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strangenstein's Replies
I saw Mr. Picardo many years ago at a Star Trek convention, and someone asked him about Patrick Stewart’s character, Jean-Luc Picard. I’ll never forget his answer: “Picard, hmm, Picard. Sounds a little short, doesn’t it?” The audience died laughing.
1...Tie - Horror of Dracula / Brides of Dracula
3...Dracula, Prince of Darkness
4...Scars of Dracula
5...Taste the Blood of Dracula
6...Dracula A.D. ‘72
7...Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
8...Satanic Rites of Dracula
9...Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
I’m not sure why they were chained, but you’ll notice one of the vampire ladies looks very much like Penny Marshall, aka Laverne from Laverne & Shirley.
“Yea, it bothered me too that Dracula is running away from Van Helsing.”
Dracula has no other option than to run when he discovers the hiding place for his coffin has been discovered. It’s getting close to sunrise and staying at that location would mean certain doom. Van Helsing would simply stake him.
As far as him running when they’re at the castle, at that point sunrise is just moments away. Dracula knows he can hide in the castle vaults for years (alluded to by Van Helsing). Dracula is a predator AND a survivor.
I’ll take it one step further: I think Horror of Dracula is the best vampire movie ever made. Period. It does everything right, and for a movie that’s over 60 years old, it’s lost very little power.
This is a really tough one! I love both movies, but I’m going to go with Brides for one reason: No dialogue for Dracula in DPoD. Lee’s deep, sepulchral voice is a character unto itself, and his lack of dialogue in the film is very noticeable. DPoD is still a great movie, and Terence Fisher fills every frame with tons of atmosphere.
Brides of Dracula is also an amazing film, with plenty of thrills and scares, and it features great performances from Peter Cushing and David Peel.
I’ve made this comparison before, and I think it still fits. Christopher Lee and David Peel are Prince William and Prince Harry. Prince William, because of his position as first born, is more stately and reserved. Prince Harry knows he’ll probably never have a shot at the throne, so the pressure is off. He’s still a part of the family, but he’s also a free spirit. (This analogy doesn’t work quite as well now that Harry has renounced his title.)
Both Lee and Peel were amazing.
I like it, too. I’ve noticed something interesting about this movie and that scene. Over the years I’ve had many people, during a conversation about movies, reference that scene but they weren’t sure what movie it was from. I think that shows Hammer got it right. It’s an iconic shot and ending to a great vampire movie.
A better (or at least more honest) title would have been Disciple of Dracula. I think Baron Meinster is plenty frightening - and dangerous.
That’s a good question Wuchak, but I’m not sure there’s an answer. This is a solid movie, but it contains more than a few head scratchers. For example, when Alice calls out to Lucy just after the funeral, Lucy comes running over, all smiles. There’s nary a word about Alice’s father being dead. The ending is another big question, although most agree the church has suddenly become consecrated again, thus overwhelming Dracula. I think. The biggest question is why did they give Dracula so little to do, and with such lame dialogue? My goodness, you have Christopher Lee and that voice of his! Scars of Dracula was next, and while it’s a step down from TtBoD, it uses Lee to much better effect.
JAWS 2 is a decent movie, but when looked at as a sequel it loses a lot of luster. It is well made, looks good, and has a few suspenseful scenes, but it never taps into the dread and fear like the original. Tina's "Sh-sh-sh-shaaark!" does capture some of the feel, though.
JAWS = primal
JAWS 2 = monster movie
"As awesome as CGI has become, I’m amazed that they can’t simply take this film and the original and make the sharks more realistic(and re-release!)."
Blasphemy!
But he did eat his tots.
Interesting scenario you've brought up. I've always thought the movie version of Quint got the worst of the deal. He relates the Indianapolis story, so we know the horrors he endured -- and why he's lived with a vendetta all these years. He also dies a horrible death in the jaws of the shark. In the book version, he simply gets a foot caught in one of the barrel ropes and is pulled under, dying by drowning. There is no evidence in the book that he's ever bitten by the shark.
Spot on. Why in the world Hooper is in that water -- at night -- is what takes this scene from suspense to horror. Just the THOUGHT of what's down there is enough to give someone a heart attack.
One more thought about this scene: I saw this as a 10 year-old, in the theater, in 1975 and I was terrified when Hooper swims to the ladder on the boat, then just hangs there. GET OUT OF THE WATER!
...and without the dirty panties.
I agree that the conclusion is a cheat, but getting there is still fun. There’s plenty of atmosphere, and I’ll always prefer some minor tripe like this to a bloated CGI-fest.
Ha! Very well said. As for me, I found Avatar to be anti-American, tree hugger nonsense.
He wasn’t tied to the tracks, it was his tail he’d wrapped around himself to make it appear as if he was tied down. Watch closely and you’ll see his tail unwrap just before the train gets to him.
He was really good in Waterproof.