Dracula

The best adaptation of the most filmed novel ever, I guess...

Coppola, obviously... even though I'm not a fan of Dracula's "redemption," it's still the best Dracula movie out there.👍

1931. Lugosi is the only real Dracula.

You haven't even listed at least seven or eight of them yet, have you?

Donna Gray4 said:You haven't even listed at least seven or eight of them yet, have you?

I was talking about adaptations of THE NOVEL itself, not loose retellings, sequels, or whatever.

I’ve watched 8 out of the 15 film adaptations of the book: one on TV and one on YouTube (from 1992), then 7 on YouTube (the 1922 version, two from 1931, plus the 1958, 1970, 1973, and 1979 versions (Dracula)). The other 7 aren't on YouTube. Anyway, I've seen more than half.

NOSFERATU (1922)

It's 94 minutes long. There's really just one effect: the doors opening by themselves. Dracula is portrayed as this creepy, repulsive figure—though later they'll make him look like a charming, seductive young guy. He mostly shows up toward the end. He gets killed by the sun, not by a stake through the heart. Harker finds Dracula's tomb in what I'd call a basement crawlspace. Honestly, Dracula doesn't even blink once during the whole movie.

DRACULA (1931)

Runs for 75 minutes. Three main effects: the self-opening doors, Dracula having no reflection, and the carriage being driven by bats. You don't see any vampire teeth at all in this one. They show some animals in the castle that you'd only find in the States. In this version, Dracula drinks blood from Renfield (not Harker) instead of his brides.

DRACULA (SPANISH VERSION (1931))

It's 104 minutes. Some details differ from the American version: Dracula's brides drink Renfield's blood (instead of Harker's), and Renfield cuts his finger on a knife rather than a magazine binding... It's a pretty drawn-out plot.

DRACULA (1958)

It's 82 minutes long. There's only one bride that Harker kills. Then Dracula kills Harker, and Harker turns into a vampire. Harker finds Dracula and the bride's graves in a little chapel next to the castle. Dracula is finally killed by looking at a cross, not by being staked.

COUNT DRACULA (1970)

Along with the 1992 film, this is probably the most faithful to the book. They actually tried to capture the look described in the novel (those long white whiskers, sharp teeth, and prominent ears). Christopher Lee plays Dracula, who he also played in the 1958 version. It's a quick one, only 90 minutes.

DRACULA (1973)

No Renfield here. It's made pretty clear that Dracula is the dead prince of Wallachia, Vlad III. Tepes. Dracula is shown as a surprisingly emotional guy. Even though he's locked in a room, Harker somehow climbs over the roof and finds the bodies in the basement. He tries to kill Dracula with a shovel, passes out, and wakes up at night while being hunted by Dracula's brides. Dracula ends up getting killed standing up, with a stake through the heart. This was filmed in England and America.

DRACULA (1979)

This one does the best job showing Lucy as a vampire. Dracula is killed by the sun.

DRACULA (1992)

Arguably the best one and definitely has the most effects. Two odd things, though: Dracula is a bit short (shorter than Harker), and he wears red—even though black is his signature color.

Anyway, does anyone know where all these were shot? I know Nosferatu was filmed at Orava Castle in Slovakia. Does anyone know which castles the others used? Otherwise, I'd say Lugosi and Oldman are the only ones who can really compete for the best Dracula. Everyone else speaks their English or Spanish too perfectly to pass for Transylvanian. Dracula is generally a silly, short, and not-so-scary story, but hey, it's the most adapted novel ever 🤷 .

Let’s be real here, your poll is a total disaster. Just look at the ones briskhound2 puts together; that’s how you actually do it.

And honestly, the best Draculas are Lee and Lugosi, though if we're talking about the absolute best version, it’s the 1992 one with Gary Oldman—even if the guy doesn't even follow fifty percent of what happens in the novel.

Donna Gray4 said:Let’s be real here, your poll is a total disaster. Just look at the ones briskhound2 puts together; that’s how you actually do it.

And honestly, the best Draculas are Lee and Lugosi, though if we're talking about the absolute best version, it’s the 1992 one with Gary Oldman—even if the guy doesn't even follow fifty percent of what happens in the novel.

Give me a link to one of briskhound2's polls.

Lee speaks too perfect an English for a Transylvanian—actually, pretty much everyone except Lugosi and Gary Oldman does. Come on, just list some of the differences between the book and the 1992 film.

😬

rustyscout34 said:😬

One thread is for the best Dracula movie, while this one is for the best adaptation of the actual Dracula novel.

I checked out briskhound2's poll. It’s basically the same thing—he just isn't being patriotic, I guess—since he doesn't translate movie titles or bother with periods after years. It probably just means he's influenced by American English, nothing more.

Elizabeth Newman2 said:One thread is for the best Dracula movie, while this one is for the best adaptation of the actual Dracula novel.

I checked out briskhound2's poll. It’s basically the same thing—he just isn't being patriotic, I guess—since he doesn't translate movie titles or bother with periods after years. It probably just means he's influenced by American English, nothing more.

It's the same thing if you ask me. 🙂

Elizabeth Newman2 said:One thread is for the best Dracula movie, while this one is for the best adaptation of the actual Dracula novel.

I checked out briskhound2's poll. It’s basically the same thing—he just isn't being patriotic, I guess—since he doesn't translate movie titles or bother with periods after years. It probably just means he's influenced by American English, nothing more.

And technically, it's not even briskhound2's survey 😉

rustyscout34 said:😬

If I recall correctly, this is my very first poll. 😛🙂

rustyscout34 said:It's the same thing if you ask me. 🙂

Not really! Over here, we're talking specifically about adaptations of the novel itself—but over there, it's just about the best Dracula movie in general, regardless of whether it actually follows the book or anything. So, let's stick to the book stuff here—go ahead and vote, and maybe explain your reasoning.

Oh, please, give me a break! 😁

Quote : for those familiar with Bram Stoker's

briskhound2 said:And technically, it's not even briskhound2's survey 😉

Yep. 😉 .

Quote : for those familiar with Bram Stoker's

Michelle Hill38 said:1931. Lugosi is the only real Dracula.

Dracula why? 🤷 Please explain your reasoning.

Quote : for those familiar with Bram Stoker's

amberwalker4 said:Coppola, obviously... even though I'm not a fan of Dracula's "redemption," it's still the best Dracula movie out there.👍

Dracula why—I mean, seriously? 🤷 I guess you should probably explain yourselves—if you can. Justify your answers, maybe?

Elizabeth Newman2 said:Quote : for those familiar with Bram Stoker's

Yep. 😉 .

Quote : for those familiar with Bram Stoker's

Dracula why? 🤷 Please explain your reasoning.

Quote : for those familiar with Bram Stoker's

Dracula why—I mean, seriously? 🤷 I guess you should probably explain yourselves—if you can. Justify your answers, maybe?

Why don't I like Dracula's redemption? Maybe it's because he's a monster who spent four centuries killing, slaughtering, raping, and turning every single person he came across. I think that's reason enough...

Coppola's Dracula from 1992. It’s easily the most faithful to the original source out of anything I've seen—period. You get the horror, the mystery, the fantasy, the drama... it’s all there and wrapped up perfectly. Plus, the 19th-century atmosphere? Unbeatable.

Elizabeth Newman2 said:Quote : for those familiar with Bram Stoker's

Yep. 😉 .

Quote : for those familiar with Bram Stoker's

Dracula why? 🤷 Please explain your reasoning.

Quote : for those familiar with Bram Stoker's

Dracula why—I mean, seriously? 🤷 I guess you should probably explain yourselves—if you can. Justify your answers, maybe?

Nah. That poll up there is actually from Donna Gray4.

Checked out briskhound2's poll. It’s all fine, except they aren't exactly being patriotic: they don't translate the movie titles or even bother putting periods after the years.

What kind of "patriotism" are we talking about when it comes to a PDF rip? Why would you even bother translating titles when it's way easier just to find them in the original English? And honestly, who cares about a period after a year when the rest of the formatting is such a mess... You just drop the links to the movies you're polling, throw in a cover image so people actually know what they're looking at, clean it up a little bit, and then you have something to talk about...

And the big one— there aren't even options for any alternative titles

I mean, seriously... the guy set up his poll the way he did, so what? He put the movie descriptions a bit lower down—it would’ve been cooler if he’d tossed in a few pictures, but he decided against it. Personally, I think the poll is fine. There’s really no point in making a huge deal out of nothing 🤷

Quote : for those familiar with Bram Stoker's

Keith Kelly3 said:I mean, seriously... the guy set up his poll the way he did, so what? He put the movie descriptions a bit lower down—it would’ve been cooler if he’d tossed in a few pictures, but he decided against it. Personally, I think the poll is fine. There’s really no point in making a huge deal out of nothing 🤷

Look, nobody's saying we need to reinvent the wheel here, but let's be real—these polls have been chewed over so many times that the basic ground rules are basically set in stone already. So... what's the actual harm in just polishing them up a bit? It’s not like we're starting from scratch. Besides, everyone pretty much agrees at this point: if you don't have a poll option, it's just straight-up spam. And don't even get me started on that...Look, what’s on the table is what’s on the table... you just gotta cast your vote and deal with it. I mean, that’s exactly why they started shutting down those polls in the first place...