Cinema
Dracula
Terence Fisher · 1958
Synopsis
In 1885, Jonathan Harker presents himself at the castle of Count Dracula, near Klausenburg, as a librarian. A young woman begs him to help her leave; the count receives him with great courtesy, then leaves him alone for the night. Harker opens his diary and we finally learn why he has come: he is there to destroy his host. By day, he goes down to the crypt. A few days later, his friend Doctor Van Helsing, seeing that he does not return, sets off to look for him.
Context
The film was shot at Bray Studios for about eighty-one thousand pounds and earned several million dollars worldwide. British censorship demanded cuts in two scenes, including the count's nocturnal visit to a sleeping woman, and removed a shot judged too violent. Japan received the film complete, and perhaps part of Europe. These reels were thought lost until reels six to nine, thirty-six minutes in all, were found in Tokyo in 2011, the first five having burned in 1984.
Who it is for
Eighty-two minutes, in colour; the tightened story keeps Harker's journal from the 1897 book.
Prizes and reception
The film that established the image of a fanged count, far from that of the 1931 actor, and opened Hammer's series of Dracula films.
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