About this episode

The episode discusses the 1992 film 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' and its adaptation of the original novel.

Following our Muppet version of the film, and in the spirit of not doing too much work over Crimbo, we’re looking at “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”. A film in which Ted goes on a less than excellent adventure; Withnail keeps Tom Waits on a remarkably protein-rich diet; and Hannibal Lecter clearly cannot be arsed having just won an Oscar. Unleashed with much fanfare in 1992, director Francis Ford Coppola wanted to bring to the screen a definitive version of Stoker’s novel (except for all the extra bits he bunged in for good measure). This ambition weirdly highlights some of the pitfalls of a faithful adaptation, with a number of characters usually dispensed with or amalgamated in other versions left to clutter up the narrative. It features what is a genuinely stellar cast both for now and then, but with some actors not necessarily suited to their roles. However, it’s still Coppola, so it still remains a well-made, beautifully shot gothic romance; which certainly equals the novel for pace and drama, and even adds some iconic imagery to the old myth which is still appearing over 30 years after the film’s release.

Topics covered

• film
• adaptation
• gothic romance
• horror
• cinema

Keywords

• Bram Stoker
• Francis Ford Coppola
• 1992
• gothic romance
• faithful adaptation
• stellar cast
• iconic imagery
• narrative pitfalls
• protein-rich diet
• Oscar

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Oscar

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