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Gary Oldman takes a stab at one the most enduring characters in film history with Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In a script that follows the classic novel as well as historical findings about one ‘Vlad the Impaler’, Oldman’s Dracula uses a hapless real estate agent (Keanu Reeves) to move from Transylvania to London, where the agent’s betrothed, Mina (Winona Ryder), is the spitting image of the count’s long-dead lover. Mina finds herself oddly drawn to Dracula, at odds with the fact that he is responsible for turning her best friend Lucy (Sadie Frost) into one of the undead. Professor Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins) is brought into the story to rally Lucy’s suitors (Cary Elwes, Bill Campbell, and Richard E. Grant) into finding Dracula and driving a stake into his heart — giving him true death after an eternity in defiance of God. But will Mina help or hinder their efforts amidst her conflicted feelings for Dracula?
Director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now) delivers his best film in many years (and the best since) with this highly stylized, gothic horror piece. His decision to blend turn-of-the-century special effects techniques, somewhat abstract sets, and opulent costumes is a winning one, giving this Dracula an air of compelling storybook fantasy. Oldman is phenomenal, perhaps the most striking and emotional performance of the character yet put to film. Anthony Hopkins is fun as a slightly mad version of Van Helsing — he’s clearly gazed into too many abysses. Winona Ryder struggles to be convincing at times, but not as badly as Keanu Reeves struggles to suppress his inner surfer dude. Keanu is a much loved actor today, but he’s terribly in over his head here. The rest of the cast is serviceable, with singer Tom Waits making a convincing appearance as Dracula’s lunatic henchman, Renfield.
The film overcomes uneven casting with its sumptuous aesthetics and myriad visceral delights. Eiko Ishioka delivers spectacular, Oscar-winning costume designs, while composer Wojciech Kilar’s score would go on to become one of the most popular soundtracks of the decade, blending doom-laden marches with a deeply melancholic love theme. Greg Cannom serves up the film’s most horrific sights, disguising Gary Oldman in a wide variety of full-body prosthetics. Cannom turns the actor into a very old man, a hair wolf man, a giant bat, and more. The film’s best moment? How about seeing Oldman as a giant bat creature retreat from a flaming cross into the shadows, only to transform into a tower of rats that falls before Van Helsing and the suitors, scattering away into the night. The fact that there’s no computer-generated imagery and no optical compositing in this movie makes it all the more amazing.
Academy Awards: Best Costume Design, Makeup, Sound Effects Editing
Oscar Nominations: Best Art Direction