Bram Stoker's Dracula 30th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review

"I've crossed oceans of time to find you."

by Casimir Harlow
MSRP: £30.00

Bram Stoker's Dracula Review

Lavish and luxurious, Coppola's magnificent ode to Bram Stoker's epistolary novel is the auteur's last great feature, a flawed but fabulous fable that puts the heart back into this ancient icon, giving audiences a reason to actually care about the fact that everybody seems to want to shove a stake in it.

As anybody familiar with the fictional but likely all-too-close-to-the-truth Paramount+ TV Show, The Offer, will probably know too well, the decade of making cinema-defining classics like Apocalypse Now and The Godfather Part I and Part II was not a particularly forgiving one for Coppola. After everything he put into making The Godfather, and all the Box Office success he found there, he blew almost all of it on Apocalypse Now, taking his health with it too, for good measure. And in the decade after, although commercial success would continue to elude him, it's the lack of critical acclaim that would be more worrying, turning in an underrated classic in Rumble Fish, but otherwise coasting through a sea of messy productions until Paramount bailed him out with an offer he couldn't refuse - to make the third Godfather film he previously had no intentions on making.

Movies & TV Shows Review

21

The Offer (Paramount+) Premiere TV Show Review

The Offer (Paramount+) Premiere TV Show Review

by Cas Harlow ·
This colourful, fictionalised look at the making of The Godfather playfully recreates the violent birth of Coppola's epic, and the very real threats to its existence.  
8
Movies & TV Shows Review

90

The Godfather Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Review

The Godfather Trilogy 4K Blu-ray Review

by Simon Crust ·
The greatest gangster saga ever told comes to 4K, with all new restorations, making this a set you cannot refuse.  
10
Movies & TV Shows Review

207

Apocalypse Now Final Cut 4K Blu-ray Review

Apocalypse Now Final Cut 4K Blu-ray Review

by Simon Crust ·
We take a look at the Final Cut of Apocalypse Now, newly scanned in native 4K in a package that is sure to delight.  
10

But when Winona Ryder, of all people (she's one of the major reasons why The Godfather Part III ended up so flawed - her last-minute departure seeing understudy, Coppola's own daughter and now celebrated director in her own right Sofia Coppola, brought in to replace her, with fatal results), brought a Dracula script to his attention, Coppola was back! Originally intended for a TV adaptation, this Dracula interpretation spoke to him, weaving magic into Bram Stoker's Dracula novel - itself extremely hard to adapt given its structure as basically a series of letters - and gifting it an angle that few of the many, many, adaptations of Dracula had ever bothered with: as a tragic love story.

Engendering empathy in his repositioning of a previously devilish villain, Coppola found perfection in lead casting and lavish costume design evident right from the opening Fall of Constantinople setpiece, one of the single greatest sequences in the entire movie, which introduced the world to Gary Oldman's seminal Dracul, née Vlad the Impaler, replete with some of the finest battle armour designs in the history of cinema (the kind of design that feels like it inspired visionary artist Tarsem Singh's ideas for costumes in The Cell). Like a throwback to something out of John Boorman's Excalibur, Coppola's blood-drenched Romeo and Juliet-inspired setup informs the entire rest of the movie, which somehow manages to evoke the feeling of Stoker's original letter-based structure whilst also remaining resolutely coherent in terms of actual narrative.

... evoking a sense of melancholy and tragedy that has evaded the quintessential horror demon pretty-much since inception

In Oldman, Coppola found the perfect muse. Despite the fact that the now-renowned actor was far from enamoured by the idea of playing Dracula, like anyone at the time - not least a Brit trying to make his way in Hollywood - the mere opportunity to be in Francis Ford Coppola film, let alone star in it, was more than enough reason to commit his heart and soul. And that's precisely what he did, becoming synonymous with the iconic character in a way that took half a dozen outings for the likes of Christopher Lee, and evoking a sense of melancholy and tragedy that has evaded the quintessential horror demon pretty-much since inception. Indeed, Oldman would be so damn good in the role that he would cast a long shadow over just about everybody else, leaving the likes of a woefully miscast Keanu Reeves (who literally cited Oldman's presence as one of the reasons for why he 'didn't give his best performance') and even Ryder - who, judged on this, may not have exactly saved The Godfather Part III on acting alone - floundering, and even the great Anthony Hopkins having to ham it up to the max as Van "Cameo" Helsing. With rose-tinted familiarity, the supporting performances all feel quaintly charming thirty years on - eminently forgivable even - but there's no denying the hilarity of that damn accent.

Thankfully Oldman holds it all together, and Coppola's handling of the classically-stylised and ornately baroque production, and insistently sweeping, orchestral overtones, keeps the piece moving in a creepily disjointed fashion, affording a discordance that is far more unsettling than any of the film's more overt horror, allowing subtlety and nuance to pervade even from within a production so overtly lavish as to be almost garish. It's a technical marvel, employing techniques - spanning 70 years of cinematic trickery and in-camera effects - all in one film. Silent movies, shadow puppets, back projection, forced perspective, models, make-up, technicolor, cross-fades - it's so very dense with sheer craft. The backwards crawl across the ceiling, the lick of a straight razor, the insanely hellish sunsets in the background - it's all of this detail that makes Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula work. It's comfortably one of the best vampiric interpretations out there, and a classic love story at that, and though it is a shame that it is frequently ridiculed for some undeniably poor casting and accent decisions, once you've seen Oldman's Count 'Vlad The Impaler' Dracula, you're unlikely to ever forget him or the film. And neither should you.

Bram Stoker's Dracula 4K Video

Bram Stoker's Dracula
Included images are not sourced from the UHD.

Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula comes to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for the second time, a re-issue by Sony just five short years after its last release. The Ultra HD Blu-ray delivers a fabulous native 4K presentation, replete with lashings of filmic grain and texture, and adding in Dolby Vision HDR to this reissue for good measure, providing the cherry on an already delectable cake.

Dracula is presented as a 3840x2160/24p BT.2020 image in the film's theatrical aspect ratio of widescreen 1.85:1, using a Wide Colour Gamut (WCG), High Dynamic Range (HDR10 and Dolby Vision), and is encoded using the HEVC (H.265) codec.

We reviewed the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of Bram Stoker's Dracula on an LG 55B7 Dolby Vision 4K Ultra HD OLED TV with a Panasonic DP-UB820EB-K Dolby Vision HDR10+ 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player.

... adding in Dolby Vision HDR to this reissue for good measure, providing the cherry on an already delectable cake

Dracula was shot with all manner of cinematic techniques as already detailed, including rear projection, multiple exposures, miniature effects, compositing images with a forced perspective, matte paintings, front projection and reverse motion. Coppola went all-out to produce one of the most heavily effects-laden non-CG productions in the history of cinema, and all of these should rightly take their toll on the final product when held up to close - say, 4K - scrutiny. But this video presentation - reportedly identical (but for the Dolby Vision pass) to the 2017 remaster - is absolutely masterful in its rendering of every single damn frame, seemingly respectful to Coppola's craft, revelling in the palpable visual atmosphere evident throughout the production, and more than prepared to capture every moving shadow, and every flickering candle in all of its majesty.

Detail is excellent, displaying no signs of excessive DNR application, no unruly waxiness or softness, and a fine layer of suitably filmic grain pervades, lending texture to the entire piece. It's in the HDR, WCG and here Dolby Vision implication that the magic really happens though, with so much depth to the shadows, such fabulous handling of the contrast, and rich tones giving life to the ornately intricate settings and lavish accoutrements. Black levels are off-the-charts fabulous, the miniatures and elaborate sets all look stunning, and the thirty-year-old classic has simple never looked any better.

Although at the time of publication we were unable to directly compared the 2017 HDR10 edition with this new Dolby Vision version, we'll be sure to update once that's been done. Suffice to say, though, this looks to be the definitive edition to own.

Bram Stoker's Dracula 4K Audio

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Dracula's 4K Blu-ray enjoys what appears to be the exact same outstanding Dolby Atmos track that has adorned not only the previous 2017 4K release but even its preceding 2015 Blu-ray reissue, and, such is the testament to its quality, it continues to be one of the finest tracks on the format.

... one of the finest tracks on the format

Seven years on, and fans of the film should already be very familiar with it, but if not, then you're in for a real treat, with - much like the video - the production itself providing the nuances required to bring this engaging, evocative track to life. Nuance and detail is pervasive, picking up on skittering, gravity-defying rodents, wind wisping in, creaky floorboards, and echoing castle rooms, and disseminating it exquisitely across the array, crafting an encompassing, engaging, engulfing track that embraces the innate style of the production and delivers it right into your ears. Dialogue remains clear and coherent, and well prioritised, and that score, that score haunts the proceedings, with plenty of literal thunder to engage the LFE. Those experiencing it for the first time will find that it is a wonderful upgrade to a thirty-year-old classic.

Movies & TV Shows Review

1

Bram Stoker's Dracula Remastered Blu-ray Review

Bram Stoker's Dracula Remastered Blu-ray Review

by Steve Withers ·
Francis Ford Coppola's take on Bram Stoker's Dracula is a deliberate attempt to get back to the source novel using traditional filmmaking techniques. This new Region A Blu-ray release captures the director's intention with a great picture and a Dolby Atmos soundtrack.  
9

Bram Stoker's Dracula 4K Extras

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Bram Stoker's Dracula has scant few extras beyond the original 4K release from a few years back. But scant doesn't mean none, with a couple of new additions and there are already a plentiful number of existing features on the accompanying Blu-ray, cascading ports from prior editions: Coppola's Commentary, Introduction from Coppola, Interviews, Featurettes, Deleted & Extended Scenes, and Trailers.

... a couple of new additions and there are already a plentiful number of existing features

The new 4K disc enjoys the Love Song For A Vampire Music Video by Annie Lennox, which is a nice addition, the track itself a lovely closing to the feature. Aside from that, there's a half-hour Featurette, Bood Lines - Dracula: The Man, The Myth, The Movies, which is actually pretty substantial despite its limited runtime, packing in an awful lot of background detail, interesting at that, and making for a nice little addition to round out an already packed package.

Conclusion

Bram Stoker's Dracula 30th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Francis Ford Coppola's lavishly crafted interpretation of Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula is an audacious work of cinematic art, charmingly flawed by a couple of off-kilter performances, but equally so damn outlandish in its own flavoursome way that you don't care, particularly with a career-defining Oldman centre-stage. It's one of the best Dracula movies ever brought to life.

... one of the best Dracula movies ever brought to life

Sony's 4K re-release of Bram Stoker's Dracula is a bit of a slim excuse of a "30th Anniversary" celebration which those who already picked this up may find precious little reason to double-dip on, but the addition of Dolby Vision and a couple of new extras to an already near-perfect package - 4K video, Atmos audio and extras - certainly leave this the definitive version to own for those who don't already.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is thrilled to announce that director  Francis Ford Coppola’s Oscar-winning classic will be available to own on 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray in a Limited Edition Steelbook with brand-new extras on 10th October, exclusively from Zavvi.

You may also like:

Movies & TV Shows Review

28

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 4K Blu-ray Review

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein 4K Blu-ray Review

by Mark Costello ·
Faithful adaptation of one of gothic literature’s most famous novels? Or mega-budgeted vanity project that saw Sir Kenneth’s nipples have equal screen time to the film’s titular creation...?  
8
Movies & TV Shows Review

6

Nosferatu Blu-ray Review

Nosferatu Blu-ray Review

by Simon Crust ·
The horrifying silent classic gets the Blu-ray treatment - was it worth the wait?  
8
Movies & TV Shows Review

44

The Outsiders 4K Blu-ray Review

The Outsiders 4K Blu-ray Review

by Simon Crust ·
Coppola's look at rival gangs in small-town America is given a magnificent makeover in a lavish native 4K Edition from Studiocanal.  
8
Movies & TV Shows Review

8

Rumble Fish - Limited Edition Blu-ray Review

Rumble Fish - Limited Edition Blu-ray Review

by Casimir Harlow ·
Rusty James, an absent-minded street thug struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days when gang warfare was going on.  
9

Scores

Movie

.
9

Picture Quality

10

Sound Quality

10

Extras

.
9

Overall

.
9
9
AVForumsSCORE
OUT OF
10

Our Review Ethos

Read about our review ethos and the meaning of our review badges.

To comment on what you've read here, click the Discussion tab and post a reply.

Related Content

Primal Fear 4K Blu-ray Review
  • By Mark Costello
  • Published
A Blade in the Dark 4K Blu-ray Review
  • By Mark Costello
  • Published
Blood on Satan's Claw 4K Blu-ray Review
  • By Simon Crust
  • Published
City of the Living Dead 4K Blu-ray Review
  • By Mark Costello
  • Published
Witchfinder General 4K Blu-ray Review
  • By Simon Crust
  • Published

Latest Headlines

AVForums 4K and Blu-ray Podcast: 28th March 2024
  • By Phil Hinton
  • Published
AVForums Movies and TV Show Podcast: 25th March 2024
  • By Phil Hinton
  • Published
Where to watch the 2024 Oscar best picture nominees
  • By Andy Bassett
  • Published
Back
Top Bottom