Dracula (1973/I) (TV)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Dan Curtis

Writer:

Richard Matheson (written by)

Release Date:

8 February 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Plot Keywords:

Victim | England | Aristocrat | Vampire Bat | Victorian Era

Cast

Jack Palance	...	Dracula
Simon Ward	...	Arthur
Nigel Davenport	...	Van Helsing
Pamela Brown	...	Mrs. Westenra
Fiona Lewis	...	Lucy
Penelope Horner	...	Mina
Murray Brown	...	Jonathan Harker
Virginia Wetherell	...	Dracula's Wife (as Virginia Wetherall)
Barbara Lindley	...	Dracula's Wife
Sarah Douglas	...	Dracula's Wife
George Pravda	...	Innkeeper
Hana Maria Pravda	...	Innkeeper's Wife (as Hanna-Maria Pravda)
Reg Lye	...	Zookeeper
Fred Stone	...	Priest
Roy Spencer	...	Whitby Inn Clerk

Also Known As:

Bram Stoker's Dracula (USA)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:18 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Finland:K-18 | UK:15 (video rating) (1994) | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Latglen Ltd.

Trivia:

Jack Palance admitted to being glad once the film was completed. A method actor, he felt that he was "becoming" Dracula more than he wanted.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Dracula flips over Lucy's coffin, the supposedly dead actress inside can clearly be seen to quickly raise her arms to cover her chest and face, presumably to shield herself from the fall.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Lie to Me (#2.7)" (1997)

Great Adaptation of Bram Stocker's Novel

I am a great fan of vampire movies, and was really surprised how good this classic version of Bram Stocker's novel is. I am not fan of Jack Palance, but he is amazing in the role of Dracula, maybe better than Christopher Lee or Bela Lugosi. He looks like a kind of "human animal", while Christopher Lee is a sort of gentleman vampire. Good direction, great performances of the cast, excellent locations and very few special effects make this film a worthwhile vampire movie. I noted a great flaw in the shooting, almost in the end of the story, when Jonathan Harker is thrown in a hole in the count's property in Transilvania: Arthur and Dr. Van Helsing are alone in the place and when they approach to see Jonathan's body, a third person can be seen in the back of Van Helsing. However, this mistake is irrelevant and does not decrease my rating of this movie. In the DVD released in Brazil, there are some problems with the colors along the first third of the film, with the black turning into green. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Drácula – O Demônio das Trevas" ("Dracula – The Demon of the Shadows")