Dracula Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Dracula Blu-ray Movie Review

Five years ago, my colleague Brian Ornsdorf covered Universal's budget release of John Badham's Dracula (1979). To read Brian's thoughts on the film as well as his assessment of that disc's a/v/supplements, please click here.

Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It's typically the norm that when a major studio releases a home video edition of a director's film, it usually isn't completely in accord with how he or she wants it to look and/or sound. For its 2004 DVD and high-def upgrade of Dracula (1979), Universal Studios went against the norm by permitting director John Badham to desaturate the original Technicolor to a quasi-black and white. Indeed, MCA/Universal Home Video gave Badham his original wish back in 1991 when the studio label put out a letterboxed LaserDisc. I remember first watching the film on network TV in the early 90s and can recall its cold, icy look. I found a note written by a fan of the movie to a film journalist complaining about how dark the transfers were on VHS and LD. The journalist conversed with Badham during the early days of the World Wide Web (on CompuServe's CEFORUM information service, no less) and the filmmaker confirmed that he personally supervised the LD transfer which boasted a "pastel look." Writing in June 1992 for LaserDisc Advocate, a supplemental of the Santa Cruz (CA) Sentinel, Christopher Gaynor praised the transfer: "The widescreen look of the film, along with very evocative cinematography adds greatly to the story's atmosphere and dramatic tensions. The transfer to LD is excellent with sharp focus and stable color." Still, fans of the film who saw it in the cinema back in 1979 were also craving to re-experience the warm, golden look they remembered so distinctly.

Twenty-eight years later, Scream Factory has given fans the best of both worlds, with separate discs devoted to the original theatrical release's color schemes and Badham's preferred version with the color drained. I don't know if the theatrical has ever been available in any format but it's a milestone and revelation to finally see it. Scream has created a 4K scan of the "best available original film elements" and I'm surmising that it's a composite print. The colors immediately pop out on the rain-soaked ship that opens the film. Black levels look like ink blots, very solidly defined. Periodically, there are very tiny white specks and stains that mar the image but color and detail look remarkably good. It wasn't definitively known whether color prints still existed so Universal and Scream should be saluted for putting this together.

The extensive comparison illustrating disparities in color temperature are detailed throughout my screenshots.

Screenshot #s 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, & 24 = 1979 Cinema Release: Original Theatrical Color Timing (Scream Factory 2019 Collector's Edition BD-50)

Screenshot #s 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, & 23 = 1991 Director's Edition: Desaturated Color Timing (Scream Factory 2019 Collector's Edition BD-50)

Screenshot #s 22, 24, 26, & 28 = 1991 Director's Edition: Desaturated Color Timing (Universal Studios 2014 BD-50)

Each cut is accompanied by twelve chapter markers.

Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream supplies the film's original Dolby Stereo as the default (and only) track on both discs: a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (1614 kbps, 24-bit) on Disc One and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo (1646 kbps, 24-bit) on Disc Two. The uncompressed mixes make the most of their original recording capabilities. The waves rollick back and forth along with thunderous clasps during the opening scene. The horse's hooves hitting the cobblestone sound crisp. I often turned the volume up for dialogue depending on the speaker; each had his/her own unique accent and Langella frequently mutters his lines softly. Donald Pleasence has a nasally voice following a funeral scene.

I first became acquainted with Dracula through John Williams's association with it so I've always been keenly attuned to the score as heard in the film and on album. Williams's main theme, scored primarily with strings and brass, is memorable in capturing the Count's romantic swoon and spell held over Lucy as well as prefiguring his underlying menace. The music's first notes immediately announce themselves on the center channel. Williams wrote over seventy-two minutes of original music and its lush sound is dynamically reproduced on the lossless tracks. Taken as a whole, the score is an extended symphonic movement built on the backbone of its Wagnerian leitmotifs. Williams took an operatic approach to the score à la Webber's The Phantom of the Opera except it doesn't have an organ or a chorus (although the 1979 MCA Records LP and 1990 Varèse Sarabande CD album does feature a little choir in the cue, "Night Journeys.") Interestingly, the back of the '91 LD jacket states that some of Williams's music was "rescored"! (Perhaps some cues were re-recorded.)

The only restoration info I have on the film's original sound track comes from film music restorer extraordinaire Michael Mattesino, who combed through Universal's archives in 2009 and uncovered the 1/4" monaural tapes. He additionally came across 1/4" stereo scoring masters and 35mm 4-track "pre-dub" reels. Williams's music editor had prepared the latter so the movie's sound mix would closely match and synchronize with the picture. There were variances in audio quality on the tapes but the remastered music on Varèse Sarabande's 2015 Deluxe Edition album and on the DTS-HD MA tracks sounds fantastic.

Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

DISC ONE: DESATURATED COLOR TIMING (1:49:06; 1080p; DTS-HD Master 2.0 Stereo)

• Audio Commentary with Director John Badham - this rehashed commentary was recorded ca. 2004 and features Badham discussing his actors and various facets of Dracula's production. He makes many good points and observations but there are frequent staccato gaps between when he stops and starts. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Introduction by Director John Badham (1:10, 1080p) - a newly recorded intro with Badham in which the Emmy-nominated director explains some of the aesthetic differences between the two versions of Dracula (1979). In English, not subtitled.

• NEW King of My Kind – An Interview with John Badham (32:18, 1080p) - in lieu of recording a new commentary, Badham has sat down for a fireside chat in his home (with the Japanese poster of Dracula behind him). He goes through the stage production of Richter starring Langella (illustrated with many photographs from the play), how he came aboard, collaborating with scribe W.D. Richter in translating adapted material to the screen, his memories of all the principal actors, and much more. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW What Sad Music – An Interview with Writer W.D. Richter (33:26, 1080p) - Richter covers a tremendous amount of ground about the writing process in just a half hour. He had reviewed a transcript of a story conference about Dracula that he had with producer and director before being taped. But he also shares many other anecdotes and stories. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Dracula's Guest – An Interview with Camera Assistant Jim Alloway (6:17, 1080p) - Alloway discusses the movie's locations, filming at Twickenham Studios, lenses used, and how the crew set up the camera for certain shots. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Interview with Editor John Bloom (21:13, 1080p) - Bloom recollects several of the creative choices involved he and others made while making Dracula. He also discusses how he cut the film together. Bloom gives an unpopular opinion about John Williams's score and while I digress, I understand and appreciate his dissenting view of how he believes the music should have been scored. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Interview with Make-Up Artist Peter Robb-King (25:18, 1080p) - Robb-King ruminates on the historical looks various thespians have donned in the role of the Count and how Langella's compares. He also details the hair and makeup styles for other actors. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Interview with Hair Stylist Colin Jamison (4:36, 1080p) - Jamison reflects on the hair styles he did for Langella's Dracula and his memories of Sir Laurence Olivier. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Interview with Assistant Director Anthony Waye (15:54, 1080p) - Waye looks back at the terrible storm that the film crew had to weather around Cornwall, how specific stunts were done, and re-shoots that were made. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Interview with Production Manager Hugh Harlow (21:36, 1080p) - Harlow recollects the type of production schedule cast/crew followed, which involved very long shooting days. In English, not subtitled.

• The Revamping of Dracula Featurette (39:12, 480i) - an archival retrospective doc that was first on Universal's 2004. Directed by Laurent Bouzereau, it features production photographs and clips from the film along with taking- head interviews with director John Badham, star Frank Langella, writer W.D. Richter, producer Walter Mirisch, and composer John Williams. All inteviews are spoken in English. The program employs the MPEG-2 encode.

• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian/Filmmaker Constantine Nasr - Nasr is a lifelong fan of Dracula (1979) who wrote profusely about its production history for his magazine, Little Shoppe of Horrors. He helped produce several of Scream's new extras and interviews. He reveals his deep knowledge of the film throughout this track. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Introduction by Director John Badham (1:10, 1080p) - a newly recorded intro with Badham in which the Emmy-nominated director explains some of the aesthetic differences between the two versions of Dracula (1979). Identical intro as one on the first disc. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:44, 1080p) - essentially an original teaser trailer of Dracula. Presented in around 2.35:1, it's somewhat grainy and appears restored, at least in part.

• Radio Spots (1:33) - three restored radio spots that aired to promote Dracula in 1979. The first two are similar in content and likely aired before the film came out. The last incorporates various quotes by critics. Spoken in English with great sound quality,

• Still Gallery (8:26, 1080p) - a mega compilation of 115 images depicting Dracula's shoot, publicity and ad campaigns. Most are in color except for some black-and-white stills and glossy photos from Universal's press kit. The slide show includes a slew of publicity shots of Frank Langella, Kate Nelligan, Donald Pleasence, Laurence Olivier, and Trevor Eve. Additionally, there's pictures of John Badham directing the cast and working with crew. Dracula posters, lobby cards, and even T-shirts round out the gallery.

Dracula Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

John Badham was extremely lucky to have a killer Dracula cast headed by the triumvirate of Frank Langella, Donald Pleasence, and Sir Laurence Olivier (who was very weak physically on set as he battled a neurological condition). Langella played Count Dracula on stage to great acclaim but film critics expecting the same campy feel for the film adaptation dismissed it outright as "humorless." I didn't see the Broadway production but reckon that too much camp and self-effacing humor in the screen translation would have been a detriment. Langella creates a fairly original interpretation of the Count on screen. Darkly handsome and suave, he imbues Dracula with an eroticism seldom seen in other incarnations. Langella has "the look" in his eyes and he's an indelible, magnetic screen presence.

Scream Factory has assembled two different versions of Dracula with divergent color temperatures (or lack thereof), making it a must-own for fans. The new commentary by Constantine Nasr and eight recently filmed interviews cover the production history and promotion of the film in exhaustive and exquisite detail. A VERY STRONG RECOMMENDATION.