Favorite Vampire Flicks in General

Okay, okay; I know that for many of you, it will be this one. And as many of you have figured out, I like it as well.

And while many vampire movies are pretty good, the one that stands out, head and shoulders above the rest, is the 1977 BBC Masterpiece Theater episode called Count Dracula. The acting was absolutely superb, the atmosphere was delightfully creepy and the script stayed remarkably true to the Bram Stoker book with very few departures. As an aside, I might add that the actresses who played Mina and Lucy (Judi Bowker and Susan Penhaligon respectively) not only did a great job, but were both stunningly beautiful ladies.

I would rate the other various Dracula films that I have actually seen as good to poor depending on various factors such as the atmosphere, sets, the cast and of course the scripts.

Nosferatu (1922): Overall, I give this classic silent film fairly high marks as the atmosphere and sets are good. Where I would not be so generous is with the script. It strayed too far from the source novel, which, as we all know was Dracula.

Dracula (1931): Atmosphere, acting and sets are good, but like Nosferatu, the script strayed too far from the Stoker story. In spite of this, my rating is good.

Count Dracula (1977): Excellent, as described above.

Dracula (1979): This is the one with Frank Langella as the Count. Acting, atmosphere and cast were excellent, but the main negative was that the script was not all faithful to the book. Overall, my rating for this film is poor, primarily due to what I see as the totally unnecessary changes in the story.

'Salem's Lot (1979): Overall, I rate this one highly. The atmosphere, and the acting were superb, the sets were good. The main problem, for me at least, was the script: it deviated too much from the novel. Be that as it may, I still liked this one, and it remains one of my favorite vampire films.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992): This Francis Ford Coppola film was spectacular in some ways and truly dismal in others. Atmosphere and sets on this film were magnificent, and the acting for the most part was good as well. The major downfall for me was the script. If it had only been a few deviations from the novel, it might not have been so bad, but Coppola managed to change the entire theme from a battle between good and evil to a sappy love story that is not even hinted at in the book. Still, my overall rating is fair.

'Salem's Lot (2004): All right, I'm putting my flame suit on.  This one was one that I have mixed feelings about. Some things, I liked about it and others, I did not care for. Compared to the 1979 effort, it was closer to the book; not much, mind you but a little bit. I liked Andre Braugher's portrayal of Matt Burke, even though I don't think it was necessary to change his sexual orientation. I thought the 1979 film did a much better job of presenting Mike's encounter with him, and like one other frequent poster here, I thought that the scene where Donald Sutherland stuck his tongue out was 'cringeworthy'. Where I'd give this film higher marks than the Hooper film, is the script. Acting and atmosphere were both good, and I thought that Rob Lowe did as good a job as did David Soul, as Ben, and Samantha Mathis was a slightly better Susan than Bonnie Bedelia. On the other hand, while I think that Donald Sutherland is a great actor, so was James Mason, and I thought that Mason's portrayal of Straker was better than that of Sutherland.

I think that the Dr. James Cody in the 2004 movie was truer to the novel than the Dr. Norton character of Ed Flanders, but I also thought that Flanders was one of the highlights of the Hooper film. Perhaps I might note here that another 'cringeworthy' scene in the 2004 re-make, was when Dr. Cody was in the car with Bonnie, and he was recalling a past memory with her. I will note with gratitude that the Hooper film has no such gawd-awful scenes.

Both Salem's Lot adaptations have their good points and both have their flaws as well. And while many, if not most of you won't agree with me here, I still give a slight edge to the 2004 mini-series over the Hooper film, primarily because of its' greater fidelity to the novel.

So, my choice of the best vampire film is the 1977 BBC Count Dracula. It is much better than any other I have seen.

Responses?