bram stokers dracula

When he’s working at full steam, there’s no other director alive who imbues more passion into his films than Francis Ford Coppola. His greatest works always seem teeter on the edge of collapsing into madness, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula is no exception. A bravura showpiece of costume design, old-school optical effects and overblown romance, the film failed to revitalize Coppola’s career like it should have, instead winding up as a footnote to more cerebral works like Apocalypse Now and The Godfather. But from a purely visual perspective, this take on the Dracula mythos is by far the most successful ever filmed. Challenging himself on two different fronts, Coppola pledged to stay true to the original novel and utilize only traditional in-camera effects to create the film’s elaborate scares. He got it half right, coming up with ingenious and beautiful camera tricks through the use of miniatures, matte work and puppets. But the story itself, from a screenplay by James V. Hart, layers the actual history of Vlad the Impaler onto Stoker’s pulpy novel, and then cranks up the melodrama with a misguided romance that survives through the centuries. The film wisely incorporates all the best scenes from previous adaptations - Harker’s trip to Castle Dracula, his run-in with the vampire brides, Lucy’s bloody baby-snatching demise – and even includes a rousing climactic fight back in Transylvania that most other versions lacked. Coppola plays masterfully with light and darkness, creating a tactile shadow of the Count that lurks around every corner, turning him into a truly beastly figure. From beginning to end, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a film student’s dream come true, referencing the techniques of masters like Murnau and Griffith, using and abusing the imaginary proscenium arch for all its worth. Truly brilliant stuff! However, the casting hits a couple of seriously sour notes in the form of Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and Anthony Hopkins. Reeves wasn’t far enough removed from Bill & Ted-status at this point in his career to tackle a British accent with any degree of believability. Ryder can’t pull off the required sex appeal to save her life. And Hopkins just seems bored and impatient in equal measures. Thankfully, Gary Oldman excels in the title role. Even buried under mountains of wigs, latex and make-up, the actor manages to play to the back row, channeling some of the better aspects of Lugosi’s career defining performance. There’s no denying Bram Stoker’s Dracula is deeply flawed film. But it’s made with such passion and love for filmmaking that it also undeniably unforgettable. However, the film’s original Blu-ray debut, a packed collector’s edition with a reportedly director approved transfer, left many fans unimpressed. The multiple-generation optical effects were certainly going to be a challenge in the transfer process, but even with that in mind the consensus was that Coppola’s film looked muted and unimpressive. Sony has finally rectified that with a brand-new 4K remastered transfer that comes much closer to the theatrical experience, with a more consistent black level and less intrusive grain structure. There are even two new well-produced interview segments – each around 30 minutes - featuring Coppola and his son Roman, who served as Visual Effect Director on the film. All the previous extras are carried over including Coppola’s introduction and audio commentary. The director gets a bit distracted by the history behind the film as opposed to sticking to the production at hand, but he never lacks for insightful play-by-play. This sets the stage for several featurettes. The Making of Dracula (29 min) is centered around on-set footage and publicity-speak from 1992. The Costumes and Sets (14 min) focuses on designer Eiko Ishioka’s daring work in imagining Dracula’s look. The Naïve Visual Effects of Dracula (19 min) is probably the most interesting extra, detailing the meticulous adherence to papa Coppola’s rule of no computer effects, which led to the firing of much of the staff. The director’s son, Roman Coppola, stepped in to help his father realize some of those startling in-camera effects. Method and Madness (12 min) is a close second, though, covering the source material that inspired the film’s rich look. There are 12 Deleted and Extended Scenes totaling around 30-minutes. The quality of each is quite poor, but they’re valuable nonetheless. The film’s theatrical trailer wraps comprehensive package that one-ups the lackluster visual appearance of the previous edition quite handily.