0 Rage 4- The Michigan Daily - Weekend etc. - November 5, 1992 'Dracula' from by Megan Abbott Brain Stoker's classic tale of an aristocratic vampire and his mates who prey on the blood of the living has consistently fascinated filmmakers. "Dracula" has been filmed countless times with a stunning variety of inter- pretations surrounding portrayals of the mysterious Transylvanian count. With the impending release of Francis Ford Coppola's psychosexual take on the story (titled "Brain Stoker's Dracula") there is arenewed interest in the novel and its cinematic adaptations. "Dracula" films run the gamut from the very great ("Nosferatu, A Sym- phony of Horror") to a string of B- movie loose variations of the story (usuaPy with Christopher Lee, such as "Taste the Blood of Dracula") to low- budget, sex-drenched exploitation films ("The Thirsty Dead"). Coppola's new version promises to be the most literal (and literate) adaptation Hollywood has generated, but there are other "Dracula" films worth taking a look at. The memorable 1922 film, "Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror" renders a fairly close telling of Stoker's story (although the names are altered). Directed by the great German film- maker F. W. Murnau, "Nosferatu" (which means "undead") is a master- piece of German Expressionism. The vampire (Max Shreck) is a hairless, elongated, decidedly unromantic fig- ure. He is a figure of fear, with long, claw-like fingers and the slender front teeth of a rat. The emphasis here is on the sick- ness, plague, and death that the vam- pire brings when he finds his way to Bremen. There is little eroticism in "Nosferatu," as that would signal vital- ity. Instead, this vampire is both cruel feeder, and pathetic victim. He can only be defeated by the moral purity which will rid the city of the pestilence wrought by the vampire. This murky, sexless vision of "Dracula" (which was remade by Werner Herzog in 1979 as "Nosferatu the Vampyre") terrifies in a way the more romantic visions of Stoker's novel can never match. In 1931 Tod Browning made what would becomes the most famous and most parodied versions of "Dracula." Starring Bela Lugosi as the count, Browning's film was the first to for- ward the "tuxedo Dracula." Indeed, Lugosi is a drawing-room (and bed- room) vampire, with his slicked-back campy to hair and formal attire. He also fashions a central European accent (of sorts) with which he gives dramatic render- ings to the well-known lines like, "Lis- ten to (the wolves). Children of the night. What music they make." Though people often mock their version, Browning and Lugosi are ac- tually very masterful in their work. Lugosi is an eerie, compelling, seduc- tive count. Through clever dissolves, extensive use of mist, and great touches such as insert shots of rats, armadillos, and insects, Browning provides aseam- less kind of horror. Granted, there is a bitof camp to the film. For instance, the Transylvanian peasants are broadly sketched ("Vee the people of the moun- tain believe the undead valk the night") and Mina (Helen Chandler) offers some unintentionally funny dialogue: "Oh, I suppose (Dracula) is all right, but give me someone a little more normal." However, Dwight Frye's insect- craving Renfield chews the scenery with true style. Moreover, the bedroom visits by Dracula and the scene where Dracula's wives descend on a victim are chilling. Browning's method of dollying in towards the motionless count, as if in subservience to him, inspires a genuine horror which all the gore in current films could not match. In 1979 John Badham's "Dracula" tried to offer a more modern telling of Stoker's novel. Although set in 1897, Badham gives us a heroine (Kate Nelligan) who considers herself an in- dependent woman. She readily em- cruel braces Count Dracula as her new aris- tocratic lover. Indeed, this Dracula (Frank Langella) is romance-novel ready, dancing and dining with his intended victims. But Badham poorly handles this romantic "Dracula." The love scenes, with all their flashing red special ef- fects, are curiously bland and contrived. And Langella looks more like a Disco Age lothario, with an unbuttoned shirt and blow-dried mane. There is consid- erable blood and violence, but no real horror. Everything is done too typi- cally and with too little cinematic style. The idea of Dracula as a proud aristo- crat determined to sustain the family line (he says, "I am the last descendent of a conquering race") does not inspire fear, only an intense dislike for his exploitive kind. The time is ripe for a more contem- porary effort in dramatizing Stoker's immeasurably seductive novel. Judg- ing from the previews, it appears Coppola is emphasizing the intense eroticism of "Dracula," an interpreta- tion which so far has largely been ex- plored in an unsuccessful way. So there is new, exciting ground for Coppola to break with his "Love Never Dies" ren- dition of the standard. Let's hope he doesn't disappoint us. "I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the super-sensitive skin of my throat, and the hard dents of two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing there. I closed my eyes in a languorous ecstasy andwaited-waitedwithbeat- ing heart." 0 COUPON! COUPON! COUPON! COUPON! State of the Art? Mike Eisinger puts the finishing touches on the lobby of the State Theatre, no longer merely a useless marquee over Urban Outfitters. Starting Friday, the State will be showing second-run movies for$2.50. See page 7 for showtimes. Battleship Patinkin WRITE FOR THEATER CALL CARINA A763-0379 O EXPLORE THE POSSIBELITIES OF A CAREER IN EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITIES OF A CAREER IN INFORMATION AND LIBRARY STUDIES OPEN HOUSE Schoql of Information and Library Studies SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1992 2:00-4:00 p.m. I- .4- PATINKIN Continued from page 1 A buddy of mine called the songs 'America's classic music."' Referring to his performance, Patinkin called himself a perfection- ist. "No one could criticize me as much as I criticize myself ... I care a great deal about what I do - I care a great deal about the freedom that I want to achieve." Patinkin's list of co-workers is phenomenal: Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Madonna, Will- iam Hurt,just toname a few. "Do you want their phone numbers?" he asked with a chuckle. "Their favorite reci- pes?" When asked if he favored one in particular, he named his wife, actress Kathryn Grody ("The Lemon Sis- ters"), whom he met in a Michael Weller play called "Split." 0,the subjectof amentor, Patinkin becair e instantly serious and senti- mental. "Yes, there is [someone], but no one knows who this person is - it's private; it's just someone who taught me a great deal about life." Whoever this mystery mentor is, and whatever he or she taught Patinkin, it certainly paid off. His success can be attributed to his versatility. "Dress Casual" is a culmination of his expe- rience in all of the genres of perfor- mance. Patinkin is definitely out to prove himself to be more than the 13th- century swashbuckler Inigo Montoya. MANDY PATINKIN IN CONCERT: DRESS CASUAL will be performed Friday, November 6 at 8 p.m. at the Michigan Theater. Tickets are $29.50, $15 rush. Call 668-8397.for info. COUPON! COUPON! COUPON! COUPON! COUPON! 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Post- InbteIIciw#-- HOO Y FOR A RETRO 60's TV BASH C:m.plet Underdog Episode 'George Of The Jungle 'Super Chicken M Hoppi Hooper & Uncle Waldo " Tennessee Tuxedo " Go-Go Gophers 'Classic 60's Kids Commercials November 19-20 GAN THEATER rY " ANN ARBOR a 668-8480 0:30 pm / Fri. 7:00 & Midnight a I 0 A N N A R B O R Q imp/ionr (rckcr S A MU E L WO N G, MU SIC DI R E CT O R Something Tremendous Happened in Ann Arbor on October 3rd--Were You There? A New Musical Era Began... "Samuel Wong made a dO0 spectacular debut... leading l. O [the Ann Arbor Symphony Stdel- Orchestral to outstanding new achievements." The Ann Arbor News Don't miss Maestro Wong on November 7th! C-,+-,J k . - r- 01 k *. T~- t. TL, - 00 no m I - I.nommspww