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Dracula (2002)
Encyclopedia
Dracula is an Italian 2 part TV-miniseries, directed by Roger Young
. It is based on the 1897 novel of the same name
by Bram Stoker
, though it updates the events of the novel to the present day.
, the successful American
lawyer Jonathan Harker (Hardy Krüger Jr.) suddenly proposes to his girlfriend Mina (Stefania Rocca). He wants to marry her within the week. Their friends Lucy (Muriel Baumaster), Quincy (Alessio Boni) and Arthur (Conrad Hornby) have been invited by Jonathan and have just arrived for the wedding, all without Mina's awareness. Meanwhile, they meet the promoter of the party, the psychiatrist Dr. Seward (Kai Wiesinger). Later in the same night, Jonathan is called by a rich client, Tepes (Patrick Bergin), who hires him to prepare the inventory of the wealth of his uncle, the count Vladislav Tepes (Patrick Bergin), in Romania
. Jonathan travels to the Carpathian Mountains in his Porsche
, has an accident and finally arrives in the count's old castle
.
Vlad Tepes, here calling himself Count Vladislav Tepes, decides to leave his castle and move to the west. He says he feels tired from Romania's decline and the seclusion of his life.
In Budapest he discusses some illegal business with Harker. He also wants Jonathan's help in turning his collection of paintings, jewels and his gold deposits to cash. Jonathan's friends businessman Quincey Morris, specialising in money swindles, and Arthur Holmwood, a British diplomat who is in a debt, offer to help. Though Jonathan and Arthur have their doubts about the deal Quincey convinces them that money is all that matters and its one true power that makes the world go around.
Dracula gets very interested in those young people—the men, hungry for money and power; Lucy, who wants to sleep in many beds, in many cities, have new experiences and live for ever; and Mina, who wants to change the world and end human suffering. Throughout the film Dracula tries to seduce all five of them into his own world, make them wish to become vampires. Focusing again and again on how hypocritical morality is and promising them the loss of their consciences, he says survival of the fittest is the proper way and even the strong cannot save the weak. He also references God's slaughters in the Bible to prove that humanity was created in his image, the image of a killer.
There to stop him is the researcher of the occult and Seward's teacher Dr. Enrico Valenzi the one who believes that Dracula can be defeated when he faces a strong will empowered by faith. But throughout this film he raises more and more self-doubts and his will is almost broken by the end.
Its Mina, half-way through her transformation to a vampire, that manages to make Dracula trust her and kills him as he holds her in an embrace.The films end with Mina still having the vampire's mark and how that affects is remain a question.
, director Roger Young lets the show down considerably in the second half. ... The script does get caught up in some pretentious natterings [and] the performances are particularly uneven."
Noel Megahey of DVD Times said, "It's [the] awkwardness in the script and the dialogue that weighs heavily on the film, although the film actually does operate half-way successfully when it moves into the non-verbal action sequences. What really sinks the film in the end, though, is not the weakness of the special effects, but the performances and the delivery of the pan-European cast that struggles through their semi-dubbed English-language lines." David Hall of EatMyBrains.com said, "There have been far worse cinematic incarnations of Stoker's tale than this — but it must rank as one of the dreariest adaptations ever — a toothless bore shorn of any frisson of eroticism, with nary a drop of blood in sight."
Roger Young (director)
Roger E. Young is an American TV and film director. He won an Emmy Award in 1980 in Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for Lou Grant . He was born in Champaign, Illinois. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from the University of Illinois...
. It is based on the 1897 novel of the same name
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
by Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
, though it updates the events of the novel to the present day.
Plot summary
At a ballroom of a hospital charity party in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, the successful American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer Jonathan Harker (Hardy Krüger Jr.) suddenly proposes to his girlfriend Mina (Stefania Rocca). He wants to marry her within the week. Their friends Lucy (Muriel Baumaster), Quincy (Alessio Boni) and Arthur (Conrad Hornby) have been invited by Jonathan and have just arrived for the wedding, all without Mina's awareness. Meanwhile, they meet the promoter of the party, the psychiatrist Dr. Seward (Kai Wiesinger). Later in the same night, Jonathan is called by a rich client, Tepes (Patrick Bergin), who hires him to prepare the inventory of the wealth of his uncle, the count Vladislav Tepes (Patrick Bergin), in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. Jonathan travels to the Carpathian Mountains in his Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
, has an accident and finally arrives in the count's old castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
.
Vlad Tepes, here calling himself Count Vladislav Tepes, decides to leave his castle and move to the west. He says he feels tired from Romania's decline and the seclusion of his life.
In Budapest he discusses some illegal business with Harker. He also wants Jonathan's help in turning his collection of paintings, jewels and his gold deposits to cash. Jonathan's friends businessman Quincey Morris, specialising in money swindles, and Arthur Holmwood, a British diplomat who is in a debt, offer to help. Though Jonathan and Arthur have their doubts about the deal Quincey convinces them that money is all that matters and its one true power that makes the world go around.
There to stop him is the researcher of the occult and Seward's teacher Dr. Enrico Valenzi the one who believes that Dracula can be defeated when he faces a strong will empowered by faith. But throughout this film he raises more and more self-doubts and his will is almost broken by the end.
Its Mina, half-way through her transformation to a vampire, that manages to make Dracula trust her and kills him as he holds her in an embrace.The films end with Mina still having the vampire's mark and how that affects is remain a question.
Cast
- Patrick BerginPatrick BerginPatrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer. He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games....
as Vladislav Tepes / DraculaDraculaDracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor... - Giancarlo GianniniGiancarlo GianniniGiancarlo Giannini is an Italian actor and dubber.Giannini was born La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. He studied at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica in Rome, and made his film debut in a small part in Fango sulla metropoli in 1965...
as Dr. Enrico Valenzi - Hardy Krüger Jr. as Jonathan HarkerJonathan HarkerJonathan Harker is one of the main protagonists in the 1897 horror novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. His journey to Transylvania and encounter with Count Dracula and the Brides of Dracula at Castle Dracula constitutes the dramatic opening scenes in the novel and most of the film adaptations.-In the...
- Stefania RoccaStefania RoccaStefania Rocca is an Italian actress.Rocca is best known for her roles in the films Nirvana , The Talented Mr. Ripley and Dracula . She also was the lead in Dario Argento's The Card Player. Her most recent appearance was in the Italian movie, Commediasexi where she played the main character,...
as Mina - Muriel Baumeister as Lucy
- Kai WiesingerKai WiesingerKai Wiesinger is a German actor.-Life and work:Kai Wiesinger began taking private acting lessons as a teenager. After his Zivildienst , he became an acting student in Munich...
as Dr. Seward - Alessio BoniAlessio BoniAlessio Boni is an Italian actor.Boni was born in Sarnico. In 1992, Boni finished his theatre studies at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica. The second of three, Marco is the eldest and Andrea is the youngest brother...
as Quincy - Conrad Hornby as Arthur HolmwoodArthur HolmwoodArthur Holmwood is a fictional character in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.-In the novel:He is engaged to Lucy Westenra, and is best friends with the other two men who proposed to her on the very same day — Quincey Morris and Doctor John Seward...
- Brett Forest as Roenfield
- Alessia MerzAlessia MerzAlessia Merz is an Italian model, television host and showgirl.-Biography:She debuted in 1992 in the Canale 5 show Bulli e pupe. In September she took part in Non è la RAIs second edition, where she remained until 1995...
as Fair Woman - Piroska Kiss as Dark Woman
- István Göz as Male Nurse
- Barna Illyés as Border Guard
- Csaba Pethes as Captain of the Tug
- Balázs Tardy as Tug Crew Member 1
- Levente Törköly as Tug Crew Member 2
- Ilona Kassai as Woman at the Hotel
- Imola Gáspár as Woman at the Manor
- Csilla Bakonyi
- Petra Hauman
- Tibor Kenderesi
- Andrew DivoffAndrew DivoffAndrew Daniel Divoff is a Venezuelan film and television actor, best known for playing the evil Djinn in the two first Wishmaster films and the villains Cherry Ganz in Another 48 Hrs., Boris Bazylev in Air Force One, Ivan Sarnoff in CSI: Miami and Mikhail Bakunin in Lost.- Early life :Divoff was...
as Doctor
Reception
Critical reaction to the film has been mixed to negative. David Johnson of DVD Verdict offered a positive review, saying: "Everyone involved commits to doing an okay job, and the production values and general atmosphere help shed the burden of the film stock and sad-sack effects. Bergin's Dracula is effectively crusty and malicious, and Muriel Baumeister has a good time hamming it up as the infected Lucy." Others were less positive: The SF, Horror, and Fantasy Film Review wrote, "While the film does an excellent job in updating Dracula to the midst of New Europe's nouveau richeNouveau riche
The nouveau riche , or new money, comprise those who have acquired considerable wealth within their own generation...
, director Roger Young lets the show down considerably in the second half. ... The script does get caught up in some pretentious natterings [and] the performances are particularly uneven."
Noel Megahey of DVD Times said, "It's [the] awkwardness in the script and the dialogue that weighs heavily on the film, although the film actually does operate half-way successfully when it moves into the non-verbal action sequences. What really sinks the film in the end, though, is not the weakness of the special effects, but the performances and the delivery of the pan-European cast that struggles through their semi-dubbed English-language lines." David Hall of EatMyBrains.com said, "There have been far worse cinematic incarnations of Stoker's tale than this — but it must rank as one of the dreariest adaptations ever — a toothless bore shorn of any frisson of eroticism, with nary a drop of blood in sight."