DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
General Discussions => Current Talk Archive => Current Talk '24 I => Current Talk '03 II => Topic started by: CastleBee on September 11, 2003, 07:12:14 PM
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Did anyone else notice the other day when Barnabas announced to Julia that he was going right upstairs and then proceeded to head straight for the front door (you couldn't actually see him at the door - but he was headed that way and not up the stairs)?
I thought oh well, he must be planning to scale the wall for a little exercise. ;D
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CastleBee,
In Bram Stoker's "Dracula," didn't the count occasionally crawl up the side of his castle? (I remember seeing Louis Jordan (who played the Transylvanian nobleman ) crawling up the castle wall in the British TV production of "Dracula" many moons ago.)
Can you imagine if Mrs. Johnson looked out below her bedroom window and saw Mr. B. working his way up the back wall of Collinwood? Heck, I'll bet Mrs. Johnson hadn't been so excited and worked up since Ted Williams won the American League Triple Crown in 1947! ("Right this way, big boy. Keep on crawling. Come to Mama Johnson, you devilish rascal, you!")
Bob the Bartender, who urges everyone to keep those bedroom windows locked and shuttered every night!
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That production with L Jordan was absolutely the creepiest Dracula that I have ever seen. Jordan was great but I could not watch all of it, a first for me, because of its creep factor. When I saw him scaling the wall, that was all for me! My husband had gone to bed, and I was alone, and that might have had something to do with it, but I have never forgotten that production. Afan who loves to be scared by films
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Does anyone know if that Louis Jourdan version of Dracula ever became available on video or aired in recent years so it could be taped? I searched for it for years and finally gave up a couple of years ago. Never got to see it.
Christopher Lee did an almost unknown version of Dracula that had great promise of being the most accurate version of the novel, but budget restraints intervened and changes were made, not for the best. This wasn't a Hammer production but was filmed in Spain. The castle interiors were great and Christopher Lee had the aged appearance of Dracula as described by Stoker at the novel's beginning; and his speech about fighting the Huns or whomever was excellent.
Also, that version showed him (Dracula/Lee) descending the castle wall rather like a lizard. The video quality is sadly so poor that it's hard to see very well.
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The BBC DRACULA with Louis Jourdan is easily my favorite Drac production. Jourdan doesn't match Stoker's description any better than Bela Lugosi, but his embodiment of the character is probably the best ever. The script is relatively true to the novel, moreso than any other. Frank Finlay is also the best Van Helsing, I think, although I'll always have great fondness for Peter Cushing in the role. The only really bad character is the British fellow who plays Quincy. His Texas accent is beyond a hoot.
The BBC Drac premiered in 1978, I believe, as a two-part mini-series. It showed at Halloween in my area, and nothing could have been more appropriate. The music really builds the creep-out factor. The scene of Dracula bringing a small satchel, in which something is moving, to his brides is wonderfully horrifying -- because there's no mistaking that there's a baby in it.
I've got it on tape, but I believe it's the abridged version that later aired, because it doesn't run a full four hours long.
--Mark
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CastleBee,
In Bram Stoker's "Dracula," didn't the count occasionally crawl up the side of his castle? (I remember seeing Louis Jordan (who played the Transylvanian nobleman ) crawling up the castle wall in the British TV production of "Dracula" many moons ago.)
Can you imagine if Mrs. Johnson looked out below her bedroom window and saw Mr. B. working his way up the back wall of Collinwood? Heck, I'll bet Mrs. Johnson hadn't been so excited and worked up since Ted Williams won the American League Triple Crown in 1947! ("Right this way, big boy. Keep on crawling. Come to Mama Johnson, you devilish rascal, you!")
Bob the Bartender, who urges everyone to keep those bedroom windows locked and shuttered every night!
never saw that but i do remember a vampire movie when one crawls up a house! my son call umpires vampires and i think there was one crawling around the field Monday night in Baltimore throwing out FANS :o :o :o
jennifer
Bob have you gotten over the fact JLO and Ben canceled such a shock ::)
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By now it's so many years since I've seen any version, that I really don't remember what was what. I don't know if I saw the Louis Jourdan or not. I know there was ONE I saw that seemed closer to the book than any other, and I think I did see him crawl the wall one time, so I'm guessing that was the one. I'd love to see it again to find out!
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CastleBee,
In Bram Stoker's "Dracula," didn't the count occasionally crawl up the side of his castle?
Over the years I think I've seen about every Dracula movie made - but this one probably more recently than any of the older ones so I really should remember. I'm pretty sure Oldman scaled the walls in this one and it was pretty realistic and very creepy.
My personal favorite Dracula was Frank Langella - and that wasn't based on the accuracy of the film. He hasn't aged particularly well (IMO) but back in '78 he was ... well, let's just say the windows wouldn't have been closed. [luv]
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Bob have you gotten over the fact JLO and Ben canceled such a shock ::)
Jennifer,
I tell you, I haven't been so bummed out since ABC announced that it was going to pull the plug on "Joannie Loves Chaci." Oh, the pain!
CastleBee,
Regarding Frank Langella (the pride of Bayonne, NJ!), one of my brothers was at a performance of "Dracula" starring Mr. Langella, on Broadway many years ago. Anyway, during a particularly dramatic scene, one of the theatergoers, unfortunately, became ill and the production stopped.
Mr. Langella, wearing his Dracula cape, turned to address the audience from the front of the stage, and inquired in that deep, commanding voice of his, "Is there a doctor in the house?" What a moment, my brother related to me!
Bob the Bartender
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I saw that production on Broadway, Bob.
Sexy doesn't even BEGIN to decribe Langella's performance....... ;)
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Great story Bob. If I'd been the sick person this may well have revived me!
I saw that production on Broadway, Bob.
Sexy doesn't even BEGIN to decribe Langella's performance....... ;)
He wasn't too shabby on film either - but I'd have given anything to have seen the play.
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About the Jourdan production==I had forgotten about the baby in the bag, and that may have been it for me since I was a young mother at the time and the thoughts of what he was going to do with the babe made my blood run cold. Afan - there is a limit to scare!
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Is there any possibility of agitating to get the Louis Jourdan version available on video or DVD? Honestly, I can't understand how something like that can be overlooked.
The Christopher Lee version I described, in which he descends the castle wall like a lizard, is the 1970 version directed by Jesus (accent mark on the "u") "Jess" Franco. It is as little known, it seems, as the Swedish-Irish co-production of "Frankenstein" which I've also talked about on this forum in the past. Both were low budget, but both had much higher claims to fidelity than any of the big budget productions. (And don't get me started on the bloated and awful Coppola and Branagh "interpretations", respectively ...).
Since I haven't seen the Louis Jourdan version -- and the Jesus Franco version falls apart in the middle (it comes close to redeeming itself in the final scene, which is again faithful to the book) -- the version I like the best is Dan Curtis'. True, he takes some liberties, and I especially disliked the changes regarding Jonathan Harker's fate (blame scriptwriter Richard Matheson), but it's still 10 times better than any other version I've seen solely because it respects Bram Stoker's novel thematically and plotwise -- something that few other productions seem to do (which I have never understood).
The Christopher Lee - Jesus Franco version also has the scene where Dracula returns with the bag squirming with a baby inside ... Klaus Kinski, is, of course, excellent as Renfield.
The Spanish settings (e.g., palm trees) are a little out of place in Whitby, England ;) ... but as I mentioned, the dark, authentic castle interiors were the most realistic I've seen.
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Can you imagine if Mrs. Johnson looked out below her bedroom window and saw Mr. B. working his way up the back wall of Collinwood?
I'm just trying to picture it, Mrs. Johnson opening and looking out the window at that precise moment, both of them confronting each other, Mrs. Johnson with her mouth, as usual, agape, her hands pressed against the sides of her face, Barnabas with an embarrassed smile, his eyes shifting from side to side as he tries to think of some sort-of explanation:
"Um, David's kite got stuck on the roof? No? Well, um, winter's not that far off and Willie's busy at the Old House doing some caulking, and the screens need to come down and the storm windows go up, so I thought I'd give a hand and.... No? Well, you see, Elizabeth was complaining that the TV reception is getting bad, and she wanted to watch Gunsmoke, so I thought I'd check and see if the TV antenna on top of the tower was... No? Well, how about I've always had this interest in becoming one of those human flies, and they're building that John Hancock Tower in Chicago, so I thought I'd practice and... No? Oh, I've got it. You see, there's this...."
Gerard
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That's hysterical, Gerard! [lghy]
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My then-fiance, Dan, took me to see the Frank Langella version of DRACULA on Broadway back in 1978. At the end of Act 1, Dracula arranges the lovely Mina on her bed and "goes down" on her throat. There was a collective, orgasmic-like gasp from the females in the audience, mine included. What a scene! What a vampire! What a fiance--I kept him and now he's been my hubby for 25 years!
Guess when a guy takes you to a play, knowing you're going to drool over another man, you know you've got a keeper.
Love, Robin
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Is there any possibility of agitating to get the Louis Jourdan version available on video or DVD? Honestly, I can't understand how something like that can be overlooked.
Hello Vlad and others,
Never realizing that Louis Jourdan played Dracula, I followed this thread with great interest. It sounds like something in the "must see" category. Here's what I came up with by searching imd.com:
http://www.bbcworldwide.com/specialinterests/content/titles/Dracula.asp
It does seem to be available on DVD although I'm not entirely sure if DVD technology has the same restrictions as video PAL vs. nstc. Maybe someone can take a closer look at this site and figure that out.
OT:
BTW, for those of you who also love "Columbo", Jourdan made a splendid adversary for my favorite detective in "Murder under Glass". He plays a murderous, blackmailing restaurant critic with an almost reptilian elegance. I know that may sound strange, but that is the description that leaps to mind!
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It does seem to be available on DVD although I'm not entirely sure if DVD technology has the same restrictions as video PAL vs. nstc.
DVDs are usually region coded. Most DVDs released in England are Region 2, whereas most players in the US play Region 1. So, unless this DVD has no region coding (some don't), or someone has a DVD player on which the region code can be changed (several can - particularly DVD-ROM drives), they wouldn't be able to play it. :(
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Thanks, happybat!
I note that they have a version of "Dorian Gray". I wonder how that version would be. I'd like to see a better Dorian than Hurd Hatfield (I thought he was creepy) or Shane Bryant (sorry!).
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BTW, for those of you who also love "Columbo", Jourdan made a splendid adversary for my favorite detective in "Murder under Glass". He plays a murderous, blackmailing restaurant critic with an almost reptilian elegance. I know that may sound strange, but that is the description that leaps to mind!
I'm a big fan of Louis Jourdan. I just happened to catch that episode of Columbo quite recently. I'm not much of a Columbo fan, but as I was flipping channels, I saw Louis Jourdan and kept it there. It was quite an entertaining episode, actually.
Jourdan was the saving grace in OCTOPUSSY, one of my least-favorite Bond movies but for his character. There's one scene where he tells Gobinda, his henchman, to "Get Bond!" He delivers that one line with such intensity I can't help but enjoy it.
--Mark
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[ It was quite an entertaining episode, actually.
Glad you got to see it, Mark. IMO "Murder under Glass" has one of the best Columbo finales. Do you know that Msr. Jourdan is 84 now; hard to believe, isn't it? I wonder what he may be up to these days. I've always liked him too, although I'm no James Bond fan so I never saw him in "Octopussy".
And Vlad, if you're interested in buying "Count Dracula" from that British site I posted above, it does seem that they have VHS but not DVD nstc formats. So, it may indeed be available after all! [bigok]
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And Vlad, if you're interested in buying "Count Dracula" from that British site I posted above, it does seem that they have VHS but not DVD nstc formats. So, it may indeed be available after all!
Huh? ??? ???
Is NSTC the American format? I bought a video from amazon uk a while back and later learned it was something called a PAL format, and I couldn't play it. Wasted about $30.
My new laptop, which I haven't unpacked or learned to use yet, is supposed to play DVDs. How does that fit in with what you're saying, s'il vous plait?
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Is NSTC the American format? I bought a video from amazon uk a while back and later learned it was something called a PAL format, and I couldn't play it.
There is no NSTC vs. PAL with DVDs. As I mentioned a few posts up, with DVDs you have to pay attention to region coding.
My new laptop, which I haven't unpacked or learned to use yet, is supposed to play DVDs. How does that fit in with what you're saying, s'il vous plait?
The BBC version is most likely Region 2. The DVD drive in your laptop is more than likely set to play US Region 1 DVDs. However, the software that accompanies your drive may allow you to switch regions (mine does). So, definitely check that out before you purchase any European DVDs or you'll simply end up with shiny new coasters. [wink2]
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Ugh! I just realized that what I meant to say is that the site does carry nstc VIDEO formats, but not necessarily US compatible DVDs, which MB rightly indicates is a different kettle of fish altogether. I'm definitely a DVD newbie!
Mea culpa. [9391]