Dracula

Christopher Lee fans rejoice, for here comes Hammer’s 1958 Dracula, the very film which catapulted Lee to iconic status!

Fully restored in high definition, and available on 3-disc double play (Blu-ray and DVD) for the first time, the release contains two versions of the feature: the 2007 BFI restoration plus the 2012 Hammer restoration, with two additional scenes originally censored by the BBFC (Dracula’s seduction of Mina, and Dracula’s sunlight integration).

When Dracula was unleashed upon UK cinema screens in 1958, it didn’t exactly wow the critics, however, audiences couldn’t get enough of the daring adaptation of Stoker’s classic. Lee’s performance was the opposite to Bela Lugosi’s comparatively wooden take on the role of the vampire. Who could ever forget Lee’s entrance, complete with black cape, hissing fangs and fiery red eyes – resembling a blood-thirsty and savage animal. Tall, and terrifying to the extreme, it is little wonder that Lee’s portrayal of Count Dracula has never been bettered! In this, Hammer’s first Dracula film, Lee even gets to speak some proper lines and dialogue, something that rarely happened in later Hammer Dracula films – much to the actor’s dismay!

The equally iconic Peter Cushing is the Count’s nemesis – his Dr. Van Helsing remains calm and calculating amidst the frenzy and terror that unfolds after his friend Jonathan Harker (John Van Eyssen) falls victim of the vampire. The performances are impressive and charmingly old school, especially Melissa Stribling as Mina Holmwood is wonderful as a lady who has her emotions repressed, only to be seduced by Dracula… gradually awakening the sensual side in her.
The film’s climax, during which Van Helsing chases Dracula in his own castle and a deadly battle ensues, will have you at the edge of your seat!

Thanks to the new high definition restoration, sets and costumes look even more splendid than before, while the blood is redder still!

The discs come with a whole lot of bonus material, including four brand-new featurettes (‘Dracula Reborn’, ‘Resurrecting Dracula’, ‘The Demon Lover’, and ‘Censoring Dracula’), booklet, stills gallery, an episode from The World Of Hammer’ series, Japanese reels, PDF shooting script, as well as actress Janina Faye (who played little Tanja in the movie) reading a chapter of Stoker’s novel.
Last but not least, there’s also a commentary option by Hammer historian Marcus Hearn, and author and critic Jonathan Rigby.

Please read my interview with ‘English Gothic’ author Jonathan Rigby.