"A man... tall, thin, and ghastly pale..."
Bram Stoker's DraculaIn Bram Stoker's novel (1897), a clerk named John Harker travels to Transylvania to sell real-estate to the prestigious Count Dracula. However, once there he finds himself a captive of Dracula and his three "brides", keeping him away from his beloved Mina Murray, who is at home in London with her friend Lucy, who is dealing with the dilemma of having three suitors. Meanwhile, one of Lucy's suitors, Dr. John Seward, is having trouble with his patient Renfield, who is obsessed with the consumption of life. Harker is kept barely alive so that he cannot escape back to Europe, and Mina becomes lonely without him. Dracula travels to London on a ship with some Transylvanian soil, destroying the crew in the meantime. He attacks and eventually murders Lucy once in London, and she becomes a vampire, whom her suitors and their leader (Dr. Seward's old teacher Dr. Van Helsing) have to track down and destroy, while Mina travels to where Harker has been found to marry him. The group turns attention toward Dracula, who first attacks Mina as revenge then flees back to Transylvania under the protection of the Gypsies. The group sterilizes the lairs Dracula left in London then track him to Transylvania. One of Lucy's suitors, Quincy, is mortally wounded, but before he dies, he slays Dracula with a Bowie knife to the heart. The story closes with a reflection on Mina and Harker's married life and their son. The Many Faces of DraculaIn film, Dracula has been played by several different actors over the course of eighty-four years. Hover or click each picture to see the name and time period of each actor.
"The Nosferatu, creatures of the night, all family not by the blood they had in life, but by the blood they now consume." (Count Dracula, 1969)
Dracula AD 1972 Setting: Modern Times (1970s) Follows Book: Very loose, mostly just the characters of Dracula and Van Helsing Points of Interest: -Dracula and Van Helsing are mortal enemies 100 years before plot begins -Plot focuses on Jessica Van Helsing, grandaughter of Lorrimer, descendant of Van Helsing -Descendant of Dracula's follower Alocard revives Dracula and leads mostly girls down to him for feeding, turns only boys (Alocard and Jessica's boyfriend) -Vampire bites at an angle -Dracula is killed by falling into a pile of stakes Dracula (1992) Setting: Period Time Follows Book: Mostly, added thematic plotpoints Points of Interest: -A lot more gore and sexuality than most interpretations before this -Campire connection specifically to wolves and Gypsies -Lucy and Mina are both sexually charged women -Mina cheats on Harker (with Dracula -Biological references to explain vampirism -Hypnotism and drug references -Dracula walks in the day weaker but younger -Stabbed by Quincy, Killed by Mina as mercy Dracula 2000 Setting: Modern Times (2000s) Follows Book: Very Loosely Points of Interest: -More technology -Sexual references, but presented in a more classy form -Plenty of gore -Vampire women are sexually enhanced in that they are hyped -Vampire bites vertical -Main characters have names of characters in book -Van Helsing was turned vampire by Dracula in accident, Dracula is revived by blood spilled on coffin, now hunting for Van Helsing's secret daughter, Dracula wants to track "Mina" the daughter because she is the first with vampire blood to have not been turned by a vampire since Dracula -Dracula is really Judas Iscariot, turned vampire after his own hanging -Dracula destroyed hanging from a cross in the sunlight Dracula 3000 (2004) Setting: Future Times (3000s) Follows Book: No, character names are same but futuristic thematic elements prevent plot from following closely; covers a futuristic representation of the voyage on the Demeter Points of Interest: -Count's name is Orlock, throw back to Nosferatu -Plot takes place on spaceship, Orlock and other vampires as he turns them picking off one by one -Goal is not to kill; Orlock wants an army of vampires to aid his return and destruction of Earth -Professor in wheelchair (possible allusion to Rocky Horror Picture Show) -Gore, but not a lot of sexual reference (character Aurora does mention she is "programmed" for sexual pleasure) -Vampire bites angular -Ship explodes, destroying all on board |
Dracula in Film Dracula's evolution through film represents his evolution in culture: how he is perceived in terms of sex, fear, and spirituality changes through time as Dracula is recreated for newer audiences. The character Dracula of the first film interpretations in the 1920s and 30s is definitely not the same Dracula in Dracula 3000 or Dracula: Dead and Loving It, despite similar characters and plot lines. Here are eighteen widely accepted interpretations of Dracula, many of which have been detailed to show Dracula's evolution as he explores his film immortality.
Drakula (1920) A lost Russian interpretation. Very little information can be found on this film, other than it was the first recorded film interpretation of the book (Peacher 99). Dracula's Death (1921) A lost Hungarian interpretation. There is some information about this movie, including a basic synopsis and some credit information. However, the actual film content of this, apart from a few still-images, have been buried somewhere in history, possibly due to the burnings during WWII (Peacher 99). Nosferatu (1922) Setting: Period Time Follows Book Plot: Loosely (character names changed) Points of Interest: -Fangs are two front teeth -Female character (Ellen) only acts as a victim -Vampire bite only murders, not "turn" -Count Orlok has attraction to Ellen but otherwise no sexuality is seen -Vampire bites horizontal -Destroyed by sunlight Dracula (1931) Setting: Period Time Follows Book Plot: Closely Points of Interest: -Vampire bites, coffin opening, blood, fangs all omitted -Mina and Lucy only act as victims -Lucy only attacks children as a vampire -Dracula is killed by a stake through heart Dracula (1931 Spanish version) Dracula (1958) Setting: Period Time Follows Book Plot: To a certain extent, but details and character relationships have changed Points of Interest: -Lucy is now Harker's fiance -Mina is married to Arthur, Lucy's preferred suitor in the book -A female vampire uses her femininity to trap Harker and turn him -Vampire bites horizontal -Few examples of Mina's independence -Dracula killed by sunlight Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) Setting: Period Time, Sequel to Dracula (1958) Follows Book Plot: No, because it is a sequel Points of Interest: -A servant of Dracula, Klov, possible alusion to the character Clov from Endgame, another piece of Irish literature, uses blood to mix with Dracula's ashes to revive -Carriage wreck, Diana passes out but Charles is unscathed -Dracula won't allow the female vampire Helen to attack Diana, wants Diana for himself -Vampire bites horizontal -First mention of human drinking Dracula's blood to turn -Some sexual tension between couples -Dracula dies by drowning in a freezing river Count Dracula (1969) Setting: Period Time Follows Book: Advertises as exact, very close Points of Interest: -Third Dracula movie starring Christopher Lee -Vampire bites horizontal -"Blood transfusions" attempt to save Lucy -Dracula grows younger as he drinks Lucy's blood -Not a lot of sexual scenes, but tension with Dracula and between Mina and Harker -Dracula is killed by Harker and Quincy burning his coffin as the sun is rising Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) Setting: Modern Times (1970s) Follows Book: No Points of Interest: -Although this movie sounds like a collaboration of Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker, it is actually almost a parody, used to create a sexual representation of these classic characters -A descendant of the original Dr. Frankenstein, the current Frankenstein takes to murdering young women and experimenting with bringing them back to life -Dracula comes to revive Frankenstein's monster (as a vampire) in return for a serum to allow him to not be destroyed -Much more nudity and sexual representation then before -Dracula is not destroyed in this film; Frankenstein's monster is Dracula and Son (1976) Setting: Modern Times (1970s) Follows Book: No, parody Points of Interest: -A French Parody -Starring Christopher Lee (again), Dracula takes a job as a movie star, playing the "perfect" vampire roles in England (possibly a stab at how Lee has starred in more than ten Dracula movies) -Dracula's son, Ferdinand, is a nightwatchman in Paris, abandoning his heritage -Both Father and son fall for the same girl -No "slaying" in the movie Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) Setting: Period Time Follows Book: Closely, also closely follows the plot of Dracula (1931) with many design elements after Dracula (1992), Parody Points of Interest: -Parody plays into many stereotypes developed in prior movies (hypnotism, no reflection, turning into bats, etc.) -There are a lot of sexual references, mainly women vampires forcing sexuality on men -Lots of gore, but presented not to scare as much as to create humor -Bites at an angle -Renfield accidentally kills Dracula, opening a sunny patch in the roof to help him escape Dracula II: Ascension (2003) Setting: Modern Times (2000s) Follows Book: No, Sequel to Dracula 2000 Points of Interest: -Dracula revived by dropping his fried nosferatu body in a tub of blood (different actor, though) -Takes hold of first female character he comes in contact with -Vampire bites vertical -Many biological and physiological experiements with lots of gore and blood -Priest looking to give Judas "absolution" -Priest scratched formerly by vampire fang, forces himself to burn in sunlight every day -Vampire bites vertical -Dracula not destroyed, leaving room for another sequel Dracula III: Legacy (2005) Setting: Modern Times (2000s) Follows Book: No, sequel to Dracula II: Ascension (2003) Points of Interest: -Vampire bites angular -Many political statements, bloody scenes, and sexual references -Dracula is destroyed by Priest from Ascension draining blood and removing head (although Dracula claims he can only be destroyed through God's forgiveness) -Dracula needs "bride" -Priest forgets his sunlight ritual (to "burn away" vampirism) and takes over Dracula's rein as king of vampires with another turned woman as his "bride" |