Jess Franco's Count Dracula

[Type3Toys]

Any of you guys seen or heard of this? Just snagged it on ebay and it is pretty cool. It follows the Bram Stoker version pretty well. It is French, I think, but all the dialog is english. i just found it interesting because it stars Christopher Lee as Dracula, yet it is not a Hammer Film.

[wolfie]

I have this film on VHS but i have not watched it in years, i must give it another outing.

Herbert Lom was in it and Klaus Kinski.

[marmes]

Yes,good version!!
Also features the awesomely beautiful Soledad Miranda(Vampyros Lesbos)
before her untimely death.

I prefer the crazy Jess Franco outings like Venus In Furs,Vampyros Lesbos,
Erotic Rites of Frankenstein,and Dracula Contra Frankenstien.

If any of you guys haven't checked out Franco you should give him a go.
All his stuff has a real druggy, spaced out ,kinky ,jazzy feel.Lots of beautiful women.
Definitely don't expect much in the narrative or making sense department
you just gotta go with it.
Very visual based director,good use of music,uses alot of snap zooms w the camera .some hate him,some worship him.

But this aforementioned version of Dracula is directed very straight for Franco.
He tries to stay very true to the novel to good effect and Christopher Lee is always a master.

Glad someone brought up Uncle Jess here,he's a director near and dear to my heart.

[wolfie]

Just watched this again and my feeling was that it should have been much better. It gave Lee the role he really wanted and the chance to play it just the way he wanted but Franco, as usual, made a hash of it.

Why did Herbert Lom suddenly appear in a wheelchair half way through the film?

[cjefferys]

Ah, good old Jess Franco. As Marmes mentions, this is one of his more relatively normal films, but the cast, especially Miranda (eye candy!) and Kinski (one of my favourites) make it worth watching.