Bram Stoker's Dracula

Movie Title--  Bram Stoker's Dracula

Release Year--  1992

Running Time-- 2 Hours and 8 Minutes

Director--  Francis Ford Coppola

Cast--  Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Billy Campbell, Sadie Frost, Tom Waits

The Vampire, Count Dracula, travels to late 1800's London to seduce the fiancee of his solicitor who looks exactly like his long lost love.

In 1462 Vlad Dracula (Gary Oldman), a member of the Order of the Dragon, marches out to battle the Turks and defeat's the army.  The Turks, being vengeful, know that Dracula's wife Elisabeta (Winona Ryder) is the light of his life, fires an arrow into the castle with a note attached claiming that Dracula has been killed in battle.  Believing her husband dead and devastated, she flings herself into the river, killing herself.  Dracula returns home to find her dead body that had been pulled from the river.  He becomes enraged that now his wife in now damned for taking her own life, he desecrates his chapel and vows to turn away from God.  He claims he will rise from the dead and avenge Elisabeta, then he stabs the cross and drinks the blood that flows from it.

In 1897 solicitor Jonathon Harker (Keanu Reeves) is given the account of Count Dracula of Transylvania from his colleague R.M. Renfield (Tom Waits) who has gone mad.  Jonathon is to travel to Transylvania to assist Count Dracula with acquiring some real estate but when he explains this to his betrothed, Mina Murray (Winona Ryder), she is disappointed that they can not get married before he has to go.  He promises that they will marry as soon as he returns and then sets out to Transylvania.

Jonathon meets Count Dracula in his castle and it isn't long before Dracula finds the picture of Mina.  Believing that she is Elisabeta reincarnated, he asks Jonathon to stay for a month.  Dracula then quickly prepares boxes with his native soil in it to be shipped to London.  When the ship sales Dracula travels with it in a box of soil but leaves Jonathon behind to be raped and fed upon by his brides.

One night after first arriving in London Dracula transforms, then seduces, rapes and feeds on Lucy Westerna (Sadie Frost), Mina's best friend and the person whom she is staying with.  When they see that Lucy is acting strangely, her fiancee Arthur Holmwood (Cary Elwes) along with her former suitors Dr. Jack Seward (Richard E. Grant) and Quincey Morris (Billy Campbell) decide to call in Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins).  When Van Helsing arrives, he very quickly confirms that Lucy is a victim of a vampire bite.  While Lucy is enduring this, Dracula appears to Mina during the day as a handsome young prince.  He seduces her and the two of them have a deep emotional fling.  

Soon, Jonathon writes to Mina, telling her that he has escaped captivity and has been recovering in a convent and requests Mina come right away so they can marry.  She leaves for Romania to marry Jonathon and when Dracula learns what she has done, he turns Lucy into a vampire.  Together with Van Helsing, Dr. Seward, Holmwood and Morris mercifully kill Lucy.  

Jonathon, having returned to London with Mina, travels with the men to destroy Dracula's boxes and then the monster it's self but while they are there, Dracula has found Mina.  He tells her that he killed Lucy and Mina admits that she is in love with him and she remembers her past life as Elisabeta.  She urges Dracula to turn him into a vampire.  He reluctantly agrees and while he is in the process of turning Mina, Jonathon and the other vampire hunters burst into the room.  Dracula escapes and the men try to destroy him before he can get back to his home and try to save Mina.

I have to honestly say, I did not really like this film very much.  I remember watching it when I was younger and not really understanding some of it, so I decided to give it a grown up opinion.  This time, instead of not understanding, I just all together just didn't care for it.  I think it has to do with the way it is presented that I didn't like because I did enjoy the story.  I felt like this film was over done and lengthy in a few spots.  

Gary Oldman was great in this film but I could have lived without having to sit through Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeve's performances.  Don't get me started on Keanu Reeves' horrible British accent and Ryder's wasn't much better.  I know these two actors were popular back in the 90's but I feel they could have made smarter casting decisions when it came to Jonathon Harker and Mina Murray Haker's parts.

That being said, I think everyone should see "Dracula".  Just because I feel like this film is overblown a little, doesn't mean anyone else will.  This film actually has a very high score on rottentomatoes.com, from both the critics and the viewers, so there is a chance that I just didn't get it the second time around too.  Check this film out and decide for yourself, just Don't Forget the Popcorn!