Dracula (1931)

[Bela Lugosi III]

The other post on this is for the Spanish version. So this is the English version.

Really cool movie. Very gothic atmosphere. Awkward at times but that just made it creepier.

The ending was a little demeaning for the Dracula character. Dracula running with a woman in his arms? C'mon, he lost of lot of his 'Fuck you Van Helsing! I AM sexy and cool!' attitude. Seeing a look of fear on his face kinda' made him less scary. If a 'monster' can be afraid of something, why shouldn't we find that fear and kill him with it?

I love Bela Lugosi's portrayal of the Count. Very cool. Very seductive in some ways. Also, a little 'gay' when he would come onto Renfield.

Dwight Fry is very underrated when it comes to talking about the film. i think he did a great job! Very creepy!

I saw 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' a while ago and it was good up until the part where Dracula transforms into a huge Vampire. WTF? After that it just turned into another generic vampire flick. What a shame.

Dracula (1931) - 4.5/5
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - 2/5

[Philosophy&Mixtapes]

I watched this film a few years ago for an intro to film course. I don't remember much about it, but I do remember thinking it was pretty awesome.

[Biohazard]

I have lived with this movie for 40 years....the things that never grow old are the Lugosi performance and the sets....

The Spanish version is NOT better than this one...also beware of the version with the Glass scrore added...this movie is poetic in it's grave silences....

[ZantiMisfit]

Originally Posted by Biohazard

The Spanish version is NOT better than this one

The Spanish version is better shot (the American version is surprisingly static, very much highlighting it's stage play origins). But there's no comparison between the actor's playing the title role, and that makes the American version overall better in my book.

[superfry]

Originally Posted by Biohazard

I have lived with this movie for 40 years....the things that never grow old are the Lugosi performance and the sets....

The Spanish version is NOT better than this one...also beware of the version with the Glass scrore added...this movie is poetic in it's grave silences....

I agree wholeheartedly.

While, I'm not yet 40 (gettin there though!), this movie scared the bejeezus out of me as a little kid and was the movie responsible more than any other for my love of horror.

I'll always have a soft spot for it.

[tibber]

karl freund is the real star of the show here for me, even if it is rather static (though that satic feeling actually adds to the atmosphere in places, i think.)

[Bela Lugosi III]

I bought the 75 Year Ann. for Dracula and Frankenstein, seperate DVDs of course. They both have a SWEEEEET documentary trailing the horror movie genre origins all the way back to Caligari and the silent films. Especially those of Universal back in the 1930s. It's one of my favorite documentaries ever! I watch it when there is nothing to do! I don't get tired of it at all...

Anyways, the Dracula DVD has an alternative audio track that plays the Phillip Glass soundtrack to the film. I have to say that I enjoy Dracula without the music but I enjoyed it with the soundtrack as well. Although some parts do not seem to match the action in the movie.

I bought the soundtrack about a year and a half ago. It's one of my favorite soundtracks ever! The track, "The Castle" is the creepiest thing I've ever heard!

[resinpirate]

Originally Posted by Biohazard

I have lived with this movie for 40 years....the things that never grow old are the Lugosi performance and the sets....

The Spanish version is NOT better than this one...also beware of the version with the Glass scrore added...this movie is poetic in it's grave silences....

I totally agree the movie is much better without that Glass score. It overpowers the movie. It is a classic and as such should be left as the makers intended

[spookyone]

Dracula was my #1 vampire movie growing up,
aside from Nosfaratu. Bela Lugosi is one of my absolute favorite actors, especially in Dracula, it was perfectly dramatic, and horrifying, it is a classic!

[Dead & Messed Up]

Originally Posted by Bela Lugosi III

The other post on this is for the Spanish version. So this is the English version.

Really cool movie. Very gothic atmosphere. Awkward at times but that just made it creepier.

The ending was a little demeaning for the Dracula character. Dracula running with a woman in his arms? C'mon, he lost of lot of his 'Fuck you Van Helsing! I AM sexy and cool!' attitude. Seeing a look of fear on his face kinda' made him less scary. If a 'monster' can be afraid of something, why shouldn't we find that fear and kill him with it?

I love Bela Lugosi's portrayal of the Count. Very cool. Very seductive in some ways. Also, a little 'gay' when he would come onto Renfield.

Dwight Fry is very underrated when it comes to talking about the film. i think he did a great job! Very creepy!

Dwight Fry was okay, and Lugosi's performance is iconic (although it's too campy for its own good), but I really, really dislike this movie.

Part of it comes from the stage origins - the film was based on a stage play of the time, and the blocking/camera/mise-en-scene of the whole flick is really quite boring and almost anti-cinematic. I mean, Dracula isn't even killed on-screen, for cryin' out loud!

And the effects haven't aged well at all. Rubber bats on strings? Flashlights beaming on Dracula's eyes? James Whale's films are so much better than this mess that it's not even funny.

Oddly, Tod Browning made two other horrors that were significantly better than this: The Unknown and twisted masterpiece Freaks.