tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post5375382023558497073..comments2024-03-22T14:34:39.101-04:00Comments on MONDO 70: A Wild World of Cinema: Wendigo Meets DRACULA (1931)Samuel Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-47989945147118556592010-09-02T19:53:04.142-04:002010-09-02T19:53:04.142-04:00Vicar, thanks for bringing up the mirror scene bec...Vicar, thanks for bringing up the mirror scene because it highlights both Lugosi's brilliantly calibrated performance and Browning's use of the camera to follow him, come in close, then pull back as the Count reminds himself of where he is and the need to maintain appearances. My screencap of Van Sloan, you may have noticed, comes from just after Dracula has made his apologies and left the room. He looks rightly satisfied with himself.<br /><br />Sam J., I hope my review encourages you to rethink <i>Dracula's</i> staginess, though I admit the location remains an inherent limitation. When it comes to cinematic Draculas, the question is what liberties are taken and how they compare with other versions. In such a comparison Browning may come out relatively well.<br /><br />By the way, Sam's comment gives me an opportunity to tell the horror fans among my friends and followers that his blog, <a href="http://wondersinthedark.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow">Wonders in the Dark</a>, is hosting a Top 50 Horror Film countdown starting next week. If it's anything like the decade countdowns that have appeared there over the past year or so, the choices should be interesting and the debates lively.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-36371418886705826642010-09-01T17:07:43.031-04:002010-09-01T17:07:43.031-04:00This is a spectacular consideration of this famous...This is a spectacular consideration of this famous film, one that has spawned a host of imitators over the years. It's doesn't match Murnau's NOSFERATU (it's too stagy and it takes some serious liberties with the source material)but it has one of the cinema's greatest opening segments, and it's atmospherics are legendary. You've examined the film from so many angles here, and the commentators are rightly animated.<br /><br />I did see the Phillip Glass version in a theatre several years back and was again ravished from yet another perspective.Sam Julianonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-8565858001978603042010-09-01T14:00:18.745-04:002010-09-01T14:00:18.745-04:00Incredible post, as Will Errickson said. It's ...Incredible post, as Will Errickson said. It's become kind of "critical cool" to dis Browning's direction here, but I really believe that's just a fad. There's a reason this movie has stood the test of time, and its place in history is only part of it. <br /><br />And thank you for pointing out the often neglected contribution of Edward Van Sloan here. I've always had him at the top of my "Van Helsings" list, but never articulated the reasons why as succinctly and precisely as you do here. One of my favorite scenes in the movie--or in all the Universal Horrors, for that matter--is the show-dwon between Dracula and Van Helsing over the mirrored cigarette case. Lugosi is flawless here, shot in the "Astairean" way you suggest, as he goes slowly from the look and aspect of a cornered animal--look at his face, it's really a shocking mask of viciousness--and then slowly, oh so slowly regains his composure and control. But Van Sloan's set-up, the knowing offering of the cigarettes, the delivery of the line--it wouldn't be half the scene without it. <br /><br />Lugosi and Van Sloan have remarkable chemistry too. The line that ends that scene--"You must...forgive me. I do not like...mirrors. Van Helsing...<i>vill explain."</i>--gives me chills, but it's the respect Dracula offers grudgingly--"For one who has not lived...even a single lifetime...you are a wise man, Van Helsing"--that's EARNED, buddy!<br /><br />Finally, it's nearly impossible to overstate how Lugosi's sex appeal you describe forever changed the character of Dracula. In the book, Dracula's attacks on the heroines were not seductions--they were <i>rapes</i>, pretty much explicitly (hence all that talk of Mina being "tainted" taking on added subtext); it was only with Lugosi that they became <i>seductions</i>, the victims almost willing accomplices.<br /><br />I could go on and on, but I'll stop there and congratulate you on another excellent essay. Kudos!The Vicar of VHShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06832137990485130735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-1641963408150818952010-09-01T13:59:17.359-04:002010-09-01T13:59:17.359-04:00Will, thanks for the clarification. I was thinking...Will, thanks for the clarification. I was thinking visually of Murnau's influence on Tobe Hooper rather than <i>Nosferatu's</i> influence on King himself.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-41776018444853142222010-09-01T13:28:01.337-04:002010-09-01T13:28:01.337-04:00Well, as for King's 'Salem's Lot, his ...Well, as for King's 'Salem's Lot, his inspiration was the original Stoker novel; the Nosferatu-looking character in the '70s TV movie was made up by the producers. In the novel that character--Barlow--is a European aristocrat, nothing monstrous about him.Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-6211482583665143972010-09-01T12:03:34.401-04:002010-09-01T12:03:34.401-04:00Will: From what I've read, Chaney was desired ...Will: From what I've read, Chaney was desired by Universal but the studio wasn't in a position to offer M-G-M anything in exchange for his services. He was already out of the running by the time he died. I don't think the movie would have had the same impact if Chaney had done it, unless he was ready to do something different from his usual grotesques.<br /><br />Hobby: On the Nosferatu/Salem's Lot connection: well, duh! And the Murnau is one you need to see if you want to talk about cinema vampires.Samuel Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00934870299522899944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-51439000483835172152010-09-01T11:33:03.780-04:002010-09-01T11:33:03.780-04:00How many times did we all see "Dracula" ...How many times did we all see "Dracula" on TV as children? Plenty. I will agree with Wendigo's assertion that Lugosi's interpretation of Dracula puts the film in an upper echelon.<br /><br />I've seen "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992). That was 2 hours I'd never get back. I've seen "Van Helsing" w/Hugh Jackman in the title role, and it's not his fault that film went in the tank. Hollywood's current generation of screenwriters couldn't leave well enough alone with tradition, turning Van Helsing into a werewolf to fight Drac. Just an excuse to empty out the CGI budget is all it was.<br /><br />Now, I've never seen "Nosferatu", save for the obligatory clip used in a Queen video ("Under Pressure"). I think Stephen King used that as his inspiration for "Salem's Lot"'s lead vampire (if you've got that on DVD, Sam, check it out and you'll see what I mean). In truth, Lugosi still is the definitive Dracula, no matter how many times Hollywood wants to screw around with the character.hobbyfanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08089664500077967952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9149411832127844385.post-85021968665974055642010-09-01T10:25:10.984-04:002010-09-01T10:25:10.984-04:00This is an incredible post, one of the best I'...This is an incredible post, one of the best I've read on this Dracula. I'd never thought of how the pop-cultural connotations of "vampire" changed with this movie! I have heard Chaney was set to play the role in the film, but died before production, so Lugosi was then chosen. Not sure if that's true or not.Will Erricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16285306262078600804noreply@blogger.com