Count Dracula

It is sad that this film is so often overlooked...it's really a gem. Christopher Lee's portrayal of Dracula here is probably his best ever (at least in terms of following Stoker's book) as an aging vampire who progressively gets younger (20 years before Coppola's version). In addition, Klaus Kinski is brilliant as the insane Renfield. Lee's Dracula is given more of a human side that is missing in the Hammer films, where he usually barely speaks at all. There are some weak spots, but overall quite good, and a must for Lee fans really gives a different perspective of the Hammer legend.

Filmed in Spain and Germany, Jess Franco's version of the Bram Stoker classic has Count Dracula as an old man who grows younger whenever he dines on the blood of young maidens. This movie is quite faithful to the novel, unlike so many other Dracula films of the period. Starring screen legend Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, it also features Franco regulars Soledad Miranda, Fred Williams, Maria Rohm, Jack Taylor, Klaus Kinski, and Paul Müller. Franco appears in the film (as he does in many of his movies) as a servant to Professor Van Helsing. Franco contributes great direction and a perfectly eerie atmosphere to this low-budget film, which was one of Soledad's most prominent international roles. The talented cast and direction, as well as a fantastic score by Bruno Nicolai, make this one of the best filmed versions of the Dracula story and a great companion to Francis Ford Coppola's version made decades later.

This film has many flaws and gaffs but that makes it all the more interesting! "Count Dracula" has a superior atmosphere and direction by Jess Franco. Christopher Lee gives an excellent performance as Dracula and Klaus Kinski is fantastic as the insane Renfield! This film is forgotten by today's film history and most people pass it as being a cheap, beyond low-budget horror film, but I see it through a different light. Herbert Lom makes Dr. Van-Helsing so interesting, you can't stop watching. Another great thing about the film was the dark and gloomy sets such as the Borgo Pass and Castle Dracula. The score for the film was superb, and it goes right together with the fantastic film. I hope the people who read this take my word and just watch, "Count Dracula", for what it is. It's a film that shouldn't be forgotton.

Despite some relatively poor production values, this film has the requisite quality of "creepiness" that any good Dracula film really should have. Kinski is fine. This is also Christopher Lee's most accurate performance as the Count. Too bad the editing is so jumpy. It's almost like watching a documentary, or an antique silent film (but with sound). If they had just invested a little more money, this could have become "the" authentic film adaptation of the novel. As it stands, it is only for real devotees of the genre.

This isn't a great movie, but probably the single most faithful screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's great story I've ever seen. It doesn't embellish or introduce a whole bunch of characters. It keeps the idea of Dracula being in an old man when we first meet him in Romania and getting younger as he drinks blood. I remember seeing it not too long after I had finished reading the book (the excellent annotated Dracula by Leonard Wolf (no relation)) and was hooked from start to finish. This is kind of an art house Dracula, faithful to story and spirit, short on special effect and expensive lighting. Kind of like Passolini's Gospel According to Matthew.

Christopher Lee returns to his most famous role, this time portraying the count getting younger every time that he takes a bite. A little bit jarring in this movie is the presence of Herbert "Commissioner Dreyfus" Lom as Prof. Van Helsing. To add to that, Klaus Kinski plays Renfield a few years before he himself would play the count in Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu". But overall, "Count Dracula" is a pretty cool movie. Dracula fans should enjoy it. I have to admit that I don't know any other of Jess Franco's movies, but if this is any indication, they should be pretty neat. All in all, the count bids you welcome...