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Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
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Movie Review by haley
June 22nd, 2007
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blood lust and true love
this movie is a study in contrasts. From the first few moments, we see the Count leaving his bride, Elizabeta, to fight in the Crusades ("to defend the faith"), and he punishes his enemies by impaling what seems to be thousands... the victor underdog returns home from his holy war only to find that his beloved wife, who believed him dead, flug herself off the highest tower in the castle. After a compassionate priest (the first appearance of Sir Anthony) reminds him that her successful suicide damned her soul, the Count renounces his faith, screams a sting of religious curses, stabs the crucifix, and summons the demons of the night to avenge the faith he help to protect...
OK, so that was the first ten minutes of the film... striking... visually very pretty... but don't worry folks I won't take up too much more of your time...
Gary Oldman does a remarkable job as the Count. He's a shape shifter, a creepy old man, a charming Victorian, a scary werewolf, a weird demon bat... and its all quite believable. He waits patiently for five hundred years for some kind of Elizabeta lookalike to be born, surviving on the blood of innocents as he goes.
The Elizabeta substitute, the naive but oh-so-sensuous Mina, falls madly in love with the Count, but can't quite put her finger on what her feelings for him are all about. After her fiance escapes the Count's clutches, she marries him (almost out of pity... and by this time you will hate him too). No longer a niave virgin, she finally understands her feelings for the Count... i bet you see where this is going...
What this movie did wrong was to try to hard to recreate the age of Decadence without really pulling it off. Quick references to opium and the odd scenes with the escaped wolf really did nothing for it...
What this movie did right (and very right), was to incorporate the dry wit and amazing acting of Sir Anthony Hopkins into the story of blood, love, and the ultimate self-sacrafice...
Poor, Poor, Count Dracula... he lost his love for his faith.... he lost his faith for his vengence... then he lost his life for his love...
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 | Lisa
Jun 22, 2007 12:25 PM
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| Gary Oldman was awesome in this movie, Keanu however delivered probably one of his worsed performances ever and his English accent made me puke a lil in my mouth......on the other hand you got to love a movie with a werewolf sex scene. |
 | Lark
Jun 22, 2007 12:57 PM
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Gary Oldman is a GOD.
That is all. |
 | Zombie Boy
Jun 22, 2007 2:05 PM
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I didn't like this movie AT ALL. But then again, I didn't much care for the source novel, either (I know - I'm quite the blasphemer). It was overlong and muddled. If not for Hopkins, it would have been completely unbearable.
As a point of contrast, this movie came out about the same time as Dr. Giggles, which I absolutely loved :) |
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Jun 22, 2007 1:36 PM