ModdedCentipede
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Post by ModdedCentipede on Oct 19, 2020 9:18:51 GMT
This week, I was so tempted to annoy Balder by posting a Christmas movie.   Chosen by: Pimpjira Year: circa 1931 Starring: (1931) Bega Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners (1992) Keanu Reeves, Gary Oldman, Wynona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins Directed by: (1931) Todd Browning, Karl Freund (1992) Francis Ford Coppola Written by: (original) Bram Stoker (1931) Hamilton Deane, John L. Balderston, (1992) James V Hart Produced by: (1931) E.M. Asher, Tod Browning, Carl Laemmle Jr. (1992) Michael Apted, Francis Ford Coppola, Susan Landau Finch |
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Balder
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Post by Balder on Oct 19, 2020 10:09:20 GMT
You live to annoy Centipede.
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scipioafricanus
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Post by scipioafricanus on Oct 19, 2020 10:20:03 GMT
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stratogustav
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Post by stratogustav on Oct 19, 2020 10:41:22 GMT
Bela Lugosi is hands down the best Dracula of all time. There even was a cult following of women in love of him.
A royal, immortal, classy, smooth guy that goes for the neck and has his own unique style seems to be a fantasy for many women.
I would go for Christopher Lee as a runner up considering his stature as an actor and deep voice really makes him stand out.
Many Bram Stoker's references and other literature horror lore are blatantly mentioned on the credits among all the nicknames the developers of the first NES Castlevania chose for themselves to disguise themselves to be stolen from Konami; and within the game of course.
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centipede
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It was just one soy latte, I swear!
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Post by centipede on Oct 19, 2020 12:38:01 GMT
You live to annoy Centipede. Yes I do. See, this was a missed opportunity to annoy you. And now I'm annoyed. See, I annoy even myself. |
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Balder
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Trying to cut down the amount of movies I watch
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Post by Balder on Oct 19, 2020 17:45:41 GMT
You live to annoy Centipede. Yes I do. See, this was a missed opportunity to annoy you. And now I'm annoyed. See, I annoy even myself. Well, you keep putting of the horror suggestion I made weeks ago, so not a missed opportunity. |
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Balder
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Trying to cut down the amount of movies I watch
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Post by Balder on Oct 19, 2020 18:10:57 GMT
No poll? Anyways, I've seen both of these Dracula movies, and I think the original one is my favorite of the two. It's been almost ten years ago since I saw it, but that version of Dracula has been immortalized to be the be all and end all of Dracula performances. It was so iconic it literally changed the way people perceive the character. Lugosi is Dracula, there is no equal. As for the rest of the film, it's slightly dated due to being an early sound movie so there is a slight disconnect between the score and the dialogue, the pacing is slow and in general it's a quite old movie. That said, it has a lot of atmosphere and a well-deserved classic with lots of iconic moments. 4/5 for now, until I watch it again some day.
As for Coppola's Dracula, I watched it this summer and wrote down a very short review about what I thought about it:
"Dracula by Coppola is a very interesting concept. In many ways this was going to be the definitive Dracula movie. In that way, it is quite ambitious. The casting has many big names such as Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins and Keanu Reeves, although it is only Oldman's performance that I would day is stellar. Hopkins as Van Helsing is kind of weird and Reeves is miscast. This Dracula is cool although no rendition of this character will ever surpass Lugosi's Dracula. They even pay homage to him in this movie. As for the rest of the film it is visually great and the effects are awesome. This is an ambitious film with lots of terrific elements but it is not stellar as a whole. I like it quite a bit though for what it is." 3.5/5.
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Cervantes
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Post by Cervantes on Oct 20, 2020 6:48:08 GMT
What I like about 1931's Dracula is how classy the villain is. He's a social predator that chooses his prey among the high class and stalks them at social events, he doesn't even do much of an effort to hide his intentions. Bela Lugosi did a truly awesome work establishing Dracula as snobbish and smug, with an inner sense of superiority.
By the way, I also love Dracula's Daughter and consider it among the best sequels from that era, on par with Bride of Frankenstein.
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centipede
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It was just one soy latte, I swear!
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Post by centipede on Oct 21, 2020 10:41:56 GMT
Yes I do. See, this was a missed opportunity to annoy you. And now I'm annoyed. See, I annoy even myself. Well, you keep putting of the horror suggestion I made weeks ago, so not a missed opportunity. Well, technically, Pimpy's suggestion came first. |
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Bogard
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Post by Bogard on Oct 21, 2020 12:08:16 GMT
I think at this stage of time the universal horror movies including Dracula are mostly appreciated for their atmosphere and not the horror.
I by far prefer the Hammer series of Dracula and Frankenstein because of Peter Cushing who is one of my favourite actors of all time.
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dschult3
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Post by dschult3 on Oct 21, 2020 23:22:00 GMT
I have always been a fan of Bran Stoker's Dracula. The connection to Medieval Times was interesting. I also liked the twist in Dracula 2000, when it came out that Dracula was actually Judas Iscariot. I know it isn't cannon, but I found that idea very interesting.
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stratogustav
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Post by stratogustav on Oct 21, 2020 23:32:06 GMT
Dark Shadows' Barnabas Collins is cool too:
They are showing it on Tubi. That music is great.
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licensedgames
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Post by licensedgames on Oct 23, 2020 9:56:13 GMT
The original Dracula, although I've seen it dozens of times and I love the history of it, is very flawed. After the first act, it is considerably weaker, being a poor man's version of the corny (and still popular) 1924 stage play. It improves near the end, especially with Dwight Frye as Renfield, but even classic movies aren't perfect.
Especially when you compare it to the two other big horror movies that year: Frankenstein and the underrated masterpiece Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it sort of falls short.
This summer I finally got around to reading the novel and really enjoyed it, so much that I wrote a stage play version of it.
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stratogustav
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Post by stratogustav on Oct 25, 2020 3:50:57 GMT
People should read the books too, Dracula was 1897, and Frankenstein was 1818. We are talking classics from the Romantic period, where everything Gothic modern directors cannot give justice to.
The likes of Edgar Allan Poe, and Washington Irvine dominated this aspect of the era, where both Mary Shelley's and Bram Stoker's inputs really added to the overall vibe of the period way before people like Lovecraft were around.
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Pimpjira
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Post by Pimpjira on Nov 9, 2020 16:44:05 GMT
I'm way late on posting to this thread but Dracula is my favorite of the 1st films of the Universal Monsters. And it pretty much is due to Bela Lugosi's performance, for anyone who hasn't watched it the Spanish version is better in every other way(it's included as a bonus on my bluray). I think at this stage of time the universal horror movies including Dracula are mostly appreciated for their atmosphere and not the horror. I by far prefer the Hammer series of Dracula and Frankenstein because of Peter Cushing who is one of my favourite actors of all time. If I had to pick I'd probably go with the Hammer films as well, those are great. I especially like Hammer's version of The Mummy more. I should suggest some of those next Halloween if we haven't done them already. |
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