The Grim Cellar

1992, USA, Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Colour, Running Time: 123 minutes

Review Source: DVD, R2, Columbia; Video: Anamorphic 1.75:1, Audio: DD 5.1

Setting off for Transylvania to sell English property to the enigmatic Count Dracula, Jonathan Harker encounters and ventures through a mystical land to the count’s castle. Dracula seems to be an ageing, ailing nobleman but, due to renouncing God several centuries before, he has become immortal and cursed to live off the blood of the living for eternity. Harker soon finds himself imprisoned by the strange man as he makes the property deal. Recognising the woman he loves (who committed suicide in his own natural lifetime) in Harker’s fiancée, Mina, as a possible descendent, the count proceeds to enchant the young lady upon his arrival in England having left Harker behind at the hands of three undead women (not a bad fate by any stretch). But Mina’s friend, Lucy, becomes a victim of Dracula’s blood-thirst and on the scene is summoned the eminent Professor Van Helsing, who suspects vampirism as the cause of Lucy’s rabid/anaemic state and, before long, the Romanian count himself becomes the focus of his suspicions.

It’s a story that hardly needs iteration, even to people who’ve never gone out of their way to read Abraham Stoker’s 1897 novel or watch one of the many cinematic adaptations. Those really started back in 1922 with Nosferatu (the unofficial version by Murnau whose prints were ordered to be burned for unauthorised use of material) through to famous versions from Universal and Hammer studios. The story also inspired some idiosyncratic interpretations in the shape of Blacula, Blood for Dracula, The Horrible Orgies of Count Dracula, crap like Zoltan Hound of Dracula and about a million others (presumably copyright control was lost years ago…). Coppola’s take on the story is sometimes maligned however I’d suggest that there is significant imaginative input here to feast your eyes and ears upon: consistently there are things happening both visually and aurally such as shadows moving across the walls in a physically impossible manner and whispers coming from all corners of the room (if you’re listening in 5.1 of course) as well as the delineation of generally thoughtful compositions and camera movement - the stunning visuals make this piece a moving work of art. Some viewers/Stoker fans may abhor Gary Oldman’s eccentric performance as the titular character but I think it’s an adequately chaotic and personal portrayal - who knows precisely what Stoker had in his mind really? I do, however, think that the casting of Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves as the Harkers was a problem (Reeves was made for The Matrix, Speed, and Bill & Ted but that‘s about it; Ryder wasn‘t even any good at shoplifting), but I’m reasonably able to overlook this, probably due to the fact that the editing whisks us around so many different locations and characters so rapidly. As a matter of interest the film was made just before the massive CGI revolution of movie special effects and most of what has been achieved appears to have been done in the traditional sense. Accompanying the omnipresent sound effects is a supremely epic and sweeping score by master composer Wojciech Kilar (The Ninth Gate), a constituent of the technical efficiency that pervades the production. Disregarding the occasionally excessive emphasis on romance (and it is only occasional), the aforementioned miscasting, and several unnecessary instances of ostentatiousness on the part of various crew/cast, the film is an example of a beautiful and fantastic world that one can allow him/herself to be absorbed into should they wish to do so.

Quite old now the Columbia disc was exemplary of the DVD format for its time. Nowadays, while it is still highly detailed, it lacks a little vibrancy compared to most modern releases. It’s still a pleasing (albeit slightly cropped) image and the 5.1 track itself serves the film well, enveloping the viewer in Stoker’s suitably recreated supernatural world (the later bonus-less ‘Superbit’ release contained a marginally more detailed image with a superior DTS soundtrack; Criterion also put out a 3 disc SE on Laserdisc years ago with many more extras than are contained on the DVD). Included is an excellent documentary looking at certain aspects of the film’s making and revealing actors such as Oldman taking the project surprisingly seriously. There is also a stills feature focusing on Eiko Ishioka’s amazing costume designs. Overall, a 90% wonderful piece of re-viewable and literate work with flaws that you can ignore if you‘re willing.