Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992/Coppola/Sony Cinema Series Blu-ray)

Picture: A Sound: A Extras: B Film: A

Just in time for Halloween comes Sony's re-issue of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), arguably one of the best theatrical representations of the source material after of course the Bela Lugosi original and the Christopher Lee/Hammer Studios interpretations. Gary Oldman superiorly stars as the Count in one of his best performances under the direction of Francis Ford Coppola in what may be his last really great film along with co-stars Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, and Anthony Hopkins.

This is actually the second edition to come out on Blu-ray and is highly superior in sound and picture clarity to its original release (see elsewhere on this site). Sony has gone back and sharpened the image even more, along with a powerful new sound mix and new extras, which they plan to continue in this signature series this fall/winter with the exciting announcement of Leon The Professional and The Fifth Element to also be released under this label. If you don't own this film on Blu-ray yet then this is the edition that you want to get. It's definitely worth the upgrade.

The story is that of love, immortality, revenge, and monsters. A young English lawyer, Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves), is sent to a gloomy village in eastern Europe. He is captured and imprisoned by the undead vampire Dracula (Oldman), who travels to London, inspired by a photograph of Harker's betrothed, Mina Murray (Winona Ryder). In Britain, Dracula begins a reign of seduction and terror, draining the life from Mina's closest friend, Lucy Westenra. Lucy's friends gather together to try to drive away Dracula and rescue Mina led by Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins).

What I love most about this film is its rich gothic style and its creative transitions through scenes. No other production of Dracula that I've seen has been quite this beautiful to look at and feels almost like a storybook come to life. The only other comparison I can think of that is this rich in Gothic style is Tim Burton's highly underrated Sleepy Hollow, which is among my favorite films to watch during the Halloween season. The makeup and special effects Bram Stoker's Dracula are also top notch with the many stunning looks that Dracula has throughout as both man and beast.

The film is presented in lush, new 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 that does not compromise the image as the previous Blu-ray edition did and new audio tracks mastered in lossless Dolby Atmos, lossless Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (finally taken from the original Sony Dynamic Digital Sound 7.1 soundmaster!) and English Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. In addition there are also Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks on the disc in French and Spanish. An Ultraviolet digital copy of the film is also included.

Extras include:

Reflections in Blood: Francis Ford Coppola and Bram Stoker's Dracula

Practical Magicians: A Collaboration Between Father and Son

Rare 1993 Commentary with Francis Ford Coppola, Roman Coppola, and Greg Cannom

Deleted Scenes

Audio Commentary and Film Introduction by Director Francis Ford Coppola

Four (4) Legacy Featurettes

There are two editions available, the normal Blu-ray (reviewed here) and the Supreme Cinema Series which is the same disc only with a clear case and a 24-page booklet with production notes and photos.

If you are a fan of this film, then this Blu-ray is a must have!

- James Harland Lockhart V

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