"I am Dracula....I Bid You Welcome." Although perhaps not the first vampire film - many regard Nosferatu (1922) (which, by the way, was a more horrific interpretation of a vampire) as the first - it is clearly the most popular. When one thinks of Dracula, you think pale face, black cape, eerie, spooky settings, mist, the thirst for blood, Trannsylvainia - and that's exactly what you get in this magnificent version of the classic tale of Dracula (a role that Bela Lugisi was born to play).
The plot is simple and well known... Dracula is a vampire and thirsts for blood. He travels to England with his newly transformed sidekick Renfield (Dwight Frye) and sets his eyes on Mina, an engaged young woman.
In my opinion, no one plays the part better of Dracula like Hungarian born Bela Lugosi, who acted in the stage version. Strangely, he was not the first choice for the film role, but he won it eventually. I believe he was the perfect choice and brings the essential strange, chilling element. His ominous, eerie presence... his long, thirsting, desiring stares and generally his intriguing and often sexy performance as Dracula. His unforgettable articulation and his mysterious entrancing tone of voice are just perfect. Imagine anyone else saying "I am Dracula....I Bid You Welcome"!
The best thing about this movie is how wonderfully it created the dark, chilling atmosphere unparalleled by any other movie on such a tiny budget. A great example of this is at the start where Dracula's brides slowly creep out. Their emotion is truly haunting. This doesn't have the now typical 'boo!' moments of modern horror flicks but I would not miss the hypnotizing performance of Dracula and the eerie settings. This is the movie that set off a whole generation of vampire movies, but I believe this is the greatest of them all. It makes others pale in comparison. Great to own on DVD.
The plot is simple and well known... Dracula is a vampire and thirsts for blood. He travels to England with his newly transformed sidekick Renfield (Dwight Frye) and sets his eyes on Mina, an engaged young woman.
In my opinion, no one plays the part better of Dracula like Hungarian born Bela Lugosi, who acted in the stage version. Strangely, he was not the first choice for the film role, but he won it eventually. I believe he was the perfect choice and brings the essential strange, chilling element. His ominous, eerie presence... his long, thirsting, desiring stares and generally his intriguing and often sexy performance as Dracula. His unforgettable articulation and his mysterious entrancing tone of voice are just perfect. Imagine anyone else saying "I am Dracula....I Bid You Welcome"!
The best thing about this movie is how wonderfully it created the dark, chilling atmosphere unparalleled by any other movie on such a tiny budget. A great example of this is at the start where Dracula's brides slowly creep out. Their emotion is truly haunting. This doesn't have the now typical 'boo!' moments of modern horror flicks but I would not miss the hypnotizing performance of Dracula and the eerie settings. This is the movie that set off a whole generation of vampire movies, but I believe this is the greatest of them all. It makes others pale in comparison. Great to own on DVD.