Bram Stoker's Dracula is the best Dracula film ever made, the way Francis Ford Coppola shot every scene in it is so perfectly calculated, the transitions between shots are artful and seamless, it's a highly stylised and beautiful looking film and the films orchestral score is striking and iconic.
The story of Dracula was slightly altered for this movie and in my opinion it works better having Dracula as a sympathetic character, it gives the monster an added layer of intrigue and depth that is missing from say Legosi or Lee's performances.
It may deviate quite majorly from the source material in this respect, where the count is a merciless monster in the "semblance of a man" but in every other area the film is extremely faithful to the novel, right down to the blue flames of ghost lights that guide Jonathan Harker's coach to the old Transylvanian castle.
A lot has been said about some of the performances in this movie, mainly Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker and Winona Ryder as Mina, people have complained that their forced English accents are laughable. I've never felt this and the reason is that every single performance in this film is purposefully over the top, its all done for dramatic effect. Every character is larger than life and that only adds to and is a result of the films unique style. I personally wouldn't change any of it if I could.
Gary Oldman also gives what is in my opinion as the definitive Dracula performance. He plays the role with a certain romanticism to him, he is charming, sinister and tragic.
In short, he is the perfect Dracula.
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