Dracula

A quite good Dracula movie, though Frank Langella does not always seem to be right choice for the part.

Based on the 1924 stage play, _Dracula_ is a remake of the Universal classic, but with more of a romantic take. Frank Langella dons the cloak as a young, sexy Dracula who seduces Lucy Seward, the daughter of a sanitarium director, but he soon draws unwanted attention to himself when he kills Lucy’s friends Mina Van Helsing; whose father comes to investigate and discovers what Dracula is. Langella give a strong performance and is backed by a solid supporting cast that includes Laurence Olivier and Donald Pleasence. As with the Universal film, the adaptation of Bram Stoker’s work is fairly loose; moving around characters and cutting out various plot elements. However, the change in tone to a romantic tragedy works rather well, and is aided in no small part by John William’s elegant score. And the art and costume design is quite impressive. While it’s not without its problems, _Dracula_ delivers a bold new vision of Bram Stoker’s immortal tale.