tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post5362996387402553706..comments2024-03-12T12:38:23.542-04:00Comments on The Kind of Face You Hate: The Kind of Face You Slash - Day 1: Zoöphagybill r.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-63135346635636915652011-10-03T10:13:34.745-04:002011-10-03T10:13:34.745-04:00Fred - I will take all try to remember all that. ...Fred - I will take all try to remember all that. And I'm not sure that I've <i>never</i> seen a Franco film...I just can't remember now. And Kinski seems like a natural Renfield, obviously.<br /><br />Jose - Thank you, and yes! That wolf scene you mentioned is terrific, one of the best parts of the book. How did I forget about that?<br /><br />And, also yes, all that shit about which company and tracking down the coffins of dirt...there's no tension or suspense to any of it. All it (occasionally) does is give Stoker an excuse to write in dialect, as Harker or Holmwood or somebody questions some laborer. It's worth mentioning here that writing in dialect is the <i>worst</i>.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-68889862054307553222011-10-02T00:13:08.674-04:002011-10-02T00:13:08.674-04:00Hot damn, Bill, if I didn't agree with just ab...Hot damn, Bill, if I didn't agree with just about every point you made in this review. I had very similar thoughts upon reading the novel for the first time. In particular, I found the idea of Drac having "a child-brain", one that hasn't quite fully developed and acquired as much forces of EEEEVIL as it possibly could have, to be some rich stuff and a hot ticket to a "what if?" type storyline where the Count lives on (which happens to be the plot of ANNO DRACULA if I'm not mistaken, so there you go).<br /><br />I was grinning from ear to ear with your descriptions of the heroes' search for the vampire. That is some CASTLE OF OTRANTO-esque turgid stuff right there. And add to the fact that all the male characters sound so similar to the point that it's almost impossible to tell them apart and you find yourself bashing your head in around Page 457 when Stoker's telling you what shipping service the boys decided to ring up on to inquire where Drac's boxes of dirt are headed. But I go on...<br /><br />Really, really great and comprehensive review of a still wonderfully entertaining novel that shows some of its scars (SCARS OF DRACULA... anyone? anyone?). <br /><br />P.S. That scene where Dracula summons the wolves to devour the village wench whose baby was eaten? Sadly unrepresented in cinema and all-around AMAZING.Jose Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18152405075039057304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-36532996983581252502011-10-01T20:24:03.609-04:002011-10-01T20:24:03.609-04:00Bill, word of advice with Conde Dracula: while it ...Bill, word of advice with <b>Conde Dracula</b>: while it is one of his most accessible films with an excellent cast, it is also one of his least representative works. Nevertheless, it may not be a bad place to start as it was the first or second one I saw (not sure if I saw this on TV after I saw Awful Dr. Orloff also on TV in the early 70s). One other plus that I didn't mention: Klaus Kinski may be the best Renfield ever.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05768886260813823765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-60154212214419324802011-10-01T13:28:36.853-04:002011-10-01T13:28:36.853-04:00Bryce - Keanu Reeves is inexcusable in that film. ...Bryce - Keanu Reeves is inexcusable in that film. I truly cannot believe that performance was allowed to happen.<br /><br />Fred - Thank you. And yes, you're right, Quincey's last minute heroics are quite truthful, which is way I love it so much. It becomes extremely wearying to read a book of this sort and peg early on the, at most, two characters most likely to bring about evil's downfall, and then be 100 per cent correct. That's now how it works, and while I hardly expect my vampire stories to rigorously reflect everyday life, any attempt to step outside of an expected formula is very welcome. And somehow, Quincey's heroism and death add a poignancy that the death of, say, Van Helsing or even Harker would not have had.<br /><br />And I've never seen the Franco film. I've seen almost none of his movies, in fact, which is something I've been meaning to fix. I'll check that one out first.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-53019016590729815842011-10-01T12:39:30.838-04:002011-10-01T12:39:30.838-04:00Excellent review of Bram Stoker's Dracula (the...Excellent review of Bram Stoker's Dracula (the book, not Coppola's movie). The passage you cite about the conversation with breakfast may be Stoker's attempt to add color to the character of Van Helsing, add to the notion that he is a bit of a nutty professor, making Mina wait for an answer until he has finished dining. With respect to Quincy delivering the coup d'grace, it Dracula speaks to us in the same way we remember a bench player in a football or baseball game making the key play in the big game, like how Met fans will always remember Al Weis hitting a homer off of the Orioles' Dave McNally to win a World Series game in 1969 or Timmy Smith coming out of nowhere to rush for a then-record 204 yards in Super Bowl XXII to lead the Redskins to victory over the Broncos. It is unexpected, yet quite truthful, when someone of little note rises to the occassion, to win a game, a battle, or slay a dragon. David and Goliath, to cite a Biblical cliche.<br /><br />I'm surprised no one's mentioned Jess Franco's <b>Conde Dracula</b>? With respect to adapting the novel, it is probably as close to the chronology and faithful to the events, except for maybe the BBC telefilm with Louis Jordan. True, it was not one of the best versions (and it wasn't one of Jess's better films), but Lee does put on a great performance, and any film with the lovely Soledad Miranda can't be all bad.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05768886260813823765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-22130632745619011452011-10-01T11:46:17.472-04:002011-10-01T11:46:17.472-04:00Yeah it's a real toss up whether that's th...Yeah it's a real toss up whether that's the worst movie I love or the best movie I hate. <br /><br />If only it were silent. <br /><br />Fun thing noticed while watching it last time, Keanu Reeves totally looks like Andy Warhol when he wears the fright wig.Bryce Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-63216529744564113442011-10-01T09:45:44.330-04:002011-10-01T09:45:44.330-04:00I'm constantly surprised by the horror films y...I'm constantly surprised by the horror films you, such a vehement anti-horror guy, make exceptions for.<br /><br />Anyway, I don't hate Coppola's movie. I hate parts, really like other parts, and find the whole thing extremely frustrating.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-73202917321382770552011-10-01T09:26:04.746-04:002011-10-01T09:26:04.746-04:00Damn, this was pretty interesting. Except for the ...Damn, this was pretty interesting. Except for the general trashing of Coppola's Dracula, which I think is pretty good. But, again, what do I know of horror?WelcometoLAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05490618592042119755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-61816319030429311812011-10-01T08:26:07.800-04:002011-10-01T08:26:07.800-04:00Greg, I really don't think it IS a tough balan...Greg, I really don't think it IS a tough balance. I think it would be very easy to do a straight adaptation, very stark and simple, with or without the use of the multiple narrators. I think that can work, but I don't think you need to do it. Anyway, the problem has been that nobody has wanted to do it. DRACULA became so much bigger than itself that people have wanted to twist it and upend it as soon as they had the opportunity. This all being fed by the fact that the Browning film wasn't even based on the novel, but on Balderson's stage adaptation/butchering, and the novel almost never had a chance onscreen. But it wouldn't be hard to do, and I wish someone would do it.<br /><br />Robert - Not only <i>might</i> I want to read ANNO DRACULA, I <i>do</i> want to read ANNO DRACULA. And time permitting, and all that...but I doubt I'll get it done for posting this month. But I've been wanting to read it for years, the only thing holding me back being that I hadn't sat down and read Stoker's novel yet.<br /><br />Bryce - Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I can't believe Greg took your joke. What a fucking punk.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-68332187642228631902011-10-01T03:22:27.216-04:002011-10-01T03:22:27.216-04:00Damn it Greg took my joke.
Well Bill not much mo...Damn it Greg took my joke. <br /><br />Well Bill not much more to add then this is a great start and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.Bryce Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17040954580033470664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-53534641624751081832011-10-01T02:08:24.920-04:002011-10-01T02:08:24.920-04:00You may want, at some point, take a look at Kim Ne...You may want, at some point, take a look at Kim Newman's ANNO DRACULA, which starts with the notion that Van Helsing and Co. were NOT successful in killing Dracula... it's an ongoing series (THE BLOODY RED BARON and KINGDOM OF TEARS:ANNO DRACULA 1958 A.K.A. DRACULA CHA CHA CHA), and Newman has a lot of fun with it.Robert H.http://mimezine.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-80833544486938244002011-10-01T00:58:33.938-04:002011-10-01T00:58:33.938-04:00You analyze Dracula well for someone who has not y...You analyze Dracula well for someone who has not yet lived a single lifetime.<br /><br />Seriously, so much to cover here. I have read Dracula, sort of, kind of but not really. I've read it in bits and pieces, snippets here and there and, frankly, using the Vampire encyclopedia and its thorough synopsis (better than Cliff notes) I felt I had read it. <br /><br />But not really so I got it on kindle and I'm reading it now. Nonetheless, I know the entire story so what the hell does it really matter at this point?<br /><br />Now, if you take some of Coppola's Dracula (the Quincy bowie knife slaying but not the Mina shit that happens after that with Drac), some of Herzog's Nosferatu and some of the original Nosferatu and mix in a bit of Hammer and Universal's Dracula, you could make the whole thing work, a little bit. <br /><br />The problem is, either he's a romantic hero (Coppola's) or he's a rat-like beast (Nosferatu). Christopher Lee and Bela's Drac (Hammer and Universal) probably are the best for me but adapting the novel is a problem because there's so many different narrator's. This confused Coppola's. To make it work, it should be stripped down, that is, free of narration and Dracula should be evil but not completely rat-like.<br /><br />It's a tough balance, obviously, as witnessed by over a century of, essentially, failure to properly adapt the book. <br /><br />And, yes, I love that Quincy is the one to kill Drac with his big-ass knife. It's a great cap to the story of his pursuit.Greg F.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12988142631436195913noreply@blogger.com