Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

Dir. Francis Ford Coppola

Coppola's adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) is visually interesting. He mutates the German expressionists love of shadow into something pure Hollywood but still effectively dramatic. On top of that he heaps dozens of colourful and theatrical elements, but it's more than the film can comfortably support.

If it was a cup it'd be ornate and gilded but wouldn’t hold much water (or blood).

The Dracula character (Gary Oldman) is a tragic figure responsible for his own curse, thus ensuring that his grief lasts for centuries. Heartache can cause us to do odd things, but he really didn't think that through.

The acting by most of the cast is dodgy at best. Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker, Winona Ryder as Mina Murray, and Sadie Frost as Lucy Westenra are just plain awful. Gary Oldman is fantastic as an old man, but his younger self has a hopeless romantic shtick that quickly bores.