Dvd release : El Conde Drácula. (Jess Franco)

**Jacob Remery** · 17th November 2006, 02:14 PM

good news...which i just read at http://www.dvddrive-in.com/
(personally, i like this movie (and Jess Franco movies in general), but i don't think many Mr Lee fans will like this one ;) )

Jess Franco's El Conde Drácula or just Bram Stoker's Count Dracula will be released on the 27th of February by Dark Sky films in the US.
http://www.darkskyfilms.com

[left][quote]On February 27, Dark Sky Films will release Jess Franco

**Andrés Verdú** · 17th November 2006, 03:05 PM

Hello everyone,

Thanks for this news, Jacob! Very interesting to see Jess Franco's El Conde Drácula coming to DVD. I bought a VHS copy of this film a few years ago, and have mixed feelings about its quality. I think it shows a lot of promise at the beginning, but deteriorates rapidly. Apparently, from what I read in Jonathan Rigby's book on Mr Lee, the film was supposed to have been a multi-million dollar project, with Terence Fisher directing and Vincent Price as Van Helsing. Well, I don't know what the budget turned out to be, but I'm sure it was nowhere near millions, unless the currency was in liras. Jess Franco as director - well, if you're familiar with his work, you know what kind of film you're going to get. Of course it would have been a completely different kind of film had Terence Fisher been in charge, but, having said that, this is not all that bad an effort, and, by Franco's standards, I would said rather tame in comparison to other titles I could name. I don't know whether or not I'm right, but I seem to recall reading somewhere that Mr Lee and Herbert Lom weren't present together for the recording of scenes they share in the film. In other words, they are each playing to nothing when the camera cuts from one actor to the other. I would have loved to have seen Vincent Price's Van Helsing! That would've been interesting. I think Herbert Lom is a very good actor, but I somehow don't think he was ideally cast as Van Helsing.

Still, I would say probably the only film I have seen which has represented the character Count Dracula exactly as Bram Stoker described him, that is to say an old man gradually growing younger throughout the story. The physical appearance with the white hair and moustache is precisely right (unlike the Coppola version with Gary Oldman, which is not to say it's not a good film, but it's not really Stoker's Dracula on the screen). Definitely worthwhile watching this, but bear in mind it has its shortcomings. Take care:

Warmest regards,

Andrés

**Joakim Lundberg** · 17th November 2006, 06:38 PM

This version is good but it could have used some perfection in the script and the tempo is too slow at a few points. But sadly it was made with very little money and they probably had to choose by making it or not. But the cast is wonderful.
I hope Klaus Kinski behaved on the set. I haven't read anything about that.
I hope they release some other films Mr Lee made on DVD like the third musketeer film or around any other non horror films he made during the 70's.

**Isabel Alves** · 18th November 2006, 12:53 AM

I didn't like the film particularly.
Any thing in him, not to be Mr. Lee, it pleased me in this film.

Already, Dracula Père et Fils was very interesting and entertaining in spite of the precarious image. Without speaking that the "Father" was very seductive. The person cannot speak the same of "Filho", Ferdinand. hihihi..... :embarasse