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Count Dracula

Screenshot
Directed by Philip Saville
Produced by Morris Barry
Written by Gerald Savory
Starring Louis Jourdan
Frank Finlay

Susan Penhaligon
Judi Bowker
Jack Shepherd
Mark Burns
Music by Kenyon Emrys-Roberts
Editing by Richard Bedford
Distributed by BBC
PBS
Running time 150 min
Country UK
Language English
Budget unknown
IMDb profile

Count Dracula (1977) was a television adaptation of the famous novel by Bram Stoker. Philip Saville, (sometimes credited as Philip Savile) (born October 28 1930, London, England, United Kingdom) is a British Morris Barry ( c 1918&ndashDecember 2000 was born in Northampton and was a noticeable figure on the production side of the BBC in the 1960s and 1970s This article is about the French actor for the Musician see Louis Jordan. Francis "Frank" Finlay, CBE (born 6 August 1926) is a British stage film and television Actor. Susan Penhaligon (born Manila, Philippines, 3 July 1949) is a British television actress best known for her appearances in the Judi Bowker (born 6 April 1954) is a British Television and cinema Actress. Jack Shepherd, Jack Shephard, Jack Shepard or Jack Sheppard may refer to Jack Shepherd (actor (born 1940 British actor playwright Richard Bedford is a British Singer-songwriter, from Halifax West Yorkshire The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic An adaptation is a characteristic of an Organism that has been favored by Natural selection and A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912 was an Irish writer of novels and short stories who is best known today for his 1897 horror It was remarkably faithful to the original book. Louis Jourdan played the title role. This article is about the French actor for the Musician see Louis Jordan.

Contents

Cast

Plot Summary

Lucy Westenra spies on her sister Mina saying farewell to the latter's fiancee, Jonathan Harker. He is leaving on a business trip to Transylvania. Transylvania (Ardeal or ro ''Transilvania'' Erdély, see also other denominations) is a Central European region located in the eastern half of the Carpathian The scene then shifts to the Borgo Pass where Harker is left alone by the local driver. Tihuţa Pass (Pasul Tihuţa Borgo or Burgo) (el 1201 m is a high Mountain pass in the Romanian Bârgău Mountains (Eastern Carpathian He flatly refuses to wait for Harker and tosses his luggage out before driving away. Soon, another carriage approaches, from Castle Dracula (presumably) but the coachman does not speak. A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. After reaching the ruined castle, Harker emerges and the coach drives away. Then Dracula himself opens the door for him, uttering the famous line "Welcome to my house. Enter freely and of your own will. "

Harker, a solicitor, is there is expedite Count Dracula's purchase of several properties in England, including Carfax Abbey. A "solicitor" is a term used in many Common law jurisdictions for a lawyer who offers legal services outside of the courts The Count is urbane and gracious, but also vaguely sinister. He insists Harker stay for a month to tutor him on the finer points of English. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States As time goes by, Harker witnesses increasingly bizarre events. The Count--who has fangs and long fingernails--casts no reflection in the mirror. Twice Harker spots the Count crawling down the outside wall of the castle, seemingly defying gravity. Gravitation is a natural Phenomenon by which objects with Mass attract one another Finally, he violates the Count's rules and goes to sleep in the library, where three beautiful women appear and seem to entrance him--until interrupted by Dracula himself, who gives the three a baby, which they devour. Harker explores and finds the Count asleep in a coffin, then tries to kill him with a shovel (which has no effect).

In England, Mina and Lucy go to the seaside town of Whitby and befriend an old sailor who tells them stories. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Whitby is a historic town and Civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire on the north-east coast of England. One day, the three of them are atop a hill as a storm approaches, and the sailor notes a ship is in the storm, en route.

This ship is the Demeter, which goes aground. Demeter (dɨˈmiːtɚ Greek:, possibly "distribution-mother" from the noun of the Indo-European mother-earth * dheghom * mater The sailor is found dead the next morning, at the very spot where he'd last seen Mina and Lucy.

Dr. John Seward, owner of a local asylum, is friendly with the Westenra family as well as Quincey Holmwood, an American diplomat who has become engaged to Lucy. A psychiatric hospital (previously called insane asylum, mental hospital; or derogatorily looney bin, nut house or Funny Farm) is The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Among Seward's patients is the madman Renfield who is somehow aware of Dracula's arrival, and worships (yet fears) him. Then, one night, Lucy goes sleepwalking into the local graveyard. A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead with or without monuments such as Headstones It is usually located near and administered by a Mina follows and briefly spots Dracula holding Lucy in his arms. From that night on, Lucy begins to change. She grows pale and weak, but rallies after sunset. She begins to sport tiny fangs. While everyone worries over her, she welcomes Dracula to her bedroom where he drinks her blood.

Seward finally call on his friend Abraham Van Helsing for help with Lucy's strange illness. He almost immediately recognizes the signs and protects the girl's bedroom with garlic. Allium sativum L, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the Onion family Alliaceae. Meanwhile, Mina receives word that Jonathan has turned up in a convent in Transylvania, weak and delirious (having escaped from the castle). She goes to be with, and marry him. While she is gone, a final attack happens at the Westenra home as a wolf crashes through Lucy's bedroom window. The shock kills her mother (who has a weak heart). When found, Lucy is sprawled across the bed, pale and nearly dead.

As she fades, her manner shifts from herself to a kind of wild voluptuousness. When she finally dies, Van Helsing notices the wounds on her throat have vanished--and that she no longer casts a reflection.

Mina returns, deeply saddened at the loss of her family. Van Helsing takes Seward to Lucy's grave near dawn. They find a child nearby, dazed and talking about the "Bloofer lady" (i. e. "beautiful lady") and with tell-tale fang marks on his throat.

Van Helsing insists Seward and Quincey accompany him to Lucy's grave, where they see her approach--blood on her lips and gown. She speaks lovingly to Quincey, who nearly succumbs but flees when Van Helsing shows her a cross. In the tomb, Van Helsing explains what must be done and Quincey drives a wooden stake into Lucy's heart. Later, the professor fills her mouth with garlic and cuts off her head.

Harker, Van Helsing, Seward and Quincey all go to Carfax Abbey to sterilize the boxes of his native earth Dracula has had shipped there. They don't realize that now Dracula is visiting Mina and has bitten her. But Renfield does realize, and seeks to warn her and Seward. In revenge Dracula kills him, but before he dies Renfield manages to warn the men--who rush to Mina's bedroom, only to find her drinking blood from Dracula's chest. Dracula himself vanishes as they enter. Mina becomes hysterical, especially after Van Helsing touches her forehead with a piece of Holy Wafer and it sears her flesh. The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those From that moment on, until Dracula's demise, she carries the scar as well as slightly noticeable fangs.

As they continue to find Dracula's boxes, rendering them useless to him with crosses and the Host, they realize he must flee back to his castle. They follow. Eventually, Van Helsing and Mina go directly overland to the Castle while the others follow Dracula's coffin, transported by Gypsies. In the Transylvanian wilderness, Dracula's brides approach the pair, but Van Helsing draws a circle around them, filling it with pieces of Holy Wafer. The Brides cannot pass, although they call to Mina to join them, naming her "Sister. " The next morning, Van Helsing goes into the Castle, driving wooden stakes in each of the Brides' hearts (and Mina, sleeping, evidently feels the blows).

Finally, there is a chase. Harker, Seward and Quincey are chasing the carriage that carries Dracula's coffin. In the process, they must fight Gypsies loyal to Dracula. The Romani people (singular Rom, plural Roma as a Noun; also known as Romanies or Roma people) are an ethnic group with origins At one point, Harker is saved when Mina shoots a threatening Gypsy with a rifle. With hardly a moment to spare, the pursuers reach the coffin and pull off its cover. Inside, Dracula smiles noticing that it is almost sunset. But Van Helsing drives a long wooden stake into the vampire's heart, and his body erupts into a mini-sandstorm. Vampires are mythological or folkloric revenants who subsist by feeding on the blood of the living All that is left are his clothes and ashes.

Deviations from the novel

This list is not exhaustive, but intended to convey a sense of the differences between the film and the novel:

Style

There was a surreal quality to this film. For example, several times the character of Dracula is shown as a negative image, especially when angry or feeding. In photography a negative may refer to three different things although they are all related When Lucy is visited by Dracula, she is shown dancing in slow motion to eerie music with Dracula's face superimposed over the screen. Likewise, when Harker falls asleep in the library, he sees Mina in the corner, brushing her hair. Often shots of particular moments (like the entry or exit of Dracula from a scene or room) are shown several times on top of one another, with slight changes of color, speed, angle, etc.

Ultimately, the effect is to make the supernatural aspects of the story blend with the more naturalistic elements--the natural light, the muted colors, the realistic blood, an actual bat, etc.

Trivia

External links

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