Horror of Dracula (1958) [Blu-ray]

This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of 'Horror of Dracula' released by Warner Archives in December, 2018.I'm giving this release 5 stars but really it doesn't deserve more than 4 stars. For an explanation, look below in 'CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS'.For those of you who are new to this movie, this is not a 'new' Dracula movie but is a classic that was made in 1957. This movie along with 'The Curse of Frankenstein' helped launch Hammer Horror into prominence.BLU-RAY: This movie is presented in 1080p High Definition with a 16x9 (1.66:1) aspect ration. The picture is very good as would be expected. It is not perfect and can be improved upon but as a straight transfer it is very good. So I'm giving the transfer 4/5 stars.EXTRA'S: As is usual with all of the Warner Archive series, the extra's are minimal. You get a trailer and subtitles (if you consider that an extra) and that's it. The trailer is of poor quality and has the colors washed out with many imperfections.PLOT/SUMMARY: The movie starts out in 1885. Jonathan Harker travels to Castle Dracula where he is to take a job as Dracula's librarian. In reality, he has come to the castle to kill Dracula (Christopher Lee). Upon arriving he is locked in his bedroom and begins writing in his journal where he reveals his true intentions.Harker is released by a mysterious woman who asks him to help her escape the castle. She then attempts to bite his neck but Dracula intervenes. Harker is brought back to his room after he passes out during the skirmish. When he awakes, he realizes that he is bitten and will soon become a vampire. He writes a final entry and hides his journal outside of the castle in a shrine to the Virgin Mary. He then attempts to kill Dracula and the woman who approached him earlier. He kills the female vampire first but that awakens Dracula.Some time later, Professor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) arrives in town looking for Harker. He is met with much resistance to his questions. An innkeepers daughter secretly gives Harker's journal to him. Van Helsing goes to Castle Dracula and finds Harker in his coffin. He immediately drives a stake into him. Van Helsing goes to the home of Lucy Holmwood, who was Harker's fiancee and delivers the news. Lucy has been ill. Van Helsing discovers that Dracula has been paying her visits and puts a crucifix around her neck and has garlic put in the room. He tells Lucy's parents, Arthur (Michael Gough) and Mina about what is going on but does not tell the maid and her daughter. He gives Harker's journal to Arthur to help convince him. The maid, Gerda, is coerced by Lucy into removing the garlic from the room despite strict orders to the contrary. After Lucy turns into a vampire and attempts to feed of of Tania, Gerda's daughter, Van Helsing and Arthur Holmwood hunt down Mina and kill her. Dracula sets his sites on revenge and targets Arthur's wife, Mina.It's up to Van Helsing and Arthur Holmwood to stop Dracula and his plans.PRODUCTION: This is the first of the 'Hammer Horror Production' Dracula movies and is the one that most people consider the best.-'Dracula' was the original title of this film. It was changed to 'Horror of Dracula' for it's American release. This was done to avoid audiences with confusing this movie with the original 'Dracula' starring Bela Lugosi.-Universal had exclusive rights to 'Dracula' that were given to the by the Bram Stoker estate so therefore the rights had to be negotiated with them by 'Hammer'.-'Horror of Dracula' was released in 1958 as part of double feature with 'The Thing that Couldn't Die'. The movie premiered in the United States first in May followed by the English premiere two weeks later.-This movie was directed by the great director Terence Fischer and written by Hammer Horror icon Jimmy Sangster.-This movie was a big commercial success on the heels of 'Curse of Frankenstein'. This success would lead to many more horror movies over the next 15 or so years.-There would be 8 sequels to this movie made by 'Hammer'. The second or immediate sequel would not feature the character of 'Dracula' but Peter Cushing would reprise his role as Professor Van Helsing in that movie. The sequels were all made between 1960 and 1974.-This movie is distinctly different than both the novel by Bram Stoker and the 1931 movie staring Bela Lugosi.-Christopher Lee would reprise his role as Dracula 6 more times for 'Hammer'. However, he famously did not like any of the sequels and needed to be persuaded for each one.-Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee would team up 3 times for Hammer Horror in Dracula movies. The other two were the two modern day Dracula movies, 'Dracula, A.D. 1972' and 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula'. PeterCushing appears on both 'Hammer' Dracula moves that Lee does not appear in, 'The Brides of Dracula' and 'The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires'.-A slightly longer version of this film was discovered in 2012. This included the scene of Dracula disintegrating. This scene is included in this version.-The sound of Dracula's footsteps were deliberately removed. Also, Dracula's powers were scaled down. His abilities to climb walls and turn into a bat were removed.-In his scenes driving the coach, Peter Cushing insisted on not using a double.-Christopher Lee has minimal screen time. He actually only appears in just seven of the films 82 minutes! Also he has only 13 lines of dialogue. Of course this is quite a lot when compared to his next appearance as Dracula in 'Dracula: Prince of Darkness'. In that one he has none!-As a result of the success of 'Curse of Frankenstein' and the production of this movie, Hammer never filmed their version of 'I am Legend'. It may also be possible that it wasn't filmed because of issues with the censors.-Many critics of the time period did not like this movie. Most of the criticism had to do with the explicit nature of the film (obviously, for the time period). Ironically this criticism helped make the movie an even bigger success.COMMENTS: Obviously this is one of the best 'Dracula' movies ever made. That said, I have a few comments.What I like:-I liked the blood on Dracula's name plate at the open of the movie. To me this is especially effective.-The scene in the library is one of the best ever for a horror movie. This must have been shocking to audiences in 1958. It's hard to imagine what that must have been like to see the blood dripping from Dracula's fangs in full color in 1958 and than watching him violently attack a woman.!-I love Peter Cushing's performance as Van Helsing. Cushing is my favorite 'Hammer' actor.What I don't like:-I'm not sure why Dracula allowed Harker to leave the castle. I suppose he thought that he would not get far without returning. But Harker could have easily killed Dracula had he not chosen to kill the woman first. This doesn't make much sense.-Why would Dracula need a full time librarian? I think that they should have kept Harker in his original role as a real estate agent. The results would have been the same.-I do not like the fact that most 'Dracula' movies do not have rules for 'crosses'. You can pretty much use anything to make a cross, not to mention that crosses exist virtually everywhere in a room if you look for them.RECOMMENDATIONS/CONCLUSIONS: This movie is a must have for Dracula fans. I'm giving this release 5 stars taking into account the period in which it was made. So 5 stars for the plot. I'm going to give the picture quality 4 stars but I believe this can still be improved upon. The extra's get just 1 1/2 stars for subtitles and a trailer.All things considered on a scale of 1 to 10 I'm giving this release an 8/10 or 4 stars. I bumped it up to 5 stars because this is such a classic movie and one of the best 'Hammer Horror' ever made.Certainly, a better release is possible especially when taken into account the lack of extra's.Highly recommended obviously for fans of Hammer Horror Productions.Highly recommended for all fans of Dracula or vampire movies in general.Highly recommended for fans of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.Highly recommended for fans of classic horror.

This film represented the very best of the British based Hammer Studio's many horror productions and led to the coining of the term "Hammer Horrors" which generations of moviegoers came to know as providing unique gothic and stylish renditions of classic horror in deep and vigorous colors. It reintroduced the character of Count Dracula to the baby boomers and subsequent generations. As opposed to Bela Lugosi's stagy, static, and fangless Dracula, we now see the Count as a dynamic and muscular force with a remarkable display of canine fangs as never before seen on the screen (with the sole exception of the classic German silent movie titled Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, which showed Orlok/Dracula with rat-like teeth).Christopher Lee was a forceful presence as the vampire noble man. Peter Cushing was truly great in his performance as the Count's nemesis, Dr. Van Helsing. This represented the second pairing of Cushing and Lee, the first being in Hammer's Curse of Frankenstein. The teaming of these two actors was a truly fortuitous one for Hammer, the actors, and for the fans of classic horror genre films. No other pairing was comparable with the possible exception of Lugosi and Boris Karloff.The opening scene showing the spilling of blood on Dracula's tomb nameplate was a true shocker at the time it was first seen in the movie theater. The subsequent scene with Dracula angrily rushing through a door with furious red veined eyes and blood dripping from his open fanged mouth, after the vampire woman bit Jonathan Harker, was absolutely frightening. Finally, we have that breathtaking ending with Van Helsing leaping on the table and ripping down the curtains to let in sunlight to turn Dracula into dust. Those scenes, tied into the story, presents a cinematic experience which remains with us to this day.Horror of Dracula certainly set the tenor for all subsequent vampire films by having their glorious and gory cinematic moments shown in beautifully rendered Technicolor, thanks to the mastery of technician Jack Asher, rather than in traditional black and white. The story, developed by scriptwriter Jimmy Sangster, was presented in a tightly woven manner which helped to assure that the dialogue and scenes would move along smoothly. This film was as much a masterpiece of Director Terence Fisher as it was for Cushing and Lee. Director Fisher clearly had the skills to make all the elements in the film click together to create a thrilling spectacle which continues to amaze us. However, we must acknowledge that without the compelling acting skills provided by Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, we would never see the Horror of Dracula which we are so fortunate to have with us now. Both Cushing and Lee have complemented each other to a very high degree. It might be said that they represented their separate roles as the yin and yang of a paired being. In other words, we could easily look at the roles of Van Helsing and Dracula as being two sides of the same coin. One side representing a being of great power and evil and the other side showing a person of high intelligence, true integrity and fearlessness fighting on the side of the good. For this reason, it was natural to find Van Helsing and Dracula going against each other as they did. It is very difficult to imagine any other actors taking on the roles of those two protagonists as did Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.It is my hope that Warner Brothers will do a special edition of this film and give it the extras needed, including commentaries from horror film historians, background information about Hammer and its making of Horror of Dracula, plus interviews with those involved with the making of the film including Christopher Lee. In the meantime, one cannot do wrong with obtaining this DVD at such a reasonable price and view the finest film ever about Count Dracula and his reign of terror.

Dracula is bad [enter your phrase here]. This movie is just vicious and ahead of its time. It is terrifying, uncomfortable, and all its own.

Good

I love horror movies

Una de las películas más emblemáticas de Drácula, la estelarizan Christopher Lee y Peter Cushing tiene subtítulos en español audio original.

Il s'agit du premier film de vampires de la Hammer qui deviendra par la suite célèbre pour ses films d'épouvante. Il s'agit aussi du premier film dans lequel Christopher Lee interprète Dracula. Le scénario en prend large avec le roman de Bram Stoker mais le fil de l'histoire reste le même. Jonathan Harker est victime du comte Dracula en Transylvanie. Dracula se rend ensuite en Allemagne (et non en Angleterre comme dans le roman) pour s'attaquer aux proches de Harker. Il vampirise d'abord sa fiancée Lucy Holmwood mais ensuite trouve le docteur Van Helsing sur son chemin. Peter Cushing, dans le rôle de Van Helsing, trouve un rôle à sa mesure. Christopher Lee reste à ce jour le meilleur interprète de Dracula. Bref, il s'agit d'un classique du cinéma d'horreur qui se laisse aisément regarder.

Para mí, una de las versiones del mito de Transilvania más serias (y terroríficas). Personajes, instrumentos, vestuarios y ambientación impecables. Los protagonistas son muy buenos y actúan de modo muy creíble. Los secundarios igual (se nota la escuela británica de interpretación de los cincuenta). Fenomenal el grupo escogido por la "Hammer" y riguroso el trabajo de dirección de Terence Fisher. Auténtico cine de "terror" y no las sanguinolentas patrañas de ruidos y gritos que solemos ver en la actualidad.

ドラキュラ映画での聖杯です。幼少期、テレビで放映され、その晩に怖くて眠れなかったことを思い出します。自宅の寝室の窓の外に、ドラキュラ伯爵が立ってこちらを見てるんじゃないかと思うと、眠れません。やはり、クリストファー・リーさんは格好良いです！背が高い。面長の顔面ですが、それなりに高身長なので顔が小さくみえます。ボディバランスが最高。この舞台となる時代（１８００年代）の、リアルな輸血作業や、円筒レコード式蓄音機とか。本当に時代背景に忠実で、ドラキュラ映画にはかかせない馬車も美しい。英国の景色が存分に楽しめます。大人になってから、こんなにドラキュラ映画を楽しめるとは思ってもいませんでした。高身長な俳優さんは、沢山居ると思います。是非、超リアルなリメイク作品を望みます。

J'ai découvert toute la série des Hammer films alors que, jeune marié nous habitions Place Blanche entre le Colorado et le Mexico, qui sans doute fatigués des westerns s'étaient spécialisés dans le genre. Christopher Lee est de loin le meilleur Dracula du cinéma, Peter Cushing le meilleur docteur qu'il soit Van Elsing ou Frankenstein. Térence Fisher lui même n'étant pas manchot, ça ne peut donner que de bons résultats. Bien sûr ça manque sans doute un peu de tripailles pour les jeunes générations. Mais l'ambiance compense largement.