DVD Review: Bram Stoker's Dracula, Collector's Edition

About a month ago, I was exploring the DVD section at two of the local Target retail store's in my area. I came across the collector's edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula on DVD for $5.00 at both of them! Francis Ford Coppola's wonderful film is only a guilty pleasure in the good catholic sense of the phrase; as blood and breasts are not at all absent through out the film. Unlike so many horror films that only offer the former fare; Bram Stokers Dracula offers a strong script, and good acting for the most part, to accompany the frights, blood, and good special effects . Anthony Hopkins is wildly entertaining as the eccentric professor Van Helsing, the man who leads the quest to defeat Dracula. Gary Oldman as Dracula was hard to get used to at first; since so many actors have used a simple modification of Lugosi's work as their basis for the character. This Dracula is the most charming and seductive, with a strong accent, modest looks, and soft dark eyes that seem inviting; yet hide something sinister behind them. The originality of Oldman's performance grew on me after a while, and the second or third time I saw the film I really enjoyed his portrayal of Dracula. Wynona Ryder is great for the role of Mina. Ryder is looks attractive in this film but also comes across as eerie and weird, with her beady dark eyes and almost ghostly, gothic looks... something about her makes her the perfect actress to play a vampire bride. She proves herself as an actress, but I think she is kind of made to play parts like these....remember her in Beetlejuice? Or is that Typecasting? Keanu Reeves is Johnathan Harker in this film, and shows none of the talent he'd later display in The Matrix and The Devil's Advocate (a little gem worthy to check out as well). None of that talent is evident in BSD, as his performance is almost cardboard at times. Kudos to Coppola for recognizing a diamond in the rough before it was recognizable. O yeah, I liked him as Constantine too, but that movie was kind of disappointing and forgettable to me, my apologies to the fans. The cinematography in Bram Stoker's Dracula is interesting and unique as well, as a deep red against heavy shadows is used often when Dracula is present. The DVD brings out the interesting use of color though out the film; the image is great and the sound crisp. The special features and deleted scenes are a real treat. Some rare, short footage of Coppola and Oldman arguing are available in the making of feature. It also shows how Coppola prepared his actors for their roles, which was particularly interesting. The deleted scenes show some eerie scenes of Dracula's castle that were unfortunately cut from the final piece. These scenes did seem a little awkward, and I understand why they cut them, but it really was interesting to see more of Dracula's castle, and the otherworldly way in which this film portrayed it. It's worth more than five bucks, but that's what I paid for it. I don't know if the sale is over, but if you like Dracula or Vampires at all, you can own the film for about what you'd pay to rent it at the video store or On Demand (if it was on there). The squeamish or prudish should be warned the film has nudity, sex, violence and blood. There's a good chance they don't read my blog, however. None of it really seemed that gratuitous, as it made sense with the storyline, and the semi-abstract style of the film. A very good buy for horror fans.