MUBI

Sou um grande fã dos filmes com temáticas “vampirescas”. Bem diferente da afetação de Crepúsculo, Drácula de Bram Stoker é um filme belíssimo,
com uma atmosfera densa e perturbadora. O ponto alto do filme e desse review, pra mim, não é o trabalho de Coppola que é fantástico, mas sim o trabalho da costume designer Eiko Ishioka. O filme não possui grandes construções em termos de cenários, tudo é feito sob a perspectiva dos figurinos, idealizados pela equipe de Coppola e pela delicada Eiko. No processo foram utilizadas referências que vão do quadro Margareth Bromsen de Hiert, M. C. a The Kiss de Klimt, Gustav. Minha peça favorita é a armadura vermelha de Vlad III Draculea, a textura, os encaixes e a reação do material a luz me chamam muito a atenção. Vale assistir o dvd com extras, onde se encontram depoimentos de todos os envolvidos na produção do filme, inclusive de Eiko. Seu trabalho também pode ser visto nos filmes The Fall, The Cell e no Cirque du Soleil: Varekai exibido na TV.

A masterpiece in terms of cinematography and aesthetics in general. It’s the visuals that grab me – from Dracula himself to the actual meticulous shots, the set design, costumes – everything. Most of the special effects seem to be done on camera using ‘old school’ techniques. Indeed, the look of the film is meant to harken back to a lost age of film.

Gary Oldman’s performance was masterful and haunting (I’ve never seen him do anything worthy of his talent again, largely doing typically horrible Hollywood fare) while Keannu Reeves’ almost destroying this film. Perhaps the casting of Reeves and Winona Ryder were to procure further financial backing or a horrible casting mistake Coppola will have to live with.

I loved the soundtrack enough to buy the CD.

I’ve upgraded from the VHS to the initial DVD release and then acquired the Superbit version which does have a better picture and DTS sound. I am about to upgrade to the Blue Ray version in the next few weeks.

The effects at times were good, at other times too strange. They do move along quickly to pack a lot of the novel’s story into the run time. Still, the movie feels too long toward the end. These Dracula movies just can’t win. Wow, Oldman does go through so many amazing makeup transformations: old and shriveled, young and seductive, raging warrior in the flashbacks, and werewolf. I agree with most of my friends here that the story and other performances are not great. But I did enjoy watching this movie, which is obviously an exercise by Coppola to just have fun making an old fashioned, stylish pic with all the tricks of the trade. It is surrealist and funny and at times can make you squirm, but it is not what could be called a horror film with straightforward frights.