Just rented from Netflix and viewed last night having not seen it since the drive-in when I was 9. Frank Langella plays a very respectable Dracula and not at all cheesy which is what I expected. Even though there were minor hints of the times (the count's and Jonathan Harker's late 70's hair) it was pretty creepy, atmospheric and never dragged. Worth the rental even though Dracula's demise at the end was pretty convoluted and a bit anti-climatic. I didn't listen to the commentary track but the making-of documentary was pretty interesting.

yes harker's hair is so 70's. there was also a nice 70's laser moment with some of the lighting.

This was just shown on AMC Friday night as part of the weekly Fear Friday movies. I first saw this version on the Star Channel in 1980. My friend's parents always went away for the weekends when we were in high school and we had the run of the house and liquor cabinet.

Never saw this one until I picked it up used at a video store in the mid-90s. Like it quite a bit. I still remember seeing the old "I Love New York" TV ads on WPIX, which featured Langella in character saying the catchphrase.




Mark

cdf fan
sounds like you had some fun weekends!

This adaptation of the stage-play, though very different from the traditional story line, is my second favorite version of Dracula: Great cast, terrific look and scary (Van Helsing in the space under the coffin - 'nuff said). I have the poster of Langella, at the moment when he tells Van Helsing how smart he is for "someone who has lived but a single lifetime." For many years, this was a Halloween Day tradition.

I don't remember much about this version. I think I must have seen at least part of it on cable in the 80s. I'm going to have to give it another look now. It's hard to comprehend the idea that a "new" version of Dracula that came out in 1979 is now THIRTY-YEARS-OLD!!! It all makes me feel old!

And, I believe I recall seeing the Dracula "I Love New York" ad too Mark. Here's one version--though I seem to recall one where Langella actually looks up at the camera while he's in the middle of biting a woman's neck and says a version of the "I Love New York" slogan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQTpWQ4Si4w

Just realized that the reason I probably don't really remember this version and never gave it much thought as a serious Dracula film is because it came out the same year as another vampire movie that wasn't so serious--"Love at First Bite" with George Hamilton.

Not that anyone will read this in time, but this version of Dracula will be showing again at 3:30am on Saturday on AMC. I'd like it better in the afternoon but until I run the programming schedule I'll have to deal with it.

With Halloween approaching it would be nice to see AMC run some films in prime time slots starring iconic Universal type monsters rather than what we always seem to get lately: slasher types (Friday the 13th, Halloween, etc.)

I believe that particular video was done while he was still doing the Broadway production

i gave up on amc horror. they used to show the good stuff. ah the kids these days and their slasher movies.

Unfortunately the classic horror movies they were showing on MonsterFest have been replaced with the likes of Pinata Island and other crap. As much as I like the original Halloween movies I don't care to watch them continuosly. I haven't seen the upcoming 09 FearFest lineup but I surmise it'll be like last year.

On a side note I came across a nice selection of online B movies on AMC. http://www.amctv.com/videos/b-movies/