Bram Stoker's Dracula
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Count Dracula, a 15th-century prince, is condemned to live off the blood of the living for eternity. Young lawyer Jonathan Harker is sent to Dracula's castle to finalise a land deal, but when the Count sees a photo of Harker's fiancée, Mina, the spitting image of his dead wife, he imprisons him and sets off for London to track her down.
What critics thought
Coppola's film divides largely along the lines of spectacle versus substance: its visual invention, Gothic atmosphere, and Gary Oldman's commanding central performance earn genuine admiration, while its narrative sprawl, tonal excess, and the near-universally derided casting of Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker remain stubborn points of contention. Critics who warmed to it tended to surrender to the film's operatic ambition; those who didn't found it a gorgeous shell with little underneath.
“Eerie, romantic and operatic, this exquisitely mounted revamp of the undead legend is a supreme artistic achievement [...] as the tired count who has overdosed on immortality, Gary Oldman's towering performance holds centre stage and burns itself into the memory.”
Alan Jones·Radio Times
“[T]he romantic make-over of Dracula registers as little more than a marketing device designed to exploit the attractiveness of the movie's youthful cast [...] [it] rolls on a patina of the 'feel-good' uplift endemic in recent Hollywood movies.”
Geoffrey O'Brien·The New York Review of Books
“I enjoyed the movie simply for the way it looked and felt. Production designers Dante Ferretti and Thomas Sanders have outdone themselves. The cinematographer, Michael Ballhaus, gets into the spirit so completely he always seems to light with shadows.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“not particularly scary, not very sexy and dramatically over the top”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
Accolades
Genres
Romance, Horror
Cast & Crew
Francis Ford CoppolaDirector
Gary OldmanDracula
Winona RyderMina Murray / Elisabeta
Anthony HopkinsProfessor Abraham Van Helsing
Keanu ReevesJonathan Harker
Cary ElwesLord Arthur Holmwood
Richard E. GrantDr. Jack Seward
Billy CampbellQuincey P. Morris
Tom WaitsR.M. Renfield
Monica BellucciDracula's Bride
Florina KendrickDracula's Bride
Wojciech KilarComposer
Bram StokerWriter
James V. HartWriter
Michael BallhausCinematographyBram Stoker's Dracula
Count Dracula, a 15th-century prince, is condemned to live off the blood of the living for eternity. Young lawyer Jonathan Harker is sent to Dracula's castle to finalise a land deal, but when the Count sees a photo of Harker's fiancée, Mina, the spitting image of his dead wife, he imprisons him and sets off for London to track her down.
What critics thought
Coppola's film divides largely along the lines of spectacle versus substance: its visual invention, Gothic atmosphere, and Gary Oldman's commanding central performance earn genuine admiration, while its narrative sprawl, tonal excess, and the near-universally derided casting of Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker remain stubborn points of contention. Critics who warmed to it tended to surrender to the film's operatic ambition; those who didn't found it a gorgeous shell with little underneath.
“Eerie, romantic and operatic, this exquisitely mounted revamp of the undead legend is a supreme artistic achievement [...] as the tired count who has overdosed on immortality, Gary Oldman's towering performance holds centre stage and burns itself into the memory.”
Alan Jones·Radio Times
“[T]he romantic make-over of Dracula registers as little more than a marketing device designed to exploit the attractiveness of the movie's youthful cast [...] [it] rolls on a patina of the 'feel-good' uplift endemic in recent Hollywood movies.”
Geoffrey O'Brien·The New York Review of Books
“I enjoyed the movie simply for the way it looked and felt. Production designers Dante Ferretti and Thomas Sanders have outdone themselves. The cinematographer, Michael Ballhaus, gets into the spirit so completely he always seems to light with shadows.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“not particularly scary, not very sexy and dramatically over the top”
Kenneth Turan·Los Angeles Times
Accolades
Genres
Romance, Horror
Cast & Crew
Francis Ford CoppolaDirectorGary OldmanDraculaWinona RyderMina Murray / ElisabetaAnthony HopkinsProfessor Abraham Van HelsingKeanu ReevesJonathan HarkerCary ElwesLord Arthur HolmwoodRichard E. GrantDr. Jack SewardBilly CampbellQuincey P. MorrisTom WaitsR.M. RenfieldMonica BellucciDracula's BrideFlorina KendrickDracula's BrideWojciech KilarComposerBram StokerWriterJames V. HartWriterMichael BallhausCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy