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plotline
Mar 04, 2017plotline rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Bloody, Baroque, Spectacular Hark, all ye cinephiles. The master beckons! And few among your numbers shall resist him. For he brings to bear all the wondrous powers at his disposal. Observe: shadow puppets dancing on the horizon against a crimson sky; iris apertures (in and out); transforming dissolves (from a frightful pair of wounds on a delicate neck into twin pinpoints of light in a wolf's eyes); miniatures and animation (a creepy, willful shadow finds its way across a castle wall); the startling recreation of early cinematic imagery (jerky-jerky, flickering movements from the dawn of motion pictures). Yes, faithful movie lover, gaze upon all this and be swept up in a maelstrom of inventive joy where you will find more... much, much more! With awe-inspiring virtuosity Francis Ford Coppola pays deep tribute to the art of filmmaking with his deliciously overstuffed rendition of the old vampire chestnut. He calls it BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA and indeed parts of it, like Murnau's NOSFERATU (1922), are extremely loyal to the spirit and reality of the novel. But in his zeal to express his profound respect for the medium Coppola also bows to Browning and Lugosi. Gary Oldman plays the title role (fiercely, tenderly, howlingly) in two stages, first as a wizened, pasty-faced, bouffant-coiffed, satin-robed nobleman (the Murnau/Max Schreck vision) and later as a dandified, well-heeled aristo-about-town (the Lugosi influence). Using Victorian England, a veritable hothouse of repressed carnality, as the main backdrop, Coppola makes this the most sexualized, eroticized vampire movie in existence. There's so much to mention and not enough space so here's the upshot: the movie is a treasure trove of technique and creativity. It's a sustained, focused, cinematic tour-de-force (and Keanu is good in it too!). It's atmospheric, exciting, kaleidoscopic. You bet it was "made in Hollywood"- it's like something from Tinseltown's Golden Age. 2/14/17