Follow The Leader: Episode 45: All Things Dracula!
Martinex1: It is Halloween! It is Halloween! It is time for fun! It is time for fun! So Follow the Leader! Perhaps something spooky today? We will see when somebody gets us started this AM!
19 comments:
Anonymous
said...
A question for Hallowe'en:
Who's the best Dracula: Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee (or maybe somebody else) ?
Bela Lugosi is the most authentic, being Hungarian which isn't far from Transylvanian but I much prefer Christopher Lee. In the early days of his acting career Lee had difficulty getting work in British films because he was "too foreign-looking" so perhaps that helped him when Hammer revived Dracula. But Lee was also very tall so he was imposing in the role too. In "Dracula, Prince Of Darkness" (1965) Lee gives a terrifying performance as Dracula where he never speaks throughout the entire film, just snarling like a rabid animal. But neither Lee nor Lugosi look like Count Dracula as described in Bram Stoker's novel who had slightly pointy ears and a big droopy mustache.
Another Dracula worth a mention is the French actor Louis Jourdan. He played Dracula in the BBC adaptation of the novel, broadcast on December 22nd 1977 (the day after the new French president, Emmanuel Macron, was born) - it was the first time I saw a (mostly) faithful version of the original novel.
Thanks for getting us started Colin. I am not as knowledgeable on Dracula actors but I do like Christopher Lee. Also whoever played the Count in the silent Nosferatu was extremely frightening. I also liked the guy in Fright Night but that may not have been Dracula but just a vampire - cannot remember.
If you don’t mind let’s open up the conversation to all things Dracula - best movies, best actors, books, comics, vampires in general, even puppets!
All things Dracula (but particularly vampiric actors) today at BitBA! Happy Halloween!
Hi all! Can anyone recommend Dracula flicks besides the first which my daughter and I watched and found quite good. Not into a bunch of gore though. Thanks! Lugosi rocks as the first Dracula!
Martinex, the silent-film version of Nosferatu was played by Max Schreck - in the year 2000 there was a film called 'Shadow Of The Vampire' about the making of the 1922 Nosferatu film in which Max Schreck (played by Willem Defoe) really is a vampire!
Charlie, try all the Dracula films made by Hammer such as: Dracula Dracula, Prince Of Darkness Scars Of Dracula Taste The Blood Of Dracula Dracula Has Risen From The Grave Dracula AD 1972 The Satanic Rites Of Dracula
Martinex mentioned puppets so...The Count from Sesame Street :)
And on the subject of Nosferatu - I've read that the word "Nosferatu" was invented by the 19th Century Scottish novelist, Emily Gerard. She married an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army and lived for a while in Transylvania where she wrote a book about local customs called "The Land Beyond The Forest". In the book she mentioned vampires and she used the word "Nosferatu" which was unknown in any language from South-East Europe. Bram Stoker read Emily Gerard's book and popularized the word "Nosferatu" in his novel, Dracula, several years later!
I thoroughly enjoyed Klaus Kinski in Herzog's remake of Nosferatu.
Gene Colan's Tomb of Dracula, with surprisingly good writing from Marv Wolfman, remains a cherished childhood memory and the gold standard in Dracula comics.
Colin thanks for the Nosferatu info. I will have to look up the Dafoe movie.
Yes to the Count and for another good Dracula puppet check out “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”. Hilarious movie but the Dracula puppet part is comedy gold.
It was the height of the blaxplotation craze and somehow it was pretty good.
William Marshall was a sympathetic, majestic vampire. And the character actor who played Dracula in the prelude was campy but pretty scary.
Production values were cheap, and the obligatory three song set in the middle was surely a nod to their limited budget. But dammit if the show doesn't work.
For me the most terrifying vampire of all wasn't Dracula but Mr. Barlow in the TV version of "Salem's Lot". The entire show, but especially Mr. Barlow, scared the living daylights out of me back in 1981.
Hmm OK here's my 2 cents (Trinidad & Tobago currency of course!) ....
Bela Lugosi was, and still is, the original 'sexy' vampire, the one which inspired all the subsequent Dracula cliches; sexy Hungarian accent? Check. Snappy outfit with cape? Check. Suave aristocratic European personality? Check. Hypnotic erotic rapport with women? Check.
Max Shreck's performance predated Lugosi of course, but his Count Orlock was more of a traditional ghoulish vampire than Lugosi's cultured bloodsucker. Gary Oldman is a great actor, but somehow I'm not a fan of his version of Dracula.
Now on to Sir Christopher Lee. While Lugosi originated the modern Dracula template, Lee brought his own take on Dracula. Personally, I find Lee's Dracula to be the most scary version; maybe because Lee cut an imposing figure (6ft 5 inches) coupled with his baritone voice and piercing gaze. His Hammer films are classics and still give me the chills up to this day.
So, to answer the question - Lugosi, Lee or someone else? I'm gonna cop out and say I loved both Lugosi and Lee, but for different reasons.
Just shared the 1931 Dracula with a group of high school students, who for the most part had NEVER heard of Bela Lugosi, though no doubt they recognized his image when they saw it. I'm boning them up on the vampire lore right now.
My answer though is that Lugosi will always be the definitive Dracula with Lee coming in as arguably the most savage. I always thought Jack Palance's version to be the most accurate in terms of the novel, though in looks I guess Lee gets that too in the Franco movie he made. Louis Jourdan's rendition lingers in my memory too as he slithered down the walls of his castle. Max Schreck deserves a shout out for certain, his rat-faced version is horrific if off model.
I, like Redartz, much enjoyed George Hamilton's Dracula. The notion of having a man known for his legendary tan (The George Hamilton Pro/Am CocoaButter Open ring any bells?) in the role of one who must avoid the sun.
Frank Langella's Dracula got a big deal at the time because it was the first Hollywood Dracula to really embrace the eroticism of the role. Beyond that, as Killraven noted, it faded quickly.
An odd, somewhat related Dracula that's on my system right now is Dracula, Sovereign Of The Damned from 1980. It's a Japanese cartoon based on the Gene Colan Dracula comic. The art, unsurprisingly, bears no resemblance to Colan's classic moody work. It's really pretty odd.
19 comments:
A question for Hallowe'en:
Who's the best Dracula: Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee (or maybe somebody else) ?
Bela Lugosi is the most authentic, being Hungarian which isn't far from Transylvanian but I much prefer Christopher Lee. In the early days of his acting career Lee had difficulty getting work in British films because he was "too foreign-looking" so perhaps that helped him when Hammer revived Dracula. But Lee was also very tall so he was imposing in the role too. In "Dracula, Prince Of Darkness" (1965) Lee gives a terrifying performance as Dracula where he never speaks throughout the entire film, just snarling like a rabid animal. But neither Lee nor Lugosi look like Count Dracula as described in Bram Stoker's novel who had slightly pointy ears and a big droopy mustache.
Another Dracula worth a mention is the French actor Louis Jourdan. He played Dracula in the BBC adaptation of the novel, broadcast on December 22nd 1977 (the day after the new French president, Emmanuel Macron, was born) - it was the first time I saw a (mostly) faithful version of the original novel.
Thanks for getting us started Colin. I am not as knowledgeable on Dracula actors but I do like Christopher Lee. Also whoever played the Count in the silent Nosferatu was extremely frightening. I also liked the guy in Fright Night but that may not have been Dracula but just a vampire - cannot remember.
If you don’t mind let’s open up the conversation to all things Dracula - best movies, best actors, books, comics, vampires in general, even puppets!
All things Dracula (but particularly vampiric actors) today at BitBA! Happy Halloween!
Hi all! Can anyone recommend Dracula flicks besides the first which my daughter and I watched and found quite good. Not into a bunch of gore though. Thanks! Lugosi rocks as the first Dracula!
And if you want a good Dracula read check out "The Historian."
What about Gary Oldman in "Bram Stoker's Dracula"?
Loved the Simpson's spoof of that film in one of the Treehouse of Horror episodes.
Martinex, the silent-film version of Nosferatu was played by Max Schreck - in the year 2000 there was a film called 'Shadow Of The Vampire' about the making of the 1922 Nosferatu film in which Max Schreck (played by Willem Defoe) really is a vampire!
Charlie, try all the Dracula films made by Hammer such as:
Dracula
Dracula, Prince Of Darkness
Scars Of Dracula
Taste The Blood Of Dracula
Dracula Has Risen From The Grave
Dracula AD 1972
The Satanic Rites Of Dracula
Martinex mentioned puppets so...The Count from Sesame Street :)
And on the subject of Nosferatu - I've read that the word "Nosferatu" was invented by the 19th Century Scottish novelist, Emily Gerard. She married an officer in the Austro-Hungarian army and lived for a while in Transylvania where she wrote a book about local customs called "The Land Beyond The Forest". In the book she mentioned vampires and she used the word "Nosferatu" which was unknown in any language from South-East Europe. Bram Stoker read Emily Gerard's book and popularized the word "Nosferatu" in his novel, Dracula, several years later!
Marvel's modern version of Dracula looks nothing like the Gene Colan Dracula from the '70s.
I thoroughly enjoyed Klaus Kinski in Herzog's remake of Nosferatu.
Gene Colan's Tomb of Dracula, with surprisingly good writing from Marv Wolfman, remains a cherished childhood memory and the gold standard in Dracula comics.
Colin thanks for the Nosferatu info. I will have to look up the Dafoe movie.
Yes to the Count and for another good Dracula puppet check out “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”. Hilarious movie but the Dracula puppet part is comedy gold.
Bela for me. I have to be in the right mood for those Hammer films.
The Oldman Dracula is pretty good, but all I can see when I think of that movie is him licking that bloody razor (shiver).
I remember a big deal was made of the Frank Langella Draculla movie when it came out in '79, but nothing has really stuck with me from that.
I'm with you Martinex on Sarandon from Fright Night. Not sure if he was a Deacula but he may have changed his name (Jerry) to fit in .
The other day I watched "Blacula" from 1972.
It was the height of the blaxplotation craze and somehow it was pretty good.
William Marshall was a sympathetic, majestic vampire. And the character actor who played Dracula in the prelude was campy but pretty scary.
Production values were cheap, and the obligatory three song set in the middle was surely a nod to their limited budget. But dammit if the show doesn't work.
Yoyo
For me the most terrifying vampire of all wasn't Dracula but Mr. Barlow in the TV version of "Salem's Lot". The entire show, but especially Mr. Barlow, scared the living daylights out of me back in 1981.
I always got a kick out of George Hamilton, in "Love at First Bite". What can I say, I have a weakness for comedy...
Happy Halloween everyone!
Hmm OK here's my 2 cents (Trinidad & Tobago currency of course!) ....
Bela Lugosi was, and still is, the original 'sexy' vampire, the one which inspired all the subsequent Dracula cliches; sexy Hungarian accent? Check. Snappy outfit with cape? Check. Suave aristocratic European personality? Check. Hypnotic erotic rapport with women? Check.
Max Shreck's performance predated Lugosi of course, but his Count Orlock was more of a traditional ghoulish vampire than Lugosi's cultured bloodsucker. Gary Oldman is a great actor, but somehow I'm not a fan of his version of Dracula.
Now on to Sir Christopher Lee. While Lugosi originated the modern Dracula template, Lee brought his own take on Dracula. Personally, I find Lee's Dracula to be the most scary version; maybe because Lee cut an imposing figure (6ft 5 inches) coupled with his baritone voice and piercing gaze. His Hammer films are classics and still give me the chills up to this day.
So, to answer the question - Lugosi, Lee or someone else? I'm gonna cop out and say I loved both Lugosi and Lee, but for different reasons.
- Mike 'invisible man' from Trinidad & Tobago.
The best Dracula was by Aurora Plastics!
Just shared the 1931 Dracula with a group of high school students, who for the most part had NEVER heard of Bela Lugosi, though no doubt they recognized his image when they saw it. I'm boning them up on the vampire lore right now.
My answer though is that Lugosi will always be the definitive Dracula with Lee coming in as arguably the most savage. I always thought Jack Palance's version to be the most accurate in terms of the novel, though in looks I guess Lee gets that too in the Franco movie he made. Louis Jourdan's rendition lingers in my memory too as he slithered down the walls of his castle. Max Schreck deserves a shout out for certain, his rat-faced version is horrific if off model.
Rip Off
I, like Redartz, much enjoyed George Hamilton's Dracula. The notion of having a man known for his legendary tan (The George Hamilton Pro/Am CocoaButter Open ring any bells?) in the role of one who must avoid the sun.
Frank Langella's Dracula got a big deal at the time because it was the first Hollywood Dracula to really embrace the eroticism of the role. Beyond that, as Killraven noted, it faded quickly.
An odd, somewhat related Dracula that's on my system right now is Dracula, Sovereign Of The Damned from 1980. It's a Japanese cartoon based on the Gene Colan Dracula comic. The art, unsurprisingly, bears no resemblance to Colan's classic moody work. It's really pretty odd.
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