tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post114759593047395565..comments2024-03-28T00:08:13.399-07:00Comments on Taliesin meets the vampires: Dracula {1979}- reviewTaliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-9197434842121225982019-07-06T00:51:32.256-07:002019-07-06T00:51:32.256-07:00Hi L, thanks for stopping by. I guess, in many res...Hi L, thanks for stopping by. I guess, in many respects, you have seen the original form as the director's choice with the colour palate forms that but I agree that seeing it with a more sumptuous palate would be good to see :)Taliesin_ttlghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-67431234050596687552019-07-05T19:51:02.553-07:002019-07-05T19:51:02.553-07:00I've never seen this movie in its original for...I've never seen this movie in its original form, sadly the director chose to wash the color out of the film. Langella plays a very elegant villain here , it's easy to see how he could win over all the main characters and be liked by them. I've often thought that the young Mr Langella would have made an interesting choice to play the xmen villain magneto.L wintershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00502380341741038390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-45547590086630542432013-03-16T10:31:05.012-07:002013-03-16T10:31:05.012-07:00Always good to hear from another fan of this versi...Always good to hear from another fan of this version. Thanks for the comment StephenTaliesin_ttlghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-13553265218971333892013-03-16T09:43:02.780-07:002013-03-16T09:43:02.780-07:00I, too, love this version of Dracula. I was maybe ...I, too, love this version of Dracula. I was maybe five, six years old when it came out and I rediscovered it on home video. I have owned it in one format or another since the late 80's, and I still consider it one of the best adaptations out there. And even the flaws are forgivable, because the atmosphere, the performances and, above all, Langella's Count, are all so great. I really like a lot of the things about this movie others don't: that Drac never shows red eyes or pointy teeth, for example. He doesn't need to! And the musical score is incredible; it's the best Dracula music ever written. Stephen Phillipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05244078116779511353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-38107374220619756002011-03-18T09:31:00.881-07:002011-03-18T09:31:00.881-07:00Thanks Margaret, please keep on commenting - the f...Thanks Margaret, please keep on commenting - the feedback makes it all worthwhile.<br /><br />It is hard to objective on films from your formative years (I can still rattle off the script for Flash Gordon word for word!!!)<br /><br />However, as much as there are rose tinted glasses with this film, like yourself I think it stands up in its own right today.Taliesin_ttlghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-76631567624100485342011-03-18T07:49:36.106-07:002011-03-18T07:49:36.106-07:00I feel like I've been commenting a lot on here...I feel like I've been commenting a lot on here lately, but I can't help it. I am just really enjoying your reviews! This one in particular REALLY made me happy. <br /><br />As I read the beginning of the review, I realized I could have written it! This was for me also the first vampire movie I saw at a very young age that left a strong impression on my mind (followed very shortly thereafter by both Fright Night and The Lost Boys, two of my other favorite vampire films). It is hard to be objective about a favorite film, but not having seen this since I was young and watching it again recently and reviewing it, I still find it to be my favorite. It is true that there are films that stick more closely to the source material, those that stick more closely to the historical mythology, and those that were more groundbreaking, (and they are all excellent films in their own right)but this is the one for me that made Dracula both tragic and terrifying. It is also the only one that even after having seen it so many times as both a child and an adult I can still lose myself completely in. The child in me still cringes at Mina in the mines and the images of the asylum, and the adult in me appreciates the fantastic acting, the sweeping soundtrack, and the beautiful gothic sets and atmosphere. It is, and probably always will be, my favorite Dracula film.<br /><br />Thanks for giving it respect!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06677605637257952349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-6595985145674938882009-10-27T11:07:25.619-07:002009-10-27T11:07:25.619-07:00The T, I know there are flaws in this but I can...The T, I know there are flaws in this but I can't help but love the movie, as I explained in the review. Sometimes a movie just gets you...Taliesin_ttlghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-29494695334495669202009-10-27T10:29:12.164-07:002009-10-27T10:29:12.164-07:00I'm not so enthusiastic about this movie as yo...I'm not so enthusiastic about this movie as you but I agree it's good. There are some things that detract me from truly enjoying it like you do:<br /><br />1. No Transylvania journey. One of the best parts in the book (and in several movies, including the flawed 1931 classic) is eliminated.<br /><br />2. No fangs or any supernatural element in Langella. Other vampires have them, but not the main master. (I saw the making-of that comes with the dvd and Langella says it was partly his idea...)<br /><br />3. Langella himself. Especially his hair (?!?) Looks too.. un-undead. He doesn't look like a ages-old thing. Curiosuly, NOW Langella has a look that I would approve more of hahaha. <br /><br />4. The sycodelic love scene. Too much bubbles and shadows. <br /><br />On the other hand, I love the vampires (like Mina), the story is coherent enough, and Langella, ignoring his hair and his sex-symbol looks (in the movie, I'm not saying he IS a sex-symbol haha), is commanding and imposing. <br /><br />Olivier's accent, of course, is rather terrible. But it was good to see the legend in one of our films. <br /><br />The asylum is ugly and depressing. It's also very well done. <br /><br />Great review anyway. I prefer Coppola's version way over this one, but I can easily see why you love it. It's crystal clear.The Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01604204981457343496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-84610532367107346962008-05-03T14:51:00.000-07:002008-05-03T14:51:00.000-07:00Cheers Chick, yes the mine shaft, kind of up there...Cheers Chick, yes the mine shaft, kind of up there with Danny Glick at the window is 'Salem's Lot and the head from the boat in Jaws... awesome mocie moments for an impressionable young mind! :)Taliesin_ttlghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-24686795240009931872008-05-03T13:36:00.000-07:002008-05-03T13:36:00.000-07:00Taliesin,Thoroughly loved your write-up. And, we a...Taliesin,<BR/><BR/>Thoroughly loved your write-up. And, we are in total agreement, not even spitting hairs! I'll never, ever, forget seeing Mina in that dark mine shaft for the first time. Unhinged me completely - saw this one in the theater in 79' - I was ten years old and I was unhinged! Also, Nelligan is a DAMN FINE vampiress. All the best, ChickChick Younghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01237639618482587471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-1148481243253434602006-05-24T07:34:00.000-07:002006-05-24T07:34:00.000-07:00And many thanks for the commentAnd many thanks for the commentTaliesin_ttlghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-1148474060903817412006-05-24T05:34:00.000-07:002006-05-24T05:34:00.000-07:00Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this underrate...Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this underrated film. I, too, first caught it on video at a very young age, and have managed to re-watch it every few years since.<BR/><BR/>Certainly, Dracula (1979) has its flaws - not the least of which is that it's a bit 'stagey'. That said, though, it's beautiful to look at and (as one critic pointed out) never pretends its more ridiculous and absurd side isn't there.<BR/><BR/>And that ending ... <BR/><BR/>Let it be said: This Dracula was the saddest, the kindest of them all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-1147729125698383092006-05-15T14:38:00.000-07:002006-05-15T14:38:00.000-07:00Hi MarkIt was a difficult one to review as, as I s...Hi Mark<BR/><BR/>It was a difficult one to review as, as I said, it does hold a special place in my heart - but I do agree it is harshly judged often... and where else are you going to get Olivier and Pleasence in the same vampire movie!<BR/><BR/>That said, the bit of me that's truly evil does like the name "disco dracula" lolTaliesin_ttlghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-1147727726350031382006-05-15T14:15:00.000-07:002006-05-15T14:15:00.000-07:00I have a friend who hates this version of the Drac...I have a friend who <I>hates</I> this version of the Dracula story. Whenever he speaks to me of it, he refers to it as the "Disco Dracula."<BR/><BR/>I, on the other hand, am far less harsh.<BR/><BR/>Langella isn't the scariest Dracula, but he does have his moments (I love the scene where he crawls down to a window and scratches at the pane.)Of course, as you mention, this is a sympathetic portrayal of the famous vampire.<BR/><BR/>This version of Dracula is filled with great images and ideas, and it seems to me it is too often overlooked (and often harshly judged) during discussions of the genre. I'm glad to see it reviewed so favorably here. I'm always amazed to see Sir Lawrence Olivier playing Van Helsing in this. Unbelievable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com