Count Dracula

I'd been wanting to check out Franco's 'faithful' rendition of Bram Stoker's classic vampire tale ever since I came upon a review of it in two horror-film reference books from the mid-70s written by Alan Frank. When the Dark Sky R1 DVD was announced, I was overjoyed – but this was soon dissipated by reports that their print was missing some footage; I still intended to pick up that edition for the interesting supplements (Franco interview, star Christopher Lee reading excerpts from the novel), but an upcoming German 2-Disc Set is supposed to be complete as well as featuring an Audio Commentary with Franco and co-star Fred Williams! Anyway, having watched the film now – via the Spanish DVD – I don't think the additional footage was fair trade for the lack of an option to include the English-language track (or, at least, English subtitles); while I'm obviously familiar with the storyline, so that I had no difficulty following the proceedings, I missed hearing the Stoker dialogue – not to mention Lee and Herbert Lom's distinctive voices!

Its overall effect is worlds removed from the Hammer outings which starred Lee: these were actually still going on when COUNT Dracula was made, but he had become increasingly disenchanted with their approach. Low-key, deliberately-paced and hampered by severe budgetary constraints (resulting in shoddy effects and a distinct lack of props), the film nevertheless makes the most of its Spanish locations – even if Manuel Merino's shaky camera-work displays an unwarranted propensity for zoom shots (while an attack, ostensibly taking the vampire's POV, then bafflingly reveals Dracula to be coming from a totally different direction!). The soundtrack highlights Bruno Nicolai's typically reliable score (at once evocative and moody), but it's punctuated by weird – and amusing – slurping sounds during the vampire attacks! The Spanish DVD presents the film in its correct full-frame aspect ratio, though the transfer itself lends the whole an unrealistic orange hue (as opposed to the bluish tones, for night-time sequences, which have been mentioned online with respect to the Dark Sky edition).

It has been said that Lee's performance in COUNT Dracula is superior to his various interpretations in the Hammer films: while I certainly appreciated his different approach to the role, he is still given relatively little time in which to work his magic (no pun intended); interestingly, the vampire starts off as an old man here but is gradually rejuvenated through his bloodsucking habits (a concept originating in Stoker and picked up again by Francis Ford Coppola for his BRAM STOKER'S Dracula [1992], another would-be rigorous adaptation). The rest of the main cast is virtually a "Who's Who" of Franco's filmography during this time: Herbert Lom makes for an imposing Van Helsing (due to the language barrier, I didn't understand why he was suddenly wheelchair-bound – but, from the "Eccentric Cinema" review, I gathered that the character had suffered a stroke); Klaus Kinski is a creepy Renfield (able to create a character by saying almost nothing at all – he had already done similar duties for Franco as the Marquis De Sade in the 1968 version of "Justine" and, by the way, it's interesting that the actor would himself eventually play Dracula twice, in NOSFERATU, THE VAMPYRE [1979] and the Italian-made NOSFERATU A VENEZIA [1988]); Maria Rohm as Mina (looking ravishing but who's rather underused throughout); Soledad Miranda as Lucy (she only really comes into her own when turned into a vampire, which actually precedes her iconic turn in Franco's VAMPYROS LESBOS (1970) – itself a very loose adaptation of "Dracula"!); Fred Williams as Harker; Jack Taylor as Quincey; Paul Muller as Dr. Seward; and even Franco himself as Van Helsing's dopey-looking yet vaguely sinister manservant.

For all its shortcomings (it wouldn't be a Franco film if it weren't flawed), COUNT Dracula still provides a fair quota of memorable moments: Dracula silencing the wolves outside his castle; Dracula feeding a baby to his 'brides'; Dracula's attacks on Miranda, twice interrupted by Rohm (whom he eventually gets to, of all places, at an opera house!); Miranda's bloody demise in her coffin; the stuffed animals in Dracula's London home coming to life to scare the vampire hunters; Lom burning a cross-shape on the floor in his clinic to ward off the approaching vampire; blood spurting in Taylor's face from his staking of a vampire woman in Dracula's castle; Dracula's fiery come-uppance (actually similar to Miranda's – not to mention Bela Lugosi in the 1931 Universal classic – in that he's dispatched while at his most vulnerable, i.e. asleep in his coffin).

It's unfortunate that none of the companies who released – or are set to release – the film on DVD seem to hold the rights to CUADECUC, VAMPIR (1970), a documentary shot at the time of COUNT Dracula's production. By the way, I should eventually be following this viewing of the film with several more Francos, including alternate versions of two monster mashes on similar lines (but even more idiosyncratic), namely Dracula – PRISONER OF FRANKENSTEIN (1971) and THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN aka THE EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN (1972/3).

Everyone looking for the usual Jess Franco sex horror will be , and has been, let down by this movie. I myself have been kind of meh about it over the years. But a recent late night rewatch put it in a new light. Sure it's slow and a bit static but Franco captures a sense of dread that most Dracula movies can't manage. No wonder Lee said this was his favorite portrayal of the count. Plus that Nicolai music is incredible. Not perfect but it has something strong going for it.

"El Conde Dracula" is Spanish director Jess Franco's faithful yet flawed take on the Bram Stoker novel, with Christopher Lee taking a break from his British Hammer series to play the infamous vampire. Lee had high hopes for the film because Franco intended to adhere closely to the book. I think there are things to admire about this version, beginning with Lee's accurate portrayal of an old Dracula who grows steadily younger as he drinks more blood. Many of the Gothic locations are impressive as well, and it's a plus to have Klaus Kinski as Renfield and Herbert Lom as Van Helsing. The problem is that this movie, much like the 1931 Lugosi film, starts out very well and has its best moments in the beginning (say the first half hour) before growing tedious. It's a shame too, because this could have turned out to be the most faithful Dracula adaptation ever done, had Franco tried a little harder. His overbearing need to zoom in to characters' faces becomes so repetitious that you begin to anticipate it after awhile, along with the same ongoing musical cues. It also has a disappointing climax.

It's certainly a Dracula movie worth seeing for fans of the genre, but it is hypnotically draggy at times (then again, so was the book!). It should be mentioned that the print used for the newly released Dark Sky DVD is missing a really effective sequence where a crying woman outside Dracula's castle pleads desperately for the Count to return her little baby to her. **1/2 out of ****

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.

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.