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Movies / On DVD / Dracula
Dracula

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Dracula (1931)

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Reviews Counted:42

Fresh:39

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.8/10

Consensus: Bela Lugosi's timeless portrayal of Dracula in this creepy and atmospheric 1931 film has set the standard for major vampiric roles since.

Runtime: 75 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: This is the first screen version of Bram Stoker's famous tale based on the smash hit stage production. Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) arrives in London and immediately works to enrapture and transform... This is the first screen version of Bram Stoker's famous tale based on the smash hit stage production. Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) arrives in London and immediately works to enrapture and transform into vampires young Lucy Weston (Frances Dade) and her friend Mina Seward (Helen Chandler). After he succeeds in turning Lucy, and Mina's health suddenly deteriorates, Mina's father (Herbert Bunston), calls in a specialist, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan). Van Helsing quickly recognizes Dracula's vampirism, and sets about saving Mina (and in the process, becomes Dracula's archenemy). The film, arguably the most influential of the legend's film versions, launched Lugosi's career in horror movies and forever invited vampires across Hollywood's threshold. [More]

Starring: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye

Starring: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan, Herbert Bunston, Frances Dade

Director: Tod Browning

Director: Tod Browning
Story: Bram Stoker
Screenwriter: Garrett Fort

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Dracula

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Bela Lugosi gives the performance of his life in a role that might have been written just for him. Highly atmospheric throughout, this remains a milestone in horror movie history.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/25/07
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

When Bela Lugosi died he was buried wearing one of his original silk capes. Forever cloaked, he casts his shadow still.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
09/26/02
Angie Errigo
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
10/18/08
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Not by any means the masterpiece of fond memory or reputation, although the first twenty minutes are astonishingly fluid and brilliantly shot by Karl Freund.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Tom Milne
Tom Milne
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The brilliant opening act is overwhelmingly creepy and full of subtle perversity.

Full Review Source: All Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/25/01
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
All Movie Guide

A perfect example of the worst traits of Hollywood films in the early sound era.

Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy | comment 2 Comments
10/06/09
Tim Brayton
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy

No review available.

comment Comment
07/31/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

It haunted no one as much as dear Bela...

comment Comment
01/07/05
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

The opening scenes, set in Dracula's castle, are magnificent -- grave, stately, and severe. But the film becomes unbearably static once the action moves to England.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
09/25/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

Certainly it is Lugosi's performance, and the cinematography of Karl Freund, that make Tod Browning's film such an influential Hollywood picture.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film's superbly weird acting and cinematography haven't changed, but Universal's new video edition features a freshly written score by Philip Glass, the world-famous minimalist composer.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
09/26/02
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

É uma pena que o vampiro absoluto das telas, Bela Lugosi, não tenha estrelado um filme perene como a lenda em que ele se tornou.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
05/31/02
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

No review available.

comment Comment
01/27/03
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Stark, cold, and deeply sensual, "Dracula's" atmosphere and intention is rooted in a fear of unknown lust and desire from which there can be no escape. To view "Dracula" is to be bitten by the vampire's desperate attack.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
05/08/09
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

Bela Lugosi is inspired in the role of the vampire. One can no longer label it a good performance or a bad performance. Lugosi embodies the role.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

...a motion picture for people who love motion pictures, their history, and their evolution. It is a self-recommending classic.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
04/09/01
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Still the best American take on the infamous bloodsucker.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Once you get into the rhythms of the film, you’ll discover a masterpiece.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
10/08/05
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
06/19/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A classic despite numerous flaws.

Full Review Source: ESplatter | comment Comment
11/24/08
Steve Biodrowski
Steve Biodrowski
ESplatter
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Dracula

October 27, 2009: Sink Your Teeth Into RT's Best Vampires Movies List!
How do you explain our collective fascination with vampires? Well, in spite of the terrible curse that they must endure, these undead bloodsuckers have some attributes to which... More...

May 16, 2007: Ernest Dickerson to Direct "Dracula" Sequel
An "officially sanctioned" sequel to Bram Stoker's "Dracula" is about to hit the bookshelves ... and the movie screens. More...

July 11, 2006: Universal Plans "Dracula" Origin Story
Newcomer screenwriters Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless have sold a Dracula-oriented screenplay to Universal, but this one seems to promise something new: The bloodsucker's full... More...

May 03, 2006: A Sequel to the Original "Dracula"?
Filmmaker Jan de Bont plans to produce the first "officially sanctioned" sequel to Bram Stoker's original "Dracula" story, one that will catch up with all of... More...

See All

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