Product Details

• Actors: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves
• Directors: Francis Ford Coppola
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English, French, Hungarian, Czech, Polish, Arabic, Turkish, Swedish, Romanian, Icelandic
• Subtitles: Arabic, Cantonese, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
• Dubbed: Czech, French, Hungarian, Russian
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Columbia Pictures
• DVD Release Date: October 2, 2007
• Run Time: 128 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (691 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000TGJ7ZY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,593 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Bram Stoker's Dracula [Blu-ray]" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 Bram Stoker's Dracula is a feverishly inventive movie that often overwhelms its own narrative flow, yet proves irresistible to watch. Coppola's baroque, operatic set design, costumes, and cinematography look as lavish as they did on the film's first release. The director's grab-bag of visual effects are still bold and unabashed, if often over-the-top, and the actors still appear caught up in a certain hysterical pitch that feels a little forced but can be a lot of fun to watch. Gary Oldman's imaginative performance as the titular vampire carries the weight of Coppola's vision of Count Dracula as a tragic-romantic hero with Christ-like overtones. Keanu Reeves still looks a little lost in the pivotal role of Jonathan Harker, the London clerk who finds himself a prisoner in a Transylvanian castle while a 400-year-old vampire makes a play for his fiancée back home (Winona Ryder). Anthony Hopkins is fearless as a daft Von Helsing, and Sadie Frost is very good as the doomed Lucy. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, Anthony Hopkins. Count Dracula travels to England to find his long-lost love, but his nemesis Van Helsing is never far behind. Francis Ford Coppola's spectacular adaptation of Stoker's classic vampire tale. 1992/color/130 min/R.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

163 of 183 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Actually, I come down on this as James V. Hart's "Dracula" October 22, 2004

By Lawrance M. Bernabo HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

"Bram Stoker's Dracula" or, more properly, "Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula"? The assumption was that the title was chosen to stake a claim to being the film adaptation closest to Bram Stoker's original gothic novel, but the reason was more mundane. Another studio had the rights to the title "Dracula," so a qualification was necessary. Since this 1992 horror film would have the same characters along with the same general plotline as the novel, this seemed reasonable enough. But screenwriter James V. Hart added a significant element to Stoker's novel that justified the movie's potent tagline, "Love Never Dies." As director, Francis Ford Coppola provides the stylistic flourishes, which are this movie's best parts, but Hart is the one who is responsible for the derivations.

In the novel Count Dracula only makes vague reference to the historical Vlad the Impaler, son of the prince known as Dracul (the Dragon), hence the name Dracula (son of the Dragon), when he tells his guest Jonathan Harker of the history of his family. Hart takes advantage of what we know about the historical figure to craft the film's prologue. Vlad (Gary Oldman) is fighting the Turkish invaders, not simply as a prince of Wallachia, but rather as more of a true Christian knight. He succeeds, but the exaggerated rumor of his death reaches his beloved Elisabeta (Winona Ryder), who throws herself to her death from the castle walls. As a suicide she cannot be buried on consecrated ground, and an outraged Vlad renounces God and is somehow transmorgraphies into a vampire as a result of his blasphemy. Then we get to the beginning of the novel....

Harker (Keanu Reeves) is traveling to Transylvania to Dracula's castle to complete a series of real estate transactions that will allow the Count to come to London and live in style. Something not very nice happened to the previous member of Harker's firm to make this trip (can you say Renfield?), but the old Count only seems eccentric. However, when he sees a picture of Harker's fiancée, Mina Harker (Ryder), the Count knows that she is the reincarnation of his beloved Elisabeta. Now Dracula has reason to not only travel to London, but to make himself young again so that he can woo his woman.

Once we move from Transylvania to London, we meet the rest of our cast of characters. Mina's best friend, Lucy Westenra (Sadie Frost), is being courted by Dr. Jack Seward (Richard E. Grant), who runs his own little asylum, Lord Arthur Holmwood (Cary Elwes), a handsome nobleman, and Quincey P. Morris (Bill Campbell), who hails from the American West. However, before Lucy can choose from amongst her beaus, she becomes the new bride of Dracula instead. Fortunately, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins) knows more about medicine than what is found in science books and knows what is to be done in this situation. Meanwhile, Count Dracula manages to run into Miss Mina, and the seduction is on.

The production design on this film is fantastic. When it first came out on DVD I would use it as a prime example of what could be down with sets and decor: Thomas E. Sanders and Garrett Lewis were nominated for an Oscar. The film won Oscars for Eiko Ishioka's Costume Design, and the Makeup of Greg Cannom, Michèle Burke and Matthew W. Mungle, as well as the Sound Effects Editing by Tom C. McCarthy and David E. Stone. Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus deserves to be mentioned despite similar notice. The bottom line is that this is a great looking film, which is one of the things we come to expect in Coppola's work.

Oldman's performance as Dracula is interesting. Given all the actors who have come before from Max Schreck and Bela Lugosi to Christopher Lee and Frank Langella, it is hard to stake out new ground in the role. But Oldman bases his characterization on not only the romantic but also the tragic elements of this particular Dracula. Unfortunately, the performances of the cast are the weakest part of the film. Reeves is far and away the most wooden, but Ryder does not create a woman worth waiting for as far as I am concerned, which is the true weakest point of the film. Hopkins follows Laurence Olivier in the Van Helsing role and in a similar vein creates an eccentric ethnic know-it-all who spends a lot of time basically telling the gang of fearful vampire slayers to shut up and do what he says.

When "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is over you will be struck by how gorgeous the film is from start to finish. That will make up for so many of the actors being as wooden as the stakes used to dispatch the vampires. Hart's twist on the tale helps improve Stoker's original ending, which was basically a race to kill Dracula before the sun sets. The tragic element established by the prologue is adequately played out in the ending. This film might be another example of the triumph of style over substance, but given the depths that some vampire movies can reach, it is nice to have one that aspires to such artistic pretensions. Read more ›

118 of 133 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "We are all madmen for God" November 23, 2002

By Marc Ruby™ HALL OF FAMEVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

When I first saw this film I was completely carried away with Francis Ford Coppola's dark and brooding presentation of the novel that created the modern vampire. The visual composition, the use of color as theme, and the music overloaded my senses to the point that I barely noted the movement of the plot. After all, I had read Stoker's tale often enough to recite it word for word. Why pay too much attention? Going back over the film 10 years later revealed much that I missed the first time.

Of course, the film really tries to capture the feeling of the book rather than be a literal copy, which may bother some aficionados. Coppola has chosen to gradually shift emphasis from a horror tale to the tragic story of an impossible love, without ever losing either thread. By shifting Dracula (Gary Oldman) back and forth from Rumanian hero to terrible monster, and allowing each persona to have its emotional context, he forces a foreboding dilemma on the viewer. Dialog and narration is sparse, just enough rather than florid. Again, nothing is allowed to distract from the building tension.

What completely escaped me on the first viewing was Coppola's vision of a creeping corruption that infects almost all of the characters. British social mores fare little better than those of the vampires. Jack Seward (Richard Grant) is a morphine addict and Lucy Westenra's (Sadie Frost) sexual intensity proves her Achilles heel. Even Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins) is subject to eerie, almost degenerate moments. This is a less pure, more disturbing world than that of Bram Stoker's imaginings.

Coppola keeps the film working on many levels - foreboding horror, grand romance, sharp social commentary, and transcendental morality play. If love redeems, it only does so at a terrible price.... Well worth viewing - several times. Read more ›

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Gary Oldman makes this movie work July 29, 2000

By Shelley Gammon TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Not since Bela Lugosi has there been a Dracula this sexy, handsome, ugly, lovelorn and pure evil at the same time. Whether portraying the young count in the 16th century or playing himself as a late 19th century ogre of a man with a big white bufont hairdo (with a handsome window's peak to boot) and Edward Scissorhands fingernails, Oldman makes this film what it is. His acting is exquistite as the tortured soul who longs after his lost love and lusts after the taste of human blood.

Post-Lagosi vampires in cinema have always seemed to get the best of the good guys, but in this film taken from Stoker's 19th century novel, good does triumph over evil. Copola endeavored to stick with older cinema effects and he did a superb job. There are some scenes that you will never forget ... a marriage between simple effects and creativity gone wild... especially when the elder count's shadow acts on its own accord. More suave than gory, but there is gore... this is the best production of the tale of Dracula since the invention of color film. If Anne Rice's spin on the vampire tale is more your speed, this film will probably not be up your alley. Violence and sexual inuendo make this a film not suitable for kids.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Bram Stoker's Dracula : ( Blu-Ray Review ) Stop the Blu-Ray Hate! August 5, 2008

By dv_forever

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

For months people have been complaining about the visual quality of this particular Blu-Ray title. I'm a Blu-Ray enthusiast and I do enjoy this film so I wanted to find out for myself if all the attacks about it's visual quality had merit. Here are my thoughts...

I bought the Superbit Collection standard DVD of this movie and compared it to this Blu-Ray version. For me, it's a no-brainer, the Blu-Ray is superior. The Superbit version actually looks more garish and brighter than any version I've seen before, be it on TV or VHS. The overly bright colors give the movie a fantasy feel. Rarely did the night scenes in the castle look dark or disturbing. It was all very garish, color wise.

In this Blu-Ray version, Coppola's people, acting on his instructions, toned down the color scheme and made it darker, far more sinister and realistic. I enjoyed the look of the film very much. Those night scenes in the castle are eerie and dangerous in comparison to the overly bright Superbit version. The movie has a more horror like atmosphere to it. In a couple of short scenes, the color is drained and the picture has a nearly black and white look to it. It's strikingly beautiful. On Blu-Ray, instead of the garish haze, the color of Dracula's wardrobe for instance, blood red, leaps off the screen unlike the Superbit DVD.

Although most of the scenes don't have the sharpness or detail you've come to expect from Blu-Ray, I still say it's a very good purchase. Obviously this movie is not going to look like the Blu-Rays of Pixar's Cars or Blade Runner or 2001: A Space Odyssey. I didn't expect it to. The audio quality is just fine. Top notch. Some of the most hilarious features on this Blu-Ray are the multi-language tracks. They have Russian, Romanian and several others.... I speak Russian and had a blast watching Dracula in Russian! It's goofy watching Keanu Reeves in Russian at first but soon enough you realize this is very high quality dubbing. Not done as some afterthought at all. Very nice.

The special features have many documentaries and of course Coppola's commentary. This Blu-Ray certainly warrants a purchase for those who like the film. If you're unsure because of the controversy of the color scheme, I suggest buying the Superbit alongside the Blu-Ray and contrasting them for yourself. Perhaps you'll like the Superbit DVD better. Compare them on your widescreen TV in a dark room at night and I think you'll find the Blu-Ray is a better experience. Yes, there is grain and dirt and the picture is not perfect by any means. It's an older catalog title. If it doesn't get a full on restoration, it's not going to look any better than this.

Now, as to the movie itself. I always enjoyed this Coppola treatment of Dracula. The atmosphere and art direction, the costumes, sets, music are all first class. The script, acting and pacing can be a bit stiff. That and Keanu Reeves hamper this movie. It's still about as good as "Interview with the Vampire" or any of the other big-budget Hollywood vampire spectacles. Don't forget that vampire movies are typically all exploitation and titillation with nothing remotely serious about them. I can point to dozens of examples. How about "John Carpenter's Vampires" for one? Or the abysmal "Blade" trilogy for another?

The fact that Bram Stoker's Dracula and Interview with a Vampire take things a tad more seriously than 95% percent of vampire flicks counts for something. The ultimate vampire film is yet to be made but Gary Oldman's portrayal of Dracula makes him one interesting bloodsucker! Read more ›