It's hard to believe that this year marks the 30th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola's iconic and unique re-telling of Bram Stoker's Dracula. It was a movie I long had a fondness for in my teenage years, having seen it many times on VHS. However, when I re-visited it for this review it had been quite awhile since I last watched it and it was a joy to rediscover it again.
In 1462, Vlad the Impaler (played by Gary Oldman) has returned from a campaign against the Ottoman Empire to discover his beloved wife Elisabeta (played by Winona Ryder) has committed suicide after being falsely told that Vlad had been killed in battle. When a priest tells Vlad that his wife's soul is damned to hell for committing suicide, he becomes enraged and desecrates the church, renouncing God and vowing to return from the grave with the powers of darkness to have his revenge for his wife's death. In 1897, now known as Count Dracula, he welcomes solicitor Jonathan Harker (played by Keanu Reeves), who has traveled to Transylvania to assist the Count with finalizing his recent real estate acquisitions in London. Dracula catches sight of Harker's fiancée, Mina (played by Winona Ryder), and is struck by the resemblance she bears to his beloved late wife and believes she is her reincarnated. Leaving Harker behind, Dracula travels to London to claim his new home and meet Mina. Once there, he begins to hypnotically seduce and feed on Mina's friend Lucy (played by Sadie Frost), who Mina is staying with while Harker is in Transylvania. He also begins planning chance meetings with Mina, who initially rejects Dracula, but begins to find something strangely alluring about him. Meanwhile, Lucy grows more and more ill prompting the family doctor (and former suitor) Dr. Seward (played by Richard E. Grant) to summon his mentor to assist, Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (played by Anthony Hopkins). Upon examining her, he deduces that she is the victim of multiple vampire attacks, putting them, as well as former suitors Arthur Holmwood (played by Cary Elwes) and Quincy Morris (played by Billy Campbell) on the hunt for Dracula.
Francis Ford Coppola directed the film from a script by James V. Hart based on, of course, the classic novel from Bram Stoker. The resulting film is one that is in many ways a big departure from both the classic Universal and the Hammer iterations of Dracula that many are familiar with, portraying the titular character in a much more tragic light and a heavier focus on gothic romance. The style of the film goes for something a bit more visually unique, while also feeling of the time periods it takes place it, going for what is visually interesting over what is necessarily 100% period accurate. Then Coppola and his crew contrasts this with the use of strictly old school visual effects, including miniatures, matte paintings and in camera effects instead of the then burgeoning array of digital visual effects. Since the bulk of the film takes place at a time when filmmaking was just beginning, it reflects the time period and the films of the time in a authentic way that adds it's own flavor to the movie. Of course, the movie also includes the hallmarks of a contemporary horror movie, including explicit sensuality and gore, adding another layer to the film as well. The costume design of the film is exquisite, giving real style to each of the characters and adding to the unique visuals of the film, perhaps most memorably for me in the armor Vlad wears in the opening scenes of the film.
The film boasts an impressive cast led by Gary Oldman as Dracula. His rendition of the character is an interesting one and unlike perhaps any other I have seen. When we first meet him, he's a decrepit old ghoul of sorts, shut away in his isolated castle, cut off from most of society. He almost relishes the ways he torments Jonathan Harker. Yet, later when he appears in London, now on a mission to reunite with his long lost love, he's youthful, charming and romantic, at least towards Mina. It's a delicate balance but Oldman pulls it off. I also have to applaud him, even all these years later, for all the time he must have endured in the make-up chair for the various visages of Dracula he had to play, ranging from old, to a bat-like creature, to a wolf-like creature we witness in one memorable scene. It's flawless and he plays through it all wonderfully. Winona Ryder does well in her dual role as both Elisabeta and Mina, especially in the latter role as she tries to resist her growing attraction to Dracula, not even entirely understanding her draw to him. Anthony Hopkins makes for a great Van Helsing, making the character his own, with little patience for small talk and a lack of tact, often played to humorous effect. Much of the exposition of what vampires are and what they can do falls to Van Helsing and Hopkins handles it well. Now, I suppose I have to talk about Keanu Reeves. So much has been made of his performance in this film over the years, I'm not sure what else there is to say. Yes, he was probably miscast in the role, but it's clear he is trying so hard to nail the British accent and give a good performance, I just wish he had loosened up a little, tried not to focus on nailing the accent so hard and been a bit more natural in the role. Still, he's trying so hard and it's not so terrible that it ruins the movie, unlike what some others on the internet like to claim. I don't blame him for taking the role. Getting the opportunity to work with Coppola, Hopkins and Oldman would have been impossible to resist.
Thirty years on, and I still can't quite believe it's been that long, Bram Stoker's Dracula still holds up marvelously for me. It's a brilliantly made gothic horror film, made with style and imagination, filled with fantastic performances and backed by a great script. It's got a bit more substance to it than some of the other well known adaptations (and I have by no means seen them all) to make this a more well-rounded viewing. I found it just as entertaining and engaging as I did when I first saw it back in the early 90s. It's certainly one that has lasted too, almost as immortal as it's title character, popping periodically in theater screenings around Halloween and numerous home video releases, most recently in a 4K Blu-Ray release. Watching it again it's easy to see why.
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