Synopsis
Romanticized adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 classic. Count Dracula is a subject of fatal attraction to more than one English maiden lady, as he seeks an immortal bride.
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Cast
- Frank LangellaCount Dracula
- Laurence OlivierProf. Abraham Van Helsing
- Donald PleasenceDr. Jack Seward
- Kate NelliganLucy Seward
- Trevor EveJonathan Harker
- Jan FrancisMina Van Helsing
- Janine DuvitskiAnnie
- Tony HaygarthMilo Renfield
- Teddy TurnerSwales
- Sylvester McCoyWalter
Recommendations
- 90
Washington Post
The new Dracula is a dazzler, a classic retelling of a classic text. From opening wolf howls through ominous, ambiguous concluding images, it sustains an exciting, witty, erotically compelling illusion of supernatural mystery and terror. [13 Jul 1979, p.E1] - 88
Chicago Sun-Times
What an elegantly seen Dracula this is, all shadows and blood and vapors and Frank Langella stalking through with the grace of a cat. The film is a triumph of performance, art direction and mood over materials that can lend themselves so easily to self-satire - 88
The Associated Press
A splendidly mounted and impressively acted version of the Bram Stoker classic. [09 Jul 1979] - 75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Dracula may not be as big a success as it should be - we don't like our myths dissected, after all, and there is an uneasy (but workable) truce in the film between subtle stylization and the demands of the contemporary horror audience for gore. [14 Jul 1979] - 60
Time
There is no point in retelling this tale if you are going to be stuffy about it. - 60
Empire
Some interesting creative choices make this more a curio than a great film. - 60
Time Out
Langella offers the best interpretation of Stoker's villain since Christopher Lee, and Badham's film, shot in England, gives him a classy environment to devastate. But the decision to create such a sympathetic vampire (especially alongside Olivier's hammy Van Helsing) leaves the film short of suspense, and so romance has to take most of the weight. As a result, it begins to drift badly at the climax. - 60
Newsweek
Violence belongs in Dracula - the problem is simply that Badham is not good at it. Virtually every big action scene is confusingly staged and clumsily edited. It is particularly sad to report that Olivier is terribly misused. [23 Jul 1979, p.70]
