Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992 directed by Francis Ford Coppola)

Going with the title, this is a very straight adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. It has a studded cast and production crew and it shows in the quality of the art-direction and acting.

The movie follows with the book as much as it could, straying only to streamline story-lines to save time, and draws from it in aesthetics. The events and style mirror the journal/letter structure of the novel but do not follow it entirely. The main addition to the plot is the expanded backstory of the titular Dracula and how it relates to Mina Harker nee Murray. The ending/beginning is also different, because of this.

I found this slight twist to the plot excellent; I prefer it to the source material. It creates a more cohesive story-line while still affirming the themes of the book. At the end of the novel, it flashes to the future for a short while to show that Jonathan and Mina have a child and the world has retained some sense of peace for them. The movie does not do this but retains the theme of hope through salvation and redemption.

Asides from the plot, the acting was very good. Gary Oldman delivered a Dracula that was tragic, over-the-top, and menacing all at the same time. Winona Ryder played a strong Mina. The actors of Reinfield and Lucy, although their parts were smaller, were just as good. Van Helsing played by Anthony Hopkins was perfect. The only weak points were Keanu who was slightly ineffective along with Seward, but both characters were slightly lessened in presence in the adaptation so it could just as well been scripting.

The colors and art direction of the movie was on point. The shadows and lighting exuded qualities of a monster movie. The special effects were top notch, the make-up on Oldman was very good, which it was recognized for in the Academy Awards in the costume and make-up categories.

So what does all that mean in terms of movie enjoyment?

I loved it. I was in the mood for a monster movie, specifically classic vampires, but this movie transcended my expectation. It somehow was serious and campy all at the same time. A mix of sleazy and dramatic that satiated everything I ever wanted out of a movie like this. The adaptation was slick, it was surprising how well it followed and how well it did with the material. It worked. This Dracula ranks highly, if not the top position, on my vampire movie rankings.