DRACULA: A GRANADA PRODUCTION. (2006) FROM THE NOVEL BY BRAM STOKER. DIRECTED BY BILL EAGLES. SCREENPLAY BY STEWART HARCOURT. PRODUCED BY TREVOR HOPKINS. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: MICHELE BUCK, DAMIEN TIMMER AND REBECCA EATON.
STARRING
MARC WARREN, TOM BURKE, STEPHANIE LEONIDAS, SOPHIA MYLES, RAFE SPALL,
DAN STEVENS, DONALD SUMPTER AND DAVID SUCHET. REVIEW BY SANDRA
HARRIS. ©
I recently came across this ITV
adaptation of the classic horror story in one of the last places in
Dublin where you can buy DVDs, Blu-Rays, CDs and vinyl records. You
don't know how sad it makes me to have to type something like that. Anyway, the
film is ten years old this year so, frankly, I was surprised I hadn't
come across it before.
I make a point of watching all the
DRACULA adaptations I can get
my hands on so I rushed home with it- after paying for it first, of
course!- and popped it in the old machine. Now I'm ready with my
verdict so, for those of you waiting for the aforementioned with
bated breath, strap yourselves in. It's going to be a bumpy ride...!
This
adaptation is faithful enough to the story but they've definitely
made one or two changes. Arthur Holmwood, who marries the beautiful
and vivacious Lucy, is infected with syphilis thanks to his Pappy's
sexual indiscretions. He won't consummate his marriage to Lucy for
this reason. He's afraid of pumping her full of his diseased blood,
but his attempts to protect her leave her as horny and unfulfilled as
a cat in heat that's miles away from the nearest other cat, if you get me.
Arthur
ill-advisedly becomes involved with an occult society who've promised
him that they know a fellow who can cleanse him of his diseased
syphilitic blood. Hence we have Arthur paying for Count Dracula's
illicit passage to England. Yeah, he'll
cleanse your blood for you all right. He's the man.
Dracula doesn't give two hoots for Arthur and his manky blood, however. He just wants to take over London while getting jiggy with Lucy and Mina, as hot a pair of fillies as ever you might meet in a day's walk.
Dracula doesn't give two hoots for Arthur and his manky blood, however. He just wants to take over London while getting jiggy with Lucy and Mina, as hot a pair of fillies as ever you might meet in a day's walk.
Mina Murray
is all virginal and mourning the loss of her beau Jonathan Harker,
who hasn't been seen since he made the well-documented trek over the Carpathians to
Dracula's Transylvanian castle. Lucy is like the cat on the
proverbial tin roof as she mopes about wondering why Arthur won't
ride her, heh-heh-heh.
Lucy, incidentally, looks like the love-child of Kate Winslet and Hannah Gordon, that
lovely mature actress who's been in everything from UPSTAIRS
DOWNSTAIRS and
MIDSOMER MURDERS to THE
ELEPHANT MAN and the last ever
episode of the excellent British sitcom ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE.
Both Lucy and
Mina are, as always, easy pickings for the handsome and compelling
Count Dracula. In his young and presentable incarnation (as opposed
to the decrepit old weirdo who lures Jonathan Harker to
Transylvania), he charms the knickers off Lucy while her useless
hubby Arthur is lying dead to the world in the bed right next to her.
That's a funny scene...!
David Suchet,
otherwise known as Hercule Poirot, does a convincing job as Abraham
Van Helsing. His 'little
grey cells' are working overtime as he tries to figure out the
best way to bring down The Evil One.
My favourite character in this adaptation, however,
apart from Dracula himself, is Dr. John Seward, played by Tom Burke.
Tom Burke's a handsome and aristocratic fellow whom I've only ever
seen playing posh toffs or rich boorish swells in period dramas. Snigger. I said period.
He's
portrayed Bentley Drummle in the
2011 BBC Christmas adaptation of Charles Dickens's iconic novel, GREAT
EXPECTATIONS. Bentley Drummle
is, of course, the ultimate rich boorish swell in English literature.
He's the nasty caddish scoundrel who snatches the haughty Estella right out from
under the nose of a horrified Pip, who'd thought she was his almost
by right. Boy, does Slippy Pippy get a rude awakening, even
though Drummle's doing him a massive favour by taking that wagon
Estella off his hands and out of his hair, if he but knew it.
In this
adaptation of DRACULA, Tom
Burke plays the guy who gets the shaft rather than does the shafting.
He must stand by and watch while the diseased Arthur Holmwood marries
Lucy, the
woman
John Seward has loved since they were both kids. He stays loyal to
her, however, though she's a faithless minx, and he's present for the
big showdown against Dracula in which the Count never goes down
without a fight.
The
costumes, scenery and interiors in the film are utterly gorgeous. The
inside of Dracula's castle in Transylvania is suitably grim and
gothic and the shots of Arthur Holmwood's cliff-top mansion by the
sea are positively out of this world. All the bedrooms in particular,
with their fancy four-poster beds, are simply magnificent. Ooooh-er,
I do love a nice
period drama. Snigger. I said it again.
Overall, I'd give this adaptation, which almost certainly has been on ITV at some point, a big thumbs-up. It's sumptuous to look at and the haemoglobin flows freely, mainly from Dracula's manly if oddly hairless chest. I prefer a guy to have a nice hairy chest. It's so much more masculine, don't you think?
There
are even shots of the fabulous and mysterious Highgate Cemetery.
That's where the scenes of Lucy's diabolical resurrection from the
dead, always one of my favourite scenes in any adaptation and one of
the best and most nail-bitingly exciting bits of the book, take place.
Overall, I'd give this adaptation, which almost certainly has been on ITV at some point, a big thumbs-up. It's sumptuous to look at and the haemoglobin flows freely, mainly from Dracula's manly if oddly hairless chest. I prefer a guy to have a nice hairy chest. It's so much more masculine, don't you think?
Anyway, to continue, the acting is spot-on and the surprise
additions of syphilis and the creepy occult society don't hurt the film at
all. Haha. DRACULA, now with added syphilis...!
You surely couldn't ask for much more than that.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA
HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO
You can contact Sandra at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
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