Dracula - The Legacy Collection (Dracula / Dracula (1931 Spanish Version) / Dracula's Daughter /...

Dracula - The Legacy Collection (Dracula / Dracula (1931 Spanish Version) / Dracula's Daughter / Son of ... | Bela Lugosi, Sheila Manners | I... Am Dracula

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Dracula - The Lega...

	Dracula - The Legacy Collection (Dracula / Dracula (1931 Spanish Version) / Dracula's Daughter / Son of ... Bela Lugosi, Sheila Manners Universal Studios, 2004 average customer review:based on 71 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

For the first time ever the original Dracula film comes to DVD in this extraordinary Legacy Collection. Included in the collection is the original classic starring the renowned Bela Lugosi and three timeless sequels featuring such legendary actors as Lon Chaney Jr. John Carradine and others. These are the landmark films that inspired an entire genre of movies and continue to be major influences on motion pictures to this day.BONUS MATERIALS :Stephen Sommers on Universal's Classic Monster: DraculaThe Road to DraculaPoster MontageTheatrical TrailerAudio Commentary with Film Historian David J. SkalNew Score by Philip Glass Performed by the Kronos QuartetSystem Requirements: Running Time 334 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/CLASSIC Rating: NR UPC: 025192445521 Manufacturer No: 61024455

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A Whole Lot of Bang (and Bite) for Your Buck

It's easy to view Universal's Legacy Collection series as nothing more than an effort to repackage an old product by adding on lousy sequels that no one would want to buy anyway. I'm very pleased to say that this is absolutely not the case with the Dracula Legacy collection. There's a tremendous amount of wealth contained within this little two disc volume.

To begin with, I'm very impressed with audio options available in this release of the 1931 Dracula film. There's always going to be a rift when you tamper with a classic. That's why I think this Legacy Collection offers us such a rare opportunity, being able to watch the film with its original soundtrack or the new Phillip Glass soundtrack, depending upon our preference. I was initially reluctant to watch with the new soundtrack, believing that classics should generally be left untouched. It was only after more than thirty minutes of viewing, when things were feeling thoroughly tedious, that I changed the soundtrack in utter desperation. What happened next utterly amazed me.

Suddenly, everything clicked and flowed beautifully. I began to discover that, all along, the film had possessed strong acting, rich, expressive shots and lighting, and a compelling story. All it had been missing was momentum. This 1931 film feels very uncomfortable with the concept of sound and, as a result, uses it poorly. Long spaces of silence and little action cause high points to feel jarred and unrelated. More than that, the film simply begins to feel boring. But Glass's soundtrack fixes all of this, bringing out the richness of tone, leveling out seemingly over the top and restrained acting alike, and adding a true sense of momentum and direction to scenes and cuts that formerly felt amorphous and, perhaps, arbitrary. Loyal fans of the film may argue that it was good enough for them to begin with. But, for someone like me, even with a strong affinity for silent and early talking films, "Dracula" shifted from utterly inaccessible to frightfully compelling with the push of a button.

When it comes to the two direct sequels in this volume, It's true that neither are on the level of "Bride of Frankenstein,", but they aren't as awful as they might sound. Sure, Universal was a factory back in the day, pumping out sequels without any real concern for the content. Still, there's some very good stuff to be found here.

"DRACULA'S DAUGHTER" is, in my opinion, the weaker of the two Dracula sequels. Perhaps it's just too much of a departure from the original premise, featuring an almost likable vampire who enlists the aid of a psychiatrist to cure her of her blood addiction. There's little development in plot or character, no honest progression from point A to point B. Still, the acting and directing are both adequate, and Marguerite Churchill (Janet) really steals the show as the goofy, vivacious love interest who speaks her mind and cuts her over-serious boss down to size whenever she gets the chance. Add to that a truly unusual premise (even when it fails to deliver much), and some incredibly sexually charged subtext, particularly when the Countess abducts a young woman under the false pretense of having the girl "model" for her. This is one odd-ball film, full of concepts, sexual issues, and gender politics that were way ahead of its time. Not a great film in and of itself, but it certainly deserves a viewing.

"SON OF DRACULA" is a much stronger film in contrast. It comes dangerously close to being an incredibly impressive film, with stunning special effects (we actually SEE Dracula transform into a bat, as well as turn into vapor), an incredibly complex, emotionally charged plot, and some breath-taking acting (particularly from Robert Paige and Louise Allbritton). Unfortunately, there are two things that prevent the film from achieving greatness. The first is most certainly Lon Chaney Jr., assuming the role of Lord Alucard (Dracula backwards). Chaney never seems comfortable in the cloak, portraying a weirdness that is too subtle and unfocused for the role he is attempting to undertake. He's never an impressive character, neither as monster nor villain.

Perhaps the bigger problem with Son of Dracula is the camera work. Director Robert Siodmak is clearly a master of the technical aspects of directing. Movement and camera angles are almost always highly impressive, as well as smooth and unimposing upon the film. However, in a picture that contains such strong elements of passion, desperation, fear, insanity, and (of course) the supernatural, the camera always resists these forces, maintaining a stubbornly grounded and literal perception of the scene. The film always feels too realistic, unwilling to surrender to escapism, never daring to achieve something artistic and powerful. This is particularly disappointing in the final scene, which could have easily been immortalized as the greatest, most moving moment in Universal Monster Movie history had it been shot differently.

Enough has already been said in these reviews about "THE SPANISH VERSION OF DRACULA" the final film in this volume, "HOUSE OF DRACULA". Silly as the latter may be, this is the only way for Universal Monster completists to obtain it on DVD.

All in all, This is one fantastic collection. The Phillip Glass scored Dracula is an absolute must see, even if you ultimately decide that it isn't to your taste. Dracula's Daughter and Son of Dracula are both worthwhile sequels that hold their own merit. While I would probably never watch Dracula's Daughter a second time, the first time viewing experience was certainly worthwhile. In contrast, I expect to return to Son of Dracula again and again. It's almost a brilliant film, and "almost brilliant" is still good enough for me. Then, of course, there's the stylistic Spanish version of Dracula, as well as the House of Dracula film, which isn't available on DVD anywhere else. You really can't lose with a collection like this one. The price is right, and the films are absolutely worth it.

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I... Am Dracula

This wonderful collection gathers together five of Universal's classic horror films. This particular set focuses on Dracula. The films in this 2-disc set are:

Dracula - 1931
Béla Lugosi is immortalized as Count Dracula in Tod Browning's classic horror film, which is considered by many to be the first sound horror film (Universal had had success with horror films during the silent age as well).
Starring Béla Lugosi, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Helen Chandler and David Manners.

Dracula (Spanish Version) - 1931
Director George Melford's Spanish-language version of Dracula is a technical triumph but it lacks a talented cast with the exception of the sultry Lupita Tovar.
Starring Carlos Villarias, Lupita Tovar, Pablo Alvarez Rubio and Barry Norton.

Dracula's Daughter - 1936
The first sequel to Dracula is an erotically charged (by the standards of the time it was made) suspense tale about the Countess Marya Zaleska, Dracula's daughter, who seeks to end her vampirism with the help of a psychiatrist.
Starring Edward Van Sloan, Otto Kruger, Gloria Holden and Marguerite Churchill.

Son of Dracula - 1943
Dracula's son, Count Alucard (Alucard is Dracula spelled backwards) falls in love with a young woman in the bayous of the south but her fiancée uncovers his scheme and vows to save her from Alucard's clutches.
Starring Lon Chaney, Jr., Louise Albritton, Robert Paige, Evelyn Ankers and Frank Craven.

House of Dracula - 1945
Dracula, The Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster all come together in a mad romp of monstrous mayhem when The Wolf Man and Dracula seek out a doctor to cure them of their blood thirst.
Starring John Carradine, Lon Chaney, Jr., Glenn Strange, Martha O'Driscoll, Lionel Atwill, Onslow Stevens, Jane Adams and Ludwig Stossel.

Disc One includes the original Dracula film along with numerous bonus materials. Some of those materials are: The Road to Dracula documentary, poster montage, theatrical trailer, an interview with Van Helsing director Stephen Sommers, audio commentary with David J. Skal and an optional score by composer Philip Glass.
Disc Two: Side One includes the 1931 Spanish Version of Dracula with an introduction by star Lupita Tovar Kohner. Also includes the 1936 sequel Dracula's Daughter. There are two theatrical trailers as bonus material.
Disc Two: Side Two includes the 1943 film, Son of Dracula and the 1945 film, House of Dracula.

All of these films are classics in their own way and I highly recommend this set to fans of classic horror films. However I must warn people that the audio and picture quality varies from film to film. Unfortunately Universal does not have the original negative prints of many of these films, which makes restoring them properly almost impossible. But with the five films that are showcased in this 2-disc Legacy Collection and numerous special features, this DVD is still a worthy addition to any film fan's library.
For those interested in learning more about the fictional Count Dracula, vampire mythology or the making of this film, I recommend the following:

The Illustrated Dracula (Penguin Illustrated Classics)
The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead
Vampires: Encounters With the Undead
The Vampire Film: From Nosferatu to Bram Stoker's Dracula
Dracula (75th Anniversary Edition)
Frankenstein - The Legacy Collection
The Wolf Man - The Legacy Collection

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Fun But Flawed

Dracula - The Legacy Collection brings you some of the best of Universal's vampire films.
As with the other sets in this series, Universal took the cheap way and used a double-sided disk for the second disk.
On to the films...
Dracula - the classic iconic representation of the vampire. Bela is great in this somewhat stagey yet effective production. Unfortunately the print used was scratchy and the digital transfer was very poor. It's odd that of all the films on this set only the original was in such poor condition. I found the "extra" Philip Glass score intrusive and overdone, destroying the eerie atmosphere of the film.
Dracula (1931 Spanish Version) - Interesting as a curiosity and in some ways technically superior to the Lugosi version. Thank heaven for the optional subtitles. Good print and a good digital transfer.
Dracula's Daughter - Seldom seen but enjoyable film. Gloria Holden gives a good performance as the tortured daughter of the Count. Irving Pichel stands out as her very creepy manservant. An interesting tale with just the slightest undertone of lesbianism. Good print and good transfer on this entry.
Son of Dracula - Goofy but fun film featuring Lon Chaney Jr. as Count Alucard. Poor performances by all concerned and a ludicrous plot make this film enjoyable for its camp value. Good print and good transfer on this entry.
House of Dracula - John Carradine is the immortal Count in this one and he meets up with the Wolfman, Frankenstein's Monster, a hunchback and a mad scientist. Lots of milling around and silliness. Again, a good print and digital transfer.
Bonus Extras - One promoting the then-current "Van Helsing" (not so good) and another about Bela and Dracula (pretty good).

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