Re: World Dracula Day

On Tue, 28 May 2024 06:54:16 -0700, Arthur Lipscomb
<arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

On 5/28/2024 2:13 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:

moviePig <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:

On 5/27/2024 3:22 PM, anim8rfsk wrote:

moviePig <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:

On 5/26/2024 6:04 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:

May 26, in honor of the publication of the original novel.
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What will you watch to celebrate?
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I’ve got the Dan Curtis/Jack Palance version going right now with music
from dark shadows. It’s a pretty good and a pretty faithful adaptation.
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Available on the Peacock, it’s a good copy in 16:9 with the ads front
loaded so it runs uninterrupted.
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Next up, I found the excellent 1977 Louis Jourdon version on the gray.

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The key scene in any telling of the original story is the first vision
of transformed Lucy.  Notably, Coppola rather blew it (along with the
ending).  My vote for that one scene (and I've seen them all multiple
times) goes to John Badham's 1979 version...

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One of the (many) problems with the 1979 version is that it’s based on the
play where they randomly switch characters names for God knows why. So I
assume you’re actually talking about Mina? Kate Nelligan as Lucy makes it
all the way through to the end.
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I have no idea what advancing the storyline to 1913 accomplished except
that they got to rent some old cars.
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I first saw it in the theater in the wrong aspect ratio. The moon comes up
and it’s twice as tall as it is wide! I went back and complained to the guy
selling popcorn and got an explanation I hadn’t heard before. They were 12
screens in the theater and only one projectionist and he would fix it (and
eventually did) when he got back to this screen in his rotation.
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My date bailed early when they clawed the guys throat on the Demeter but
insisted her roommate and I stay while she sat in the lobby smoking for the
next 90 minutes.
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Langella was great.  I hate the newer desaturated transfers.
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In the Louis Jourdan version, both girls start growing fangs from the
minute they are first bit. They do very little in the way of makeup on them
to turn them into vampires, but Lucy in particular is wonderfully
animalistic. And it has some of the best fog effects I’ve ever seen.

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(Mina... Lucy...  Moosey?)
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Yeah, Langella is always great, though his take on the Dracula character
(which earned him raves on Broadway) was that "He's just a man..."
While that has much to recommend it in a drama, I want something a tad
more feral.  (I pick Christopher Lee in 1958.)

 
Palance is pretty feral, as you’d expect.
 
I saw Martin Landau on stage in the title role in the roadshow Gorey
production. He was great. :-)
 
 

The Louis Jourdan version blew me away at first.  But when I saw it
again a few years ago, I was put off by the really crappy (today)
"surreal" electronic dreamy sequences, or do I misremember...
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Those sequences are definitely a bit trippy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY1CFCKrMV4

Unfortunately, you remember correctly. It’s very much a product of its time
with cheesy solarized video insert effects that weren’t needed now or then.
 
But there’s a lot of good stuff in it. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen
Dracula climbing down the castle walls, face down, and it was the only
version I watched yesterday, that had most of the memorable quotes like
listen to them the children of the night what music they make.
 
It’s long enough to be leisurely when it needs to be. Hey, one of the three
brides is Sarah Douglas from Superman!

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Now that got my attention!  I checked but Xfinity doesn't have it
available to stream anywhere.  It doesn't even acknowledge this movie
exists.  :-/
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Amazon doesn't have it to stream either.
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May I point you to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u36VjXirmlY

It's not the best copy but it is available for free.