First off, this BBC version of Dracula is much glossier than other adaptations of the novel. However it doesn't follow the same exact plot of Bram Stoker's novel and as such there are many scenes from the novel that are cut from the screen version. This proves to be a major stumbling block as the version often feels like its under pressure to cram everything into a 90 minute production and as a result feels rushed and doesn't allow for a sense of darkness, foreboding or menace to develop, instead it is just there waiting for us when the story opens. What it could have done with was more time dedicated to Dracula before he arrived in England.
The TV version lacks punch because it doesn't allow for an adequate build up of terror and suspense, as the novel does. There is very little shown of Jonathan Harker and the count in Transylvania, and moments such as Dracula scrabbling vertically down a wall like a lizard are left out, there was also very little reference to the 3 brides of Dracula, which I found disappointing. These moments are strategically placed in Stoker's novel to build up the audience's fear and develop the being of Dracula, without them Dracula is simply presented as an evil creature, with no explanation why or how he has come to exist.
However, the scenes in Engalnd are, for much of the time, very good. Sophia Myles gives a very good performance as Lucy. The additional theme of syphillis works well in the story, and the tension between newly weds is also intriguing. But at the climax of the version there is a lack of total emotional and plot catharsis. I think that the main problem for this version of Dracula is that it isn't involving enough, it doesn't grip the viewer enough, I found myself at times reaching for the remote, which is something I rarely do.
Acting wise, Marc Warren is spectacularly miscast as Dracula, and while it is evident that he is doing the best he can, he comes off more like a public schoolboy gone off the rails, rather than an seductive ancient evil force (save for once deliciously evil decapitation near the end). However Sophia Myles is very good as Lucy, conveying a troubled woman torn between lust and love, she is also brilliantly seductive and evil when in Vampiric form.
All in all, I was mildly entertained by Dracula, but I felt it was an opportunity missed, with a longer running time, more scenes in Transylvania, a sharper dialogue, closer reference to the original novel and with a more menacing Count, this could have been something a bit special, unfortunately it left me feeling a tad flat.
The TV version lacks punch because it doesn't allow for an adequate build up of terror and suspense, as the novel does. There is very little shown of Jonathan Harker and the count in Transylvania, and moments such as Dracula scrabbling vertically down a wall like a lizard are left out, there was also very little reference to the 3 brides of Dracula, which I found disappointing. These moments are strategically placed in Stoker's novel to build up the audience's fear and develop the being of Dracula, without them Dracula is simply presented as an evil creature, with no explanation why or how he has come to exist.
However, the scenes in Engalnd are, for much of the time, very good. Sophia Myles gives a very good performance as Lucy. The additional theme of syphillis works well in the story, and the tension between newly weds is also intriguing. But at the climax of the version there is a lack of total emotional and plot catharsis. I think that the main problem for this version of Dracula is that it isn't involving enough, it doesn't grip the viewer enough, I found myself at times reaching for the remote, which is something I rarely do.
Acting wise, Marc Warren is spectacularly miscast as Dracula, and while it is evident that he is doing the best he can, he comes off more like a public schoolboy gone off the rails, rather than an seductive ancient evil force (save for once deliciously evil decapitation near the end). However Sophia Myles is very good as Lucy, conveying a troubled woman torn between lust and love, she is also brilliantly seductive and evil when in Vampiric form.
All in all, I was mildly entertained by Dracula, but I felt it was an opportunity missed, with a longer running time, more scenes in Transylvania, a sharper dialogue, closer reference to the original novel and with a more menacing Count, this could have been something a bit special, unfortunately it left me feeling a tad flat.