Count Dracula: Special Edition

As director Jess Franco explains in a bonus interview on this DVD, the intention behind this 1970 film of Bram Stoker's famous novel about the titular “dark lord of vampires [who] feeds on the blood of luscious beauties” (as the press material puts it) was to remain faithful to the book. Initially, Count Dracula does just that, and the leads—Christopher Lee as Dracula, Herbert Lom as Van Helsing, and Klaus Kinski as Renfield—are good choices for their respective roles. Unfortunately, however, the film is sabotaged by a barely adequate supporting cast, sloppy direction and editing, Spanish and Italian locations that don't remotely suggest Transylvania and England, and wretched effects—the result of an obviously meager budget. (One sequence uses papier-m(ch( boulders that have to be seen to be disbelieved, while another features an attack by stuffed animals, and a third presents wolves impersonated by German shepherds!) In addition to the director's interview, DVD extras include a stills gallery, a text tribute to young Spanish actress Soledad Miranda (who played “luscious beauty” Lucy, and was later killed in an automobile accident), and—most engagingly—a 90-minute audio version of Dracula, read with great relish by Lee, accompanied by sound effects and music. Dracula completists might want to consider this, but otherwise it is not recommended. (F. Swietek)