shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Sept 2, 2024 11:18:17 GMT -5
Definitely the Youtube project of which I'm most proud at this point. Took roughly a week to put this together. I hope you'll enjoy!
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Post by thwhtguardian on Sept 2, 2024 15:44:19 GMT -5
Definitely the Youtube project of which I'm most proud at this point. Took roughly a week to put this together. I hope you'll enjoy! It never really occurred to me that people (never mind you!) would have trouble getting into Dracula as I've loved it since I was a kid. |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Sept 2, 2024 16:04:03 GMT -5
It never really occurred to me that people (never mind you!) would have trouble getting into Dracula as I've loved it since I was a kid. Maybe starting as a kid was the difference? I know I first watched it as an adult and found it challenging, but the fuel of childhood nostalgia certainly would have helped! |
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Post by thwhtguardian on Sept 2, 2024 17:02:04 GMT -5
It never really occurred to me that people (never mind you!) would have trouble getting into Dracula as I've loved it since I was a kid. Maybe starting as a kid was the difference? I know I first watched it as an adult and found it challenging, but the fuel of childhood nostalgia certainly would have helped! Maybe that's reason #6: Start em' young! I first watched it, along with the rest of the Universal Monster movies, with my Grandfather as a kid. He was a huge fan and clearly loved watching them with my brother and I. |
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Post by jtrw2024 on Sept 2, 2024 17:38:22 GMT -5
I've got a couple different DVD versions of this movie. I've always enjoyed it the way it is, but now that you've pointed out the alternate audio track, I'll have to make a point to see if that's included next time I pull it out. My DVDs have all the sequels, and I usually check out the extras when they're included, but the alternate audio is likely something I would have overlooked.
My disc does have the Spanish version which was filmed at the same time, on the same sets with Spanish actors. I prefer Bela Lugosi's Dracula, but the Spanish version does have some moments which I enjoy more. There's definitely a difference in the style of the outfits, especially the way the females dress, and there's a longer running time.
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Sept 2, 2024 17:42:55 GMT -5
Maybe starting as a kid was the difference? I know I first watched it as an adult and found it challenging, but the fuel of childhood nostalgia certainly would have helped! Maybe that's reason #6: Start em' young! I first watched it, along with the rest of the Universal Monster movies, with my Grandfather as a kid. He was a huge fan and clearly loved watching them with my brother and I. That's an amazing memory. I started with Frankenstein when I was nine, but I had no one to guide me or even say "Hey, there are more". It was just the film the guy at the video rental told my mother to give me when she tried to rent me an R rated film instead. In hindsight, I'm very glad he did. But it wasn't until the end of high school that I started getting into classic films, and even then it was only because Queen kept using awesome silent film moments in their music videos. Took me until I was in my late twenties to get around to the Universal Monsters. |
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shaxper
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Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Sept 2, 2024 17:44:24 GMT -5
I've got a couple different DVD versions of this movie. I've always enjoyed it the way it is, but now that you've pointed out the alternate audio track, I'll have to make a point to see if that's included next time I pull it out. My DVDs have all the sequels, and I usually check out the extras when they're included, but the alternate audio is likely something I would have overlooked. My disc does have the Spanish version which was filmed at the same time, on the same sets with Spanish actors. I prefer Bela Lugosi's Dracula, but the Spanish version does have some moments which I enjoy more. There's definitely a difference in the style of the outfits, especially the way the females dress, and there's a longer running time. Believe it or not, I still haven't seen the Spanish version yet. Every time I intend to, I decide I'd rather just watch the original again. Any version that contains the Spanish Dracula almost certainly has the Phillip Glass score. I think only the very first DVD release (at least in the US) didn't have it. |
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Post by commond on Sept 3, 2024 6:03:46 GMT -5
Starting Halloween early this year, shaxper? I always felt Dracula had an excellent first act and a forgettable second and third act. I'm not sure if that's the fault of the directing or the source material being a stage play.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Sept 3, 2024 7:59:41 GMT -5
Starting Halloween early this year, shaxper? September 1st is right on time for my household  Ah-ha! That's #3 in the video. Much as that was my initial reaction as well, there's a definite reason behind it, and understanding that reason may help you to appreciate and enjoy the remainder of the film better. It certainly helped me. |
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Post by Yasotay on Sept 5, 2024 0:21:06 GMT -5
This was very well done, Shaxper. While I think you make some great points, to play devil's advocate I would offer that "talkies" were a brand new form of entertainment back then and that a lot of directors probably weren't very skillful at making them yet, which seems to have been a criticism leveled at Dracula's director. Meanwhile, many of the actors still came from the stage, which requires a very different kind of performance than film acting. So it probably could be argued that the movie just did have a lot of flaws. Nonetheless, a very thought-provoking video.
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shaxper
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Post by shaxper on Sept 5, 2024 4:30:18 GMT -5
This was very well done, Shaxper. While I think you make some great points, to play devil's advocate I would offer that "talkies" were a brand new form of entertainment back then and that a lot of directors probably weren't very skillful at making them yet, which seems to have been a criticism leveled at Dracula's director. Meanwhile, many of the actors still came from the stage, which requires a very different kind of performance than film acting. So it probably could be argued that the movie just did have a lot of flaws. Nonetheless, a very thought-provoking video. Thanks for your kind words. You make some excellent objections/defenses of Tod Browning, and yet I see none of these problems in James Whale's Frankenstein, made in the same year. Really though, my point is not to criticize anyone. It's a far better film than I could have made, and I truly respect Browning's work. The point is just that this film has an awkwardness and lack of momentum that isn't found in its contemporary Universal films and that the Phillip Glass score does much to correct that. |
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Post by commond on Sept 5, 2024 5:22:45 GMT -5
This was very well done, Shaxper. While I think you make some great points, to play devil's advocate I would offer that "talkies" were a brand new form of entertainment back then and that a lot of directors probably weren't very skillful at making them yet, which seems to have been a criticism leveled at Dracula's director. Meanwhile, many of the actors still came from the stage, which requires a very different kind of performance than film acting. So it probably could be argued that the movie just did have a lot of flaws. Nonetheless, a very thought-provoking video. Thanks for your kind words. You make some excellent objections/defenses of Tod Browning, and yet I see none of these problems in James Whale's Frankenstein, made in the same year. Really though, my point is not to criticize anyone. It's a far better film than I could have made, and I truly respect Browning's work. The point is just that this film has an awkwardness and lack of momentum that isn't found in its contemporary Universal films and that the Phillip Glass score does much to correct that. Browning was a silent film director who struggled with the transition to talkies. He only made six more films after Dracula. One of those films was Freaks, which is considered a masterpiece today but was a box office disaster at the time. Whale, on the other hand, only made sound films and was initially hired by Paramount as a "dialogue director" due his theater background. |
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Post by driver1980 on Sept 5, 2024 5:30:44 GMT -5
Watched this last night. Great video, shaxper . I like how you’ve conveyed your views on the movie based on historical context, what was expected at the time, the source material, etc. On some corners of the internet, it seems historical context and the like aren’t mentioned or discussed at all. From classic wrestling matches to cartoons produced under censorship rules, it is definitely for the best when we get the historical context right. It might not change our views, but if we know WHY something was done the way it was done, based on historical context, it makes sense more. My first experience of theatrical Dracula was the 1958 Hammer film: the BBC would show them on a Friday night, and the Hammer films were my “gateway drug” to horror when I was at an age too young for the likes of Hellraiser. So it was jarring when I eventually saw Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, but I’ve learnt to appreciate it in my own way. I learned a thing or two while watching your video. |
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,860
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Post by shaxper on Sept 5, 2024 7:24:36 GMT -5
Watched this last night. Great video, shaxper . I like how you’ve conveyed your views on the movie based on historical context, what was expected at the time, the source material, etc. On some corners of the internet, it seems historical context and the like aren’t mentioned or discussed at all. From classic wrestling matches to cartoons produced under censorship rules, it is definitely for the best when we get the historical context right. It might not change our views, but if we know WHY something was done the way it was done, based on historical context, it makes sense more. My first experience of theatrical Dracula was the 1958 Hammer film: the BBC would show them on a Friday night, and the Hammer films were my “gateway drug” to horror when I was at an age too young for the likes of Hellraiser. So it was jarring when I eventually saw Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, but I’ve learnt to appreciate it in my own way. I learned a thing or two while watching your video. Thanks much for the kind words! Yes, starting with Hammer and then moving backwards to Universal must have been challenging. And I think I'm still too young for Hellraiser! |
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Post by driver1980 on Sept 5, 2024 7:41:48 GMT -5
I remember not being too scared of the Hammer films, but my stepdad said something like, “In their heyday, they would have been scary films.”
I do believe Bela Lugosi is a better actor than he has ever been given credit for (by some). I think he added a lot as Ygor in The Ghost of Frankenstein, and while Boris Karloff remains my definitive Frankenstein’s Monster, I do believe Lugosi did a commendable job as the Monster in Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man.
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