MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Jack Bennett How do you review a film which is not only over 85 years old but is widely regarded as an utter masterpiece of early Hollywood cinema? I guess you should start at the beginning ... Chances are if you were to do an impression of the Count, you'd be inadvertently mimicking Lugosi's shining role as the vampire in pursuit of fresh blood while playing a cat-and-mouse game with vampire hunter Van Helsing.This was, of course, not the first film to be based on Bram Stoker's novel - Nosferatu (1922) and the lost Russian film Drakula (1920) borrowed plot points and the vampirical villain, but neither were could use the copyrighted contents of the book. The 1931 film was, however, the first talking Dracula film, meaning that Bela Lugosi (originally from modern-day Romania) invented the Count's accent everyone copies today.Lugosi's successful, if ultimately tragic, career in horror (alongside the likes of Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney Jr) can be traced back to the original Broadway adaptation and subsequent film held in such high regard today. Even when Dracula is uncentered in the shot as one of five characters on a balcony at an opera, he still commands the screen (as you can imagine he surely would've done on stage four years before).Dwight Frye also gives an intense performance as solicitor-turned-slave Renfield. His descent into submissive madness might be considered a bit campy these days, but that laugh on the ship gives me goose bumps every single time I hear it.Interestingly, there's no music in the film with the exception of the classic Swan Lake opening titles. When it's meant silent in Lucy or Mina's pitch black bed chamber, it's totally silent and much tenser than it might've been with a soundtrack. A version was released in 1998 with an orchestral score written by Philip Glass - the music in this version of the film (now the most viewed) is subtle and does its job admirably without too much distraction from the original directorial intentions.While the film is not scary anymore (in 1931, it surely would've been) it's worth a watch for the technical advancements it shows (including a simple tracking shot which was revolutionary at a time of static cameras) and its significance to film and the horror genre. No-one can deny its impact.Many of the film's lines have passed into folklore, Dracula's voice is rarely altered, and his slicked-back appearance became the standard for vampires since. It's not just part of our pop culture; it might just be the earliest inclusion in pop culture full-stop ... and it's still relevant nearly a century later. Best Quote: "For one who has not lived even a single lifetime, you're a wise man, Van Helsing."

e-gomez-67683 This movie is slow from beginning to end and nothing about it really scares me. The one strength I can find is Bela Lugosi's performance as Dracula. Everything else was weak and felt mediocre in its execution

pdortic I did not have high expectations for this movie. I mean its a vampire movie and I grew up in a time period where vampires and werewolves battled for the affection of a girl in the worst way. However, this movie is no Twilight.This movie actualizes and places the nightmare creatures of vampires into our own realities. A movie created at this time period with this subject matter was rare and Dracula was one of the first.Bela Lugosi had no actors, or visual characters to study. he set the bar high for fictional characters like vampires.The entrance of the movie shows great juxtaposition of Renfelid's oblivious and innocent nature to Count Dracula's ways compared to the people that reside in the town outside of the castle. There fear in there eyes are almost malleable. When they are speaking in a different language it creates a want to know that they are saying and draws you into the movie.The character of Dracula has lifetimes of knowledge and depth. The character is played to perfection by Bela Lugosi. There is an aura of fear around him, but in many moments you feel for Dracula and the situation that he is inOverall great movie and definitely deserves nine stars.

juliette-20138 It is quite evident that this movie was very influential both with respect to society and the movie industry. It can be seen as one of the movies that kicked off the horror film genre, and even today, we seen remains of its effects. In present society, I would be surprised to find someone who is not familiar with the story of Dracula and the vampire movies that were inspired by this original story. As a horror movie lover today, I cannot overcome my bias in judging the plot of the movie and the movie in general. I found it very slow and predictable, but this is likely because of what I have been exposed to at present time. If I were a movie-goer in 1931, perhaps I would have have enjoyed it much more; I'm sure that I would not have seen anything like it, and it would most likely a very good thriller in my 1931 eyes. Even in my mindset today, I did find that the lighting (darkness throughout the film) contributed to the scary tone and was very effective in producing a horror effect. The widening of the eyes of both Dracula and Renfield had a similar effect that I enjoyed.Aside from my biases as a young adult in today's world, I enjoyed this movie. Its effects are clearly widespread, and I have movies like this to thank for the modern horror movies I love today.