THE PLOT THUS FAR
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Dracula” was released to theaters overseas, because that’s the thing they used to do with American TV movies that cost too much. The push for a romantic Dracula while using Jack Palance in the lead seems odd as hell. Richard Matheson’s script seems to be channeling a lot of what Coppola did in 1992. However, there’s this weird Hammer aspect to the presentation. It’s not pressing, but the theme and use of the darker sets seems to suggest that this was intentional.
Dan Curtis is such an underrated talent that doesn’t get his due when it comes to 70s horror. He plays with the original story in a way that I never imagined that Stoker intended. The end result is a film that portrays Van Helsing as the ultimate divination, as he ends the tyranny of these loose women and their foreign lover. The takedowns are brutal when you consider that the film was originally designed for American TV. I guess that we’re getting the uncut European version. Oh well, it’s pretty impressive.
The Blu-Ray comes with interviews, outtakes, alternate audio tracks and the trailer as the special features. My receiver read the film as DTS-HD 2.0 master audio track. But, I couldn’t tell any difference when I outputted the film to PCM. The 1080p transfer shows off the stunning 2K restoration. This is the best I’ve ever seen the flick look. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase.
RELEASE DATE: 05/27/2014