Compare/Contrast Dracula and Bram Stoker's Dracula
A noticeable difference in the way movies have changed over the years is evident when comparing and contrasting two films of different eras which belong to the same genre and contain the same subject matter. Two vampire movies, Dracula and Bram Stoker's Dracula, present an interesting example of this type of study.
Comparing the 1931 version of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, with Frances Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula 1993 version yields some similarities. Both films are of the same genre: Horror. Both films are set around the same time period. Also, both deal with a vampire coming to England and causing disruptions in people's lives. Beyond these few similarities are
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In the 1993 version, Van Helsing refers to Lucy as "a willing recruit, a whore of darkness, a bitch of the devil."(Bram Stoker's Dracula). Also, Mina chooses whether to be with Dracula or with Jonathan. We wonder at the end whether she will choose to remain with Jonathan after Dracula's death.
Beyond the differences in gender portrayal, the 1931 version portrays ethnocentric ideals: we have an all-white, patriarchal ensemble conquering a vampire. In this instance, the vampire could easily be interpreted as a nineteenth-century British colony in Africa: unknown, mysterious, and evil. There is no reason to try and understand it, but there is every reason to subdue it (you know, the principles of colonialism). Even though the 1993 version contains an all-white cast, it is a little more integrated: at least we have a Texan with the Europeans. The ethnocentric ideals of the 1931 version still exist in Coppola's version; however, they are called into question: Mina stops the men from killing the vampire.
With respect to age, the 1931 version used an older cast than the 1993 version. The older cast seems to portray a more conservative society. The younger cast portrays a questioning, more liberal society (maybe the society being formed as Generation X grows older?).
Continuing with contrasts, we see a number of these in the area of social themes. To begin with, religion is
While Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Polidori’s The Vampyre share some minor details, mostly regarding the basics of vampires and the location and date in which the stories take place, the majority of the stories differ greatly. The Vampyre was published almost a hundred years earlier, so it is easy to see how some details of that story can be seen in Dracula. Bram Stoker no doubt must have used The Vampyre as an influence, but only as an influence, as his story has its own unique details regarding characters and plot. I will discuss how the stories of The Vampyre and Dracula begin in a similar fashion, and then explain how there are key differences in narration,
The 1992 movie adaptation of Dracula is quite loyal to the book. However it made quite an exaggeration in Dracula and Mina’s connection. Also there are fabricated parts in the movie, particularly the way it begins having the origin of Vlad the impaler that is not technically found in Stoker’s writing. Character of Dracula is not that scary as it was in the book than being projected visually in the screen. Perhaps to have a more impact in viewers’ emotions. Some scenes were also fractured in the movie, for instance is Mina’s and Lucy’s stay in Whitby which never occurred in the book. Even so, the film had interpreted the book well and it although some scenes were fractured, it did not depart much
The two main women of Dracula both have very similar qualities. Other than that, they also have the same strong differences. In this time era, women were represented as this perfect, loving, and intimate person; however, they often liked to drift from this stereotype of perfection. The
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is not only a classic story of men and monsters, but a dramatic reactionary work to the perceived threats to Victorian society in nineteenth century England. In modern times there have been many film adaptations of the novel, each developing a unique analysis or criticism of the literary text within the framework of the society and time period in which it was created. The 1972 film Blacula is one of the most culturally specific variations on the story of Dracula, and highlights many of the themes and messages found in Stoker’s original text. Among the primary similarities between the novel and the film is the portrayal of race, sexuality, nationality, and culture, and the characterization in each work speaks to the
The homosexual relationship that is hinted at in the novel is made clear in Bram Stoker's Dracula, but only in scenes that are not in the book. This fact takes the legitimacy, for many, out of the proof of a lesbian relationship, but as Jeffery Chown points out, "Coppola clearly believes that fidelity to the original literary text will ultimately enhance the filmic results of the adaptation" (1). In staying true to the novel in terms of Lucy and Mina's lesbian relationship, Coppola grabs his audience's attention and leaves them wondering and contemplating. The images he provides for the audience are quite obvious as to what they are implying as well as scandalous in some parts.
In Dracula, Stoker portrays the typical women: The new woman, the femme fatale and the damsel in distress, all common concepts in gothic literature. There are three predominant female roles within Dracula: Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra and the three vampire brides, all of which possess different attributes and play different roles within the novel. It is apparent that the feminine portrayal within this novel, especially the sexual nature, is an un-doubtable strong, reoccurring theme.
Dracula is a novel written by Bram Stoker during the late 1800’s. The book starts out with Jonathan Harker, who is a smart young business man, who wants to travel to Count Dracula for a business ordeal. Many locals from the European area warned Jonathan about Count Dracula, and would offer him crosses and other trinkets to help fend against him. Mina, who is at the time Jonathans soon to be wife, visits to catch up with an old friend named Lucy Westenra. Lucy gives Mina an update on her love life telling her how she’s been proposed to by three different men. The men are introduced as Dr. Seward, Arthur Holmwood, and Quincey Morris. Unfortunately for her she will need to reject two of the men, and Lucy ends up choosing to marry Holmwood. Later on after Mina visits Lucy, Lucy starts to sleep walk, becomes sick, and then finds out she has bite marks on her throat. Due to this incident, another new character is introduced who happens to be Van Helsing. As the novel progresses, lady vampires are introduced and Lucy is eventually turned into one of the lady vampires as well. With the introduction of female vampires, the novel Dracula turns into a sexual and sensational novel by Bram Stoker. The female characters in the book are overly sexualized to where we can compare it to how women are viewed from back then in history to today’s world.
Evil features in both ‘Dracula’ and ‘Frankenstein’ but the personification of this evil is different in both novels. A feeling of menace and doom pervades ‘Dracula’ because of his supernatural powers. One feels that he has control of the evil and he has the power to manipulate the environment and people for his own ends. ‘Frankenstein’ centres on the creation of a monster made from parts of dead bodies and the fear created by the monster due to circumstance and the ignorance of society. Also, one feels a certain amount of apprehension that the monster is deserted by his creator and loses control without his support and guidance.
Bela Lugosi is arguably the most classic example of an actor taking on a vampire role. However, during 1931 when the universal studio was casting the 1931’s Dracula, Lugosi could only barely speak English, and therefore almost lost his chance at playing the iconic part (“Dracula (1931 English-Language Film”). Nonetheless his accents and costumes, which has become the classic look of the vampire, he himself was so typecast in his role that he was actually buried after his death in his Dracula costume. Certainly, it is Lugosi’s performance that makes Tod Browning’s film such an influential Hollywood picture. Overall, I will give it a 3 star out of 5, compared with the older version film of Dracula, because of the dialogues and sounds, the plot is much easier for the audiences to understand, without any editing or background music the horror of the film is not inferior to
After Lucy’s death, Van Helsing tried to convinced Quincey Morris, Seward and Arthur Holmwood that Lucy has turned into “Un-dead” by bringing them to her tomb. They eventually find a solution by plunging a stake into Lucy’s heart. They chop off her head and stuff her mouth with garlic. After Jonathan and Mina’s returning to England, they joined forces with the others. Mina helps Van Helsing by collecting various journals and dairies to retype them. Their efforts were useless went one of Seward’s patient has let Dracula into the asylum to prey upon Mina. These men divided forces among them tracks Dracula across land and sea. Van Helsing takes Mina with him and he killed three female vampires by using sacred objects. Quincey and Jonathan use knives to destroy Dracula went Dracula is about to reached his castle. In 1992, Francis Ford Coppola has released a Dracula movie based on Bram Stoker’s novel. I would prefer watching a Dracula movie rather than reading a book because Coppola evokes the origins of Dracula before he turn into a vampire, twisted the subplot where Mina is the reincarnation of Dracula’s greatest love and the movie ends with Dracula’s soul
Ever since Bram Stoker wrote his entrancing novel people have been adapting it, and the story is one of the most reproduced ideas in history. Each innovation of the novel influences the story for the creators own purpose, and in doing so generates another version of Dracula. Count Dracula has become an infamous character in history, and has been captured in many different mediums, such as the Japanese anime and manga series Vampire Hunter D, which follows Draculas son D in his adventures (Kikuchi). However, one of the adaptations that endures in modern minds is the 1992 film by Francis Ford Coppola, Bram Stoker's Dracula. This version of Dracula was meant to be loyal to the novel, but it diverged from the original in many ways.
The first inspiration that the Dracula novel has on horror movies is the use of
Bram Stoker’s ingenious piece of work on writing Dracula has set the expectation for gothic novels all over the world and time to come. The mindset of writing Dracula through the Victorian Era really sets the tone for the reader by creating a spine-tingling sensation right through the novel. With this in mind, Stoker wouldn’t have been able to succeed his masterpiece without the effective uses of symbolism, imagery, foreshadowing, and its overall theme.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the title of Francis Ford Coppola’s film adaptation of the classic novel Dracula. Coppola signified that the film would stay with the original plot and theme from the novel by putting the author’s name in the title of the film. However, even though he claims that his film is patterned after the novel, Coppola still could not help but put his own twist on the novel by sensualizing the story and adding a love story between Dracula and Mina. By adding a romantic subplot, Coppola makes the viewers feel sympathy for the evil Dracula when he is finally killed at the hand of his loved one. Also, the character of Mina turns from heroine in the novel to victim in the movie by having her
Lucy is not seen to be the ideal Victorian wife, “why can’t they let a girl marry three men or as many that want her”, due to her low morals and her naivety towards the way a women was expected to act it allowed Dracula to exploit her. Stoker presents Lucy in a way that would be shocking and unacceptable for a Victorian reader. Stoker insinuates that Lucy is fatherless because Stoker only refers to her father once in the book and it is in the past tense, “Lucy’s father, had the same habit he would get up in the night and dress himself”, even if Lucy’s father is alive it is clear that he has had minimal involvement and impact on Lucy’s life. Stoker could be suggesting that Lucy’s lack of a patriarch has meant that she has a desire and craving for one leading her to finding one where ever she could find it. When Dracula is removing blood from Lucy she is described as “half-reclining” Stokers use of this word suggests that Dracula is not forcing her or even restraining her, it implies that she is accepting what is taking place. Stoker goes as far as to imply that Lucy is enjoy the experience, “Her lips were parted… heavy gasps”, this is very sexually suggestive of a post climatic moment. It could be argued that at this moment she is conforming to the hierarchy of society by being submissive due to her possible positive “father complex” (created by Sigmund Feud and Carl Jung), so is therefore acting how a Victorian should by