Dracula

:Alternate meaning: Dracula (orchid genus).

Movie, television and play adaptations

See also: Vampire fiction

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The character of Count Dracula has remained popular over the years, and an many movies have used the character as a villain, while others have referenced him in movie titles such as Daughters of Dracula, Lady Dracula, and The Hound of Dracula. An estimated 160 films (as of 2004) feature Dracula in a major role, a number second only to Sherlock Holmes. The total number of films that include a reference to Dracula may reach as high as 649 movies, according to the Internet Movie Database.

Related Topics:
As of 2004 - Sherlock Holmes - Internet Movie Database

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Most tellings of the Dracula story include not only the Count, but the rest of the "cast": Jonathan and Mina Harker, Van Helsing, and Renfield. (Notably, the novel roles of characters Jonathan Harker and Renfield are more than occasionally reversed or combined, as are the roles of Mina and Lucy. Quincy Morris is usually omitted entirely.)

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One of the first movie adaptations of Stoker's story actually caused Stoker's estate to sue for copyright infringement. In 1922, silent film director F.W. Murnau made a horror film called Nosferatu the Vampire, which took the story of Dracula and set it in Germany. In the story, Dracula's role was changed to that of Count Orlok, one of the most hideous versions of the vampire ever to be created for a movie, played by Max Schreck.

Related Topics:
Movie - Copyright infringement - In 1922 - Silent film - F.W. Murnau - Horror film - Nosferatu the Vampire - Count Orlok - Max Schreck

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The Stoker estate won its lawsuit and all existing prints of Nosferatu were ordered to be destroyed. However, a number of pirated copies of the movie survived to the present era, where they entered the public domain. Nosferatu was also remade in 1979 by Werner Herzog.

Related Topics:
Pirated - In 1979 - Werner Herzog

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In 1927 the story was adapted for the Broadway stage by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston and starred Bela Lugosi and Edward Van Sloan as the Count and Van Helsing respectively. Lugosi initially learned his lines phonetically.

Related Topics:
1927 - Hamilton Deane - John L. Balderston - Bela Lugosi - Edward Van Sloan

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The 1931 film version of Dracula starred Bela Lugosi and was directed by Tod Browning. It is one of the more famous versions of the story and is commonly considered a horror classic. In 2000 the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. It is an adaptation of the 1927 play and Van Sloan also transferred his role to the big screen. Director George Melford simultaneously shot a Spanish language version on the same sets at night, but with a different crew and cast featuring Carlos Villarías who took the Lugosi lead and Eduardo Arozamena who portrayed Van Helsing. The films only had music during the opening and closing credits. In 1999 Philip Glass was commissioned to compose a musical score to accompany the film. The film has been released in the Spanish and English versions on DVD which allow access to this music.

Related Topics:
1931 - Dracula - Bela Lugosi - Tod Browning - 2000 - Library of Congress - National Film Registry - 1927 - George Melford - Spanish language - Carlos Villarías - Eduardo Arozamena - 1999 - Philip Glass

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Each night, on the same sets, a Spanish language version was filmed starring Carlos Villarías and Lupita Tovar. With fewer censor restrictions than the Browning version, it contains scenes that could not be filmed for the English language film. There is an ongoing debate over which film is better. It is also included on the available DVD .

Related Topics:
Spanish - Carlos Villarías - Lupita Tovar

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During the era of the 1930s and 1940s, the Universal Studios horror films made Dracula a household name by starring him as a villain in a number of movies, including several where he met other monsters (the most famous of which is the comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in which Lugosi played Dracula on film for only the second and final time.) In these films he somehow gained control over the Frankenstein monster, and in a number of movies the monster acted as Dracula's servant, usually referring to the vampire Count as "Master."

Related Topics:
1930s - 1940s - Universal Studios - Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein - Frankenstein

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The original Universal Studios films in which Dracula (or a relative) appeared (and the actor portraying the character) were:

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• Dracula (1931 - Bela Lugosi. A second version was filmed simultaneously in Spanish, with Carlos Villar as Dracula)
• Dracula's Daughter (1936 - Gloria Holden)
• Son of Dracula (1943 - Lon Chaney, Jr.)
• House of Frankenstein (1944 - John Carradine)
• House of Dracula (1945 - Carradine)
• Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948 - Lugosi. This film is usually known as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, however the title given here is the official on-screen title according to the Internet Movie Database.)

In 1958, Hammer Films produced a newer, more Gothic version of the story, starring Christopher Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. It is widely considered to be one of the best versions of the story to be adapted to film, and in 2004 was named by the magazine Total Film as the 30th greatest British film of all time. Although it takes many liberties with the novel's plot, the creepy atmosphere and charismatic performance of Lee make it memorable and favored. It was released in the United States as Horror of Dracula to avoid confusion with the earlier Lugosi version. This was followed by a long series of Dracula films, usually featuring Lee as Dracula.

Related Topics:
In 1958 - Hammer Films - Newer, more Gothic version - Christopher Lee - Peter Cushing - 2004 - Magazine - Total Film

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In 1973, a major television movie version starring Jack Palance was produced by Dan Curtis, best known for producing the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. Filmed in Yugoslavia and England, it was a fairly faithful and moody piece.

Related Topics:
In 1973 - Jack Palance - Dan Curtis - Soap opera - Yugoslavia

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In 1974, Andy Warhol presented an outrageously campy Dracula (a.k.a. "Blood for Dracula"), directed by Paul Morrissey and starring cult icon Udo Kier.

Related Topics:
In 1974 - Andy Warhol - Dracula - Blood for Dracula - Paul Morrissey - Udo Kier

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1977 saw a BBC version made for television starring Louis Jourdan. This version is one of the more faithful adaptations of the book. It even includes Quincy (although he is merged with the character of Arthur Holmwood). It includes scenes of Jonathon recording events in his diary and Dr. Seward speaking into his dictaphone.

Related Topics:
1977 - Louis Jourdan

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1977 also saw a revival of the 1927 broadway version. The atmospheric sets and costumes were designed by Edward Gorey. The Count was portrayed by Frank Langella and, like Lugosi before him, he would go on to perform the role on the big screen (see listing below).

Related Topics:
1977 - Edward Gorey - Frank Langella

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The same Gorey sets and costumes were used for a U.S. touring version of the play starring Jeremy Brett. The Deane-Balderston lines were altered somewhat and played for a more comedic effect.

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In 1979, Frank Langella starred opposite Laurence Olivier as a sexually charged version of the Count in a new film version. It is considered of uneven quality, though the John Williams score is superb.

Related Topics:
In 1979 - Frank Langella - Laurence Olivier - John Williams

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In 1992, Francis Ford Coppola produced and directed a new version of the movie, called Bram Stoker's Dracula starring Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder. Coppola's story includes a subplot in which Mina Harker was revealed to be the reincarnation of Dracula's greatest love. This story is not part of Stoker's original. The soundtrack includes 'Lovesong for a Vampire' by Annie Lennox.

Related Topics:
In 1992 - Francis Ford Coppola - Bram Stoker's Dracula - Gary Oldman - Winona Ryder - Reincarnation - Annie Lennox

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In 1995, Mel Brooks did a comedic parody, ', which parodied all of the standard Dracula themes, but especially noteworthy was the scene where Dracula's reflection was noticeably absent in a mirror as he danced at a ball, to the horror of those watching. Mel Brooks played Van Helsing as an aged Professor.

Related Topics:
In 1995 - Mel Brooks

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The film Shadow of the Vampire (2000) was about the filming of Nosferatu, with the twist that Max Schreck, the rarely-seen actor playing the vampire, actually was a vampire. John Malkovich plays Murnau, Willem Dafoe plays Schreck and cult icon Udo Kier plays Murnau's cinematographer, a return to the legend he was a part of in 1974.

Related Topics:
Shadow of the Vampire - 2000 - Max Schreck - John Malkovich - Willem Dafoe - Udo Kier

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Patrick Lussier took a stab at the legend with his modern day Dracula 2000 (promoted as Wes Craven Presents Dracula 2000, Wes Craven was an executive producer; released in the UK as Dracula 2001). To discover how to destroy Dracula, Van Helsing (portrayed by Christopher Plummer) keeps himself alive with injections of Dracula's blood. When thieves steal the vampire and crash near New Orleans, Van Helsing and his ward must track down the vampire and save Van Helsing's daughter Mary.

Related Topics:
Patrick Lussier - Dracula 2000 - Wes Craven - The UK - Christopher Plummer - New Orleans

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Guy Maddin's 2003 film Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary is a silent film based on a ballet choreographed by Mark Godden.

Related Topics:
Guy Maddin - 2003 film - Silent film - Ballet - Mark Godden

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The character of Mina Harker appeared in the 2003 film adaptation of the graphic novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as a vampiric heroine played by Peta Wilson.

Related Topics:
Graphic novel - The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Peta Wilson

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The most recent major motion picture featuring Count Dracula is Van Helsing, a film based on the vampire-hunter Van Helsing from the book, only reinvented as an immortal action hero assigned by the Vatican to kill monsters. Richard Roxburgh portrays Dracula in this reinvigoration of the 1930s and 1940s Universal Horror monsters which also featured new versions of the Frankenstein Monster and The Wolf Man. In this movie, Dracula is somewhat of a super vampire and cannot be killed by the normal methods that can kill a vampire. He could only be killed by the bite of a werewolf. This is ironic, however, because he has the ability to control werewolves after their first full moon. He can also transform into a giant bat with a 15-foot wingspan.

Related Topics:
Van Helsing - Vatican - Richard Roxburgh - Frankenstein - The Wolf Man

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Dracula also serves as the primary antagonist in ', in which the vampires summon Dracula in order to finally defeat Blade.

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2005 saw the premiere of Dracula's most recent play incarnation, an adaptation by Playwright P. Shane Mitchell.

Related Topics:
2005 - P. Shane Mitchell

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