[ManchestrMorgue]

Yesterday I received a copy of the recently released DVD of BBC's production of Count Dracula.

The DVD is a bare-bones affair, without any special features. There are however, some previews at the start that you can't skip, can't fast-forward, and even the stop button is disabled for. Nice work :(

The picture quality is more than acceptable - a job well done in this respect.

Now to the movie itself. When I saw this film, it must have been 1978 or '79. It was re-broadcast where I live two years later (unfortunately I missed it) and I don't think it was ever shown again. So basically I had been waiting to see it again since then. I was afraid that the combination of having seen it when very young, and years of anticipation would lead to dissapointment.

It didn't, however production values are certainly from an era gone by. Special effects aren't as special as one would hope for. However most of the actors put in quite a reasonable performance.

Louis Jourdan is in the title role, and he handles this role well, albeit a bit too suavely; lacking the menace of Christopher Lee or the charisma of Bela Lugosi.

This adaptation sticks remarkably close to the book, when compared to just about any other film bearing the classic's name. There are some variances but they are, for the most part, relatively minor.

Certainly a film worth seeing, or revisiting if you haven't seen it in a while. Don't expect lavish special effects, but do expect a well-told adaptation of a classic gothic romance.