Favorite Dracula movies?

I'll start with my three favorites:

1. Nosferatu (1922 -Dir. F.W. Murnau). The eeriest and most intense of all the Drac films. Despite the limited filming technology available in 1922, the great Murnau makes you feel as if you're right in the middle of the Great 1843 Plague of Wisborg--it's absolutely authentic throughout. He also filmed in a real (rundown) castle. Max Schreck, as Count Orloff (couldn't call him Dracula because of a copyright issue with Bram Stoker's estate) gets uglier and scarier as the film progresses. Many unforgettable scenes. The original is still the greatest!
2. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 -Dir. Francis Ford Coppola). The exact production opposite of Murnau's spare, eerie film, Coppola's version is rich, lavish, romantic, sexual; and his Count is vulnerable and lovelorn. Gary Oldman puts in a bravura performance as the Count (in at least four embodiments). Anthony Hopkins hams it up as Van Helsing, but is good at it. Keanu Reeves is terrible as Harker, Wynona Rider only a little better as Mina. But, you won't notice it because Coppola pulls out every stop, with every imaginable visual and audio trick to keep it constantly busy and interesting. If "Nosferatu" was, as Murnau called it, "A Symphony of Horrors," "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is a love story with blood--lots of it.
3. Dracula (1931 -Dir. Tod Browning). This is the film that established Bela Lugosi as the forever model of Drac--suave, exotic, compelling, but never less than pure evil. He moves easily in society and in the world of the undead, but that's part of his charm (thought the movie is anything but charming). Also introduced a fine, often seen stock company of supporting actors: Dwight Frye (brilliant here as Renfield), Edward Van Sloan, Eternal Mitteleuropa Doctor, and David Manners, Eternally Useless Leading Man.

The rest sort of fade into the woodwork for me, although "Dracula's Daughter" (1936) is a pretty good gothic love tale, and an earlier (1973) "Bram Stoker's Dracula," a cheapo made-for-TV-er, has Jack Palance--a consistently underrated actor--as the Count. He reprises his Jack Wilson hired-gun character from "Shane," this time with a cape instead of a big hat.

Your favorites?

Bram Stoker's Dracula has a lot of faults, but it has a lot going for it too. Like Turnbull said, it certainly keeps things interesting. Some good cinematography, outfitting, visual shots and special effects.

The opening is epic too. That costume..

The original Fright Night was pretty good IIRC. The remake was shit though. It's obvious that Colin Farrell is a vampire from the first scene. A Slow burn reveal would've been more effective. Obviously we know he has to be a vampire because that's the premise of the movie, but that doesn't mean it has to be evident to the protagonist straight away. Make things interesting.

My list is the same as yours Turnbull. Nosferatu is always been a favorite of mine, back when theaters would have a midnight showing on the weekend, the theater would play that movie four to six times a year.

My Vampire list would be different if the title was not Dracula.

Hey Moe, you ever seen Near Dark? If not I recommend it.

Yeah, I've been meaning to watch that after reading about Bill Paxton after he died.

Critically acclaimed IIRC.

I concur with your list Turnbull but my top 3 would be as follows:

1) Dracual (1931)
2) Nosferatu
3) Bram Stoker's Dracula

Yeah, I would go with those three and the Bela 1931 on top as well.

I wonder if anyone would pick George Hamilton.... LoL

How could a vampire get the kind of tan Hamilton had?

Ah, Turnbull... You've played right into my hands!

Of course, a list of personal favorites is - just that. A personal list. I've liked vampire (and Dracula) films for a long time. Anyway, here's a list (in no particular order) of Dracula films (and a couple of regular vampire films) I've found memorable. There will be some duplications. Some are available on YouTube or other venues.

Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) Made on a shoestring budget, what was supposed to be, originally, a soft-X picture was, thankfully re-thought and turned into a "straight" horror flick. Some really scary moments (not a film to see if you're a cat lover); a sequel wasn't quite as good, though more polished.

Nosferatu (1922) Great film. Try to see it on TCM or a good DVD and not one of those public domain horrendous copies. A must-see.

The Return of Dracula (1958) Low-budget film with Francis Lederer as Dracula in modern dress. Somehow, for me, this unpretentious little film worked. It was actually the first Dracula film I ever saw when I was young, and the gruesome (for its time) ending scared the crap out of me!

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) Bela Lugosi's last hurrah as the Count. (Famous blooper: as Dracula bites one victim, his reflection can be clearly seen in a large mirror behind him!) A funny and scary film, the first (and easily the best) of the "Abbott & Costello Meet..." series.

Horror of Dracula (UK: Dracula) (1958) Great film that literally pumped new blood into Dracula films, for better or worse. Christopher Lee made one helluva impression in his first film as the Count. First Dracula film in color, too, IIRC. Hammer Films ultimately bled Dracula dry with far too many sequels. By the time they made "gems" like Dracula A.D. 1972 and The Satanic Rites of Dracula... well, frankly I didn't give a bat's ass.

Count Dracula (aka El Conde Dracula (1970) A film worth seeing for what it might have been. Not connected to the Hammer Films series, Christopher Lee filmed this one in Spain. Klaus Kinski (with no dialogue!) was Renfield. Herbert Lom was Dr. Van Helsing. Unfortunately, the international cast was directed by Jess Franco, and the miniscule budget and producer Harry Alan Towers didn't help. But the film was the first to present Dracula as an old man in the beginning, growing younger from drinking blood. This predated Bram Stoker's Dracula by a number of years. It followed the novel closer than most adaptations, though it took its own liberties. Could have been much better than it was, but still worth a look, I think.

The Night Stalker (1971) Not a Dracula film, but a great made-for-TV film with Darren McGavin making his first appearance as reporter Carl Kolchak. Great script by Richard Matheson from a (then) unpublished novel by Jeff Rice: a murderous vampire is loose in modern Las Vegas, and of course, nobody will believe such a thing could possibly exist (except Kolchak, of course).

Return of the Vampire (1943) Actually, Bela Lugosi played cinema vampires only a scant handful of times. In this World War II-set film, Lugosi basically plays Dracula (or a character very closely resembling Dracula) but for copyright reasons Columbia Pictures had to call him Armand Tesla. In this one, Lugosi even has a werewolf running around doing his bidding. I have a soft spot for this film, for some reason.

From Dusk till Dawn (1996) I didn't know what to expect from this film, and I loved it! Great cast, lots of action. I was pleasantly surprised. (And Salma Hayek... well, I need say no more.)

There are a bunch of films I'll list that aren't really great - in fact, they're absolute crap! Don't get me wrong, crap can be a lot of fun if you're in the right mood. Here are a few:

Billy the Kid vs Dracula (1965) John Carradine as the Count (with a goatee) in the Old West. (Boy! He sure got around - must be them bat wings). Swan song for director William Beaudine, who had been a respected journeyman with credits dating back to the days of silent films. Needless to say, the film doesn't really work, but it might seem better after a bottle or two of good ol' Panther Piss rotgut whiskey followed by a barroom brawl. Or, it might not, but by then you won't care anyway.

Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors (aka Gallery of Horror, Return From the Past, The Blood Suckers, Alien Massacre and probably a million other titles!) (1967) Let the viewer beware! This film is one of the worst things ever committed to celluloid! A bunch of stories are introduced by John Carradine (he appears in one tale, but not the one about Dracula), who appears in this poor excuse for a film along with a pitiful Lon Chaney (nearing the end of his career) and former star Rochelle Hudson and a bunch of no-talents who couldn't act their collective ways out of the proverbial wet paper bag. In the Dracula segment ("King Vampire"), the Count is played by Mitch Evans. Yeah, that was my reaction! Who????? The segments play like cast-off stories from the old Creepy or Eerie horror magazines. And no wonder - most of them were written by Russ Jones, who had a hand in the creation of both magazines back in the mid-60's. A film for Dracula completists (and absolute masochists) only. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969) Don't understand why the actors appeared in this film, except someone owed someone a really big favor. The ubiquitous John Carradine is in this one too, but not as the Count. Absolutely horrible.

Dracula's Dog (1972) Yeah, you wouldn't think that this film is not a put-on (it isn't), but it's got the great actor Jose Ferrer in it! And it is about the Count's canine! Has to be seen to be disbelieved. Is the film a dog? Woof!

And I'm sure others will come to mind when it isn't so late and I've had some fresh blood before I crawl back into my coffin. There is one last film I'll mention that doesn't really fit (IMO) into either category:

Lemora - A Child's Tale of the Supernatural (aka The Legendary Curse of Lemora and Lemora - The Lady Dracula) (1973) A really odd vampire film. Made on a nearly non-existent budget, nearly everything about it has a amateurish quality. But it's a really haunting little film that has (not surprisingly) developed something of a cult following. It starred the late, tragic Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith. You'll either hate it or (like me) find it oddly interesting with some very memorable scenes.

Dracula (both character and novel) has entered Public Domain. (Sorta like the coach ride to the castle in "Nosferatu".) That means anybody can make a film about (or with) him. In other words, heaven help us!

I'm quite interested in reading other opinions on this topic.


Signor V. (who knows the world is on fragile, nitrate stock)

Time to add some new blood:

In 1931, while Universal Pictures was filming Dracula with Bela Lugosi in the day, a different cast and crew was simultaneously shooting a Spanish-language version on the same sets by night. (This was a fairly common practice in the early days of sound films.) If you like the Lugosi version, then this one (with Carlos Villarias as the Count) is a must-see. For years it was never shown in the US because one reel was missing (it was eventually discovered in Cuba; the film has a noticeable drop-off in quality at 19:25 and this lasts around 11 minutes). The director, George Melford, had the advantage of seeing "dailies" from Tod Browning's production and as a result, the Spanish Dracula has a better visual style in places. A longer running time is an advantage, too. (Spoiler: In the Lugosi film, Dracula bites Renfield in Transylvania, after shooing off his vampire brides. In the Spanish version, Drac stands by while the ladies attack.)

Anyway, the only drawback to the film (as I see it) is the sometimes over-the-top acting (by our definition) with special mention of some of the scenes involving Carlos Villarias. His leering and outright mugging at times reminded me of David Frye's impression of William F. Buckley, Jr. (There! I'm showing my age!)



That's Carlos Villarias in the photo above. Stop laughing, dammit! Yeah, I know, I know... but take my word for it - the film really is worth watching, and this guy ain't half-bad. Here's some trivia: Lugosi and Villarias wore the same artificial hairline for their roles! Both actors shared the same hairpiece (the full front hairline only) so the widow's peak could be made a little more pronounced. Since the "hairline extension" was designed and made for Lugosi, it was virtually undetectable on him, Not so, however, with Villarias. In some scenes it's a bit obvious.

Dracula is available free for viewing here. The film is a lot of fun, the print quality is great (except for that one reel) and even if you do not speak Spanish, I think you'll have no trouble following the story.


Signor V.

Awesome......

i liked the version with frank langella. there was also a short series on nbc with john Rhys meyers.

Bram Stokers Dracula obviously and if you havent already, you all should check it out the newest version aka Dracula Untold, since it goes over the borders of anyones fantasy regarding the subject

I'm adding another Drac film:

Shadow of the Vampire (2000, dir. Elias Merhige): This is a fictionalized account of Murnau's filmiing of "Nosferatu." John Malkevitch plays Murnau as utterly, ruthlessly driven to be true to his "art. He hires Max Schreck (Willem Dafoe), who's a real vampire, to play an actor playing a vampire, with the promise that he can drain the blood of his lead actress Greta Schroeder (Catherine McCormack) with Murnau filming him. Malkevitch is great as usual, and Dafoe is over the top, Very nice filming that captures some of the excesses of Weimar Germany.

That is some line up.

Never saw this one, I am going to put this on the list and see this.

Thanks T.