Siskel & Ebert Review Dracula (1979) John Badham

[@JasonBagherian]

Well this is a hidden Gem. This 1979 Dracula film is easily my favourite film adaptation of the Dracula story. I love John Badham's visuals as he makes his film look like a Hitchcockian Dracula film. I love the Vertigo feel of the love scene and John Williams beautiful score. A must see for horror fans. I suspect Francis Ford Coppola likes this film too.

[@hamburgareable]

Thats why because he settled to make his version in 1992.

[@hamburgareable]

Yup, it has been overlooked since its initial release in 1979.

[@eugeniogentili1048]

The best Dracula movie, no doubt about It

[@golden8972]

He did a BEAUTIFUL job portraying "Dracula".

[@jackdough8164]

I’ve always been a huge fan of Dracula and this is definitely a great version of the movie. The ways it’s shot, the music, the acting, it’s all very good. I don’t know why it’s always been looked down on by some people. Their loss though

[@randycunningham7318]

Agreed. It really is a masterpiece, to me.

[@jasonlane1528]

One of the best soundtracks ever. John Williams never gets this one discussed

[@nunyabidness4220]

Langella was perfect in this. He has a medical defect that worked for him... he has a condition that causes his eyes to vibrate all the time, so when he stares his eyes are wiggling back and forth just a bit, and it makes him look even more hypnotic.

[@hamburgareable]

"Sacrilege!" 3:39 👍 Great line

[@undergroundwarrior70]

For me Siskel & Ebert were the best film critics even though I may not have agreed with their thumbs up or down with their reviews on the films. I did see this version of 'Dracula' in 1979 (I was 23) when first released in the theaters. For the most part I did enjoy it (for me what was a scary scene is when Lucy becomes a vampire). But what I did not like is the ending of this film. It left one hanging and the possibility of a sequel which that was not made. Maybe that was a good thing that it wasn't.

[@tabeccaletford408]

This is a great version of Dracula, and for me,Mina is the scariest vampire ever

[@zmani4379]

"papa ... papa ..." (shudder)

[@TheRealNormanBates]

3:32 the reason Dracula says "Sacrilege!" is because Van Helsing is holding a Eucharist host wafer, specifically one used by a priest to consecrate all other hosts. In order for Van Helsing to have such a thing, he would have either needed special dispensation from a clergyman, or stole it from a church.

[@TorontoJediMaster]

Before Vatican II, generally, only a priest could even touch the Host.

[@christopherseat9871]

My first Dracula movie. CBS Saturday night movie 1986

[@randycunningham7318]

It's a spectacular film.

[@BigBlobProductions]

This is my favorite adaptation of Dracula. It's not super accurate to the novel, but it successfully captures the atmosphere of the book. Unlike Siskel, I loved Lawrence Olivier as Van Helsing, I thought the idea of him being an frail man lent itself to the power of his knowledge/faith in understanding how to deal with the supernatural. I got to meet John Badham and this was the film I picked his brain about.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

1979 was the same year Herzog's Nosferatu was released which is one of my favorites. I am curious about this adaptation of Dracula.

[@hamburgareable]

Cos Nosferatu has been filmed twice (1922/1979)

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@hamburgareable I know. I have seen the silent film as well.

[@ontologicallysteve7765]

@Ricardo Cantoral I highly recommend it. I have a bluray put out by Scream/Shout Factory. It looks amazing and has great special features. Also, Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot came out in 1979 as well. That's also worth checking out. Cheers.

[@zmani4379]

The Langella film is a very good version, in the traditional mold, doing a Hammer type film as an A-list Hollywood picture, and the Langella Dracula was very much of the times, and very influential - whereas Herzog's film IMO is on another level - a philosophical arthouse picture, asking profound questions about humanity and nature, in dialogue w the 1922 classic, and w Murnau - I'm very fond of the Langella version, but Kinski-Herzog made one of the greatest horror films ever

[@Almost-Nothing]

there's a good editor behind this clips

[@StevenLogan-lg5yb]

@jasonBagherian will you make anymore of these videos? Always looked forward to them.

[@JasonBagherian]

Yes in the future but I've been very busy lately. I'll be posting them here in the future though. kzbin.info/door/H3UKh-E11ZBrt9c3IaK4KA Cheers

[@lw3646]

I did enjoy this one. Its not perfect, some of the older cast weren't great I felt, but its still very atmospheric and gothic.

[@jyesucevitz]

03:40 can't he just close his eyes? like the girls in the audience?

[@hamburgareable]

And Frank Langella extends the character of Dracula further than Bela Lugosi. This is no criticism of Bela though.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Lugosi was definitely iconic but I think Christopher Lee was superior as The Count.

[@undergroundwarrior70]

@@ricardocantoral7672 'The Horror of Dracula' with Christopher Lee was the best one of all of the other ones there after. My understanding that Christopher Lee did not want to continue being in anymore 'Dracula' films with Hammer Horror due to the fact he had very little speaking lines or none at all. But during the 60's and into the 70's he continued doing them because he had a very loyal theater audience who really enjoyed seeing him in the 'Dracula' Hammer Horror films.

[@hamburgareable]

@@ricardocantoral7672 Agreed

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@@undergroundwarrior70 He did get sick of the role. I can see why because of most of Dracula films he did were not very good.

[@hamburgareable]

@@undergroundwarrior70 In a interview from less than 20 years ago, Christopher Lee said he was disenchanted with the role, because of the scripts that included amounts of filler. And bore no resemblance to Bram Stoker's concept. That was the reason why he turned every one of them down. But he had to do more of them anyway because Jimmy Carrera (calling him on the phone in distress) begged him for it. Christopher Lee asked Carrera why he was forced to do it. Why he was forced to go on joining the marquee as Dracula. Jimmy Carrera said: "Listen to me. You´ve got to join in because we´ve already sold the movie to the American distributors with you in mind. And your part is inevitable. Otherwise they werent interested in anybody else. And be careful now. Think of the people you´ll put out of work if you dont agree to this film" Now that sounded like a serious ultimatum but Christopher caved in and did it. Such things can be jarringly difficult. Like, "Whats the motivation? Is Dracula ever going to talk when hes not required to? How are we going to let the character be in a scene? Where the other characters overshadow him and leave him at the altar, doing nothing?"

[@LoafRock]

🍻

[@philfaulisi4864]

This version of Dracula is pretty good except for the ending, which stunk! It was so lame!

[@lw3646]

Yeah I think they wanted to try something more novel than a traditional stake through the heart, it's a bit boring. Make it more of a struggle. The 1958 one is great at the end Van Hestling jumps and pulls down a load of curtains destroying him with daylight. In Nosferatu he spends all night drinking her blood and forgets about the sunrise which again kills him. In this he's caught on a hook and lifted up to the top of the ship mast, it's more funny than anything.

[@randycunningham7318]

I thought the ending was memorable.