Just in time for Halloween viewing (and while anxiously awaiting the DVD release of the DS movies), here are some films that have recently been released on DVD. All of these movies have been mentioned here in the past. I'm including my own brief mini-review of each. Extra good news: they're all very reasonably priced (around $9 - $12)! In order of DVD release, from most recent to least recent:
Count Dracula (1977).
Released September 25. This is the Louis Jourdan version, which aired on PBS over two nights around Halloween almost 30 years ago. So many people have been awaiting a video or DVD release in vain ever since. It's the only really faithful version of Bram Stoker's novel both in terms of story and Stoker's intent - and hence it's arguably the best filmed version, in my opinion. Not perfect, but overall very good. The exteriors are great, including the castle, the Whitby steps, and the cemetery. The interiors are on videotape, which is unfortunate but shouldn't bother any DS enthusiast. Jourdan wouldn't be my choice for Dracula in terms of physicality, but his low-key portrayal grows in power and evil.
Witchfinder General (1968) - MGM's Midnite Movies.
Released September 11. This is the director's cut with the original soundtrack restored, and without Vincent Price's opening recitation of Edgar Allan Poe's "Conqueror Worm" poem (which I liked, but this was only added for the American version.) Also, the poor quality pasted in scenes from the British DVD release are omitted as the director hadn't wanted them in anyway. A historian who published a recent book about Matthew Hopkins pans the movie for historical inaccuracy. I agree with him that it's deplorable the way the movie has victims dragged off the street and lynched when in fact they were tried in the judicial system. Nevertheless, the costumes and settings give a good sense of the times. Having studied this period (17th century Europe) while doing my genealogy research, I think this film is a vivid depiction of the times and events.
Jess Franco's: Count Dracula (El Conde Dracula) (1973) with Christopher Lee
Released February 2007.
Starts off amazingly well, especially with Lee's earliest scenes being faithful to Stoker's characterization of the count, but the film goes off track straying from the book and from the promise of the earlier scenes. The film elements are far superior to the earlier VHS release - you'll see things in scenes that you never knew were there before. The visual improvement makes a far better film overall. The dubbing is distracting (something I don't remember from the VHS tape) - apparently the Italian print used for the DVD was superior visually, but the English language sound track doesn't quite match. Also quite unfortunate is that the scene of the mother pleading for the return of her child was cut from the Italian version and thus doesn't appear on the DVD. Klaus Kinski is effective (though mute) as Renfield. The Spanish settings, which I once thought unfortunate, do add a rather surreal quality.
The Complete Omen Collection
Released October 2006. I just discovered this set at my local Wal-Mart. Five "Omen" movies for about $20, released by 20th Century Fox - not some cheap knock-off!
Frankenstein: The True Story (1973).
Released September 2006.
Christopher Isherwood's tantalizing interpretation of what he saw as the novel's hidden themes in the context of the Shelleys-Byron-Polidori association. I remember being disappointed when this originally aired as a late-night made-for-TV movie (I had to get special permission to stay up late for two successive nights) because it didn't follow the book, which I had just read. Especially galling was the "True Story" subtitle - which displeased Isherwood, too, according to his biography. However, I do appreciate the film as a well-made and well-acted, intelligent interpretation. Wonderful performances by a host of top-notch actors, including Agnes Moorhead, John Gielgud, and James Mason.
