Nosferatu, than a direct adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The story concerns a 19th Century estate agent in Wismar, Germany who is sent to Transylvania to broker a property deal with the pale, ancient, blood-sucking vampire Count Dracula. Atmospheric and dark, the film has a palpable sense of superstition, fear and doom. The cast does a great job, including Klaus Kinski and Count Dracula, Isabelle Adjani as Lucy and Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Harker.