‘You will be flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood…’
Having watched a number of different adaptations of Bram Stoker’s seminal horror novel Dracula, I thought there was nothing new to discover in the genre. Well, this 1979 incarnation directed by John Badham and starring Frank Langella as the Count is actually one of my favourite adaptations. Just when you think you’re out of the coffin, the long fingernails of the Count drag you back in…
It’s the usual tale albeit transposed to 1913 rather than the 1890s. Count Dracula (Langella) arrives in Whitby and starts wreaking havoc. Harker (Trevor Eve) is as ineffectual as ever. Dr Seward (Donald Pleasence) is incredulous (is Donald Pleasence ever not incredulous?). Van Helsing (Laurence Olivier) is an arrogant dickhead. All the pieces of the puzzle are here.
The great shame of this adaptation is that it focuses entirely on the second half of the novel aka the boring bit – had Badham and his crew treated us to Harker in Transylvania this would go down as an all-time classic. This iteration is undoubtedly the most aesthetically successful retelling, however. The whole thing looks incredible, all shot in monochromatic darkness but the competency of the lighting ensures that everything is visible. Each shot could be a classic Gothic painting, and I also enjoyed that despite the melodrama inherent to the story, everything here is played completely straight. Langella makes for an excellent Count. Seductive, suave and yet also animalistic and savage, he rivals anything in the classic Dracula adaptations of Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee and I don’t say that lightly.
There are so many versions of Dracula out there that it’s difficult to know where to start. While the Hammer/Universal productions remain the standard bearers, Badham’s claim is a strong one also. Surprisingly excellent.