Drac 3k was fun
I noticed that too. The book was set in England, so the fact that they stuck with Germany is another indication that it's meant to be a remake of the Murnau film, and not another re-adaptation of the novel.
But Dracula has also been in a million movies that have nothing to do with the book. The ones that are actually adaptations of the book don't follow it very closely. Jonathan Harker dies in the Hammer version. In the Universal version, Renfield goes to the castle instead of Harker. (Coincidentally, in the movie Renfield, they deepfaked Nicholas Hoult-as-Renfield into the Universal versions castle scenes, which is funny in retrospect. Well shit, Renfield would be yet another version of Dracula that changed up the story.) The silent Nosferatu changes a bunch of stuff that carries over to the two remakes, although the Herzog one has a darker ending than the other two. Coppola included a bunch from the book that didn't make it into other versions, but then turned Vlad into a bodice-ripping antihero and Harker into the bad guy for standing in the way of his wife's dream of getting boned by Evil Incarnate for all eternity.
It's kind of you to say so.
Same. Nu-lok is still a repulsive parasite, but they go awfully literally with the "vampire feeding=sex" metaphors, as has become the habit. Mixed feelings.
My problem is Willem Defoe sounding exactly like he did in The Lighthouse, but with a vague German/Dutch twang. And now, I keep hearing, "Why'd ya spill yer beans, Ellen?" in me head. Oh, yeah...
I unfortunately remember that travesty, its funny how that movie tried to get a sequel by bringing a new character who is arch enemies with Dracula, and it was some black guy OC the people behind the film made
Yeah like the most egregious is on Nicholas Hoult's and Taylor Johnson's families, like they had good performances but the British accents just felt weird at first, but then I got used to it.
My problem with it is that it doesn't do enough to separate itself form the other ones. Aside from the stylings of Robert Eggers, it's not any different from the Herzog remake which focused on many of the same themes. It's kind of like the 1990 Night of the Living Dead remake in that it's a fine film but it's not different enough but even in that there are some changes like the ending and the characterization of Barbara that was at least something.
I've never really subscribed to the hatred of Keanu Reeve's performance as Jonathan Harker. He may overdo the accent a little bit, but I think he's perfectly alright for the role. It's evident that I'm in the minority in holding this opinion, though! :-)
It occurred to me they could do a remake of Shadow of the Vampire about the Herzog/Kinski version that's just a nonfiction making-of documentary consisting of actual behind-the-scenes footage. "Fetch some more girls from the village... Klaus must feed again"
I thought I would watch some other Nosferatu type of movie before I watched the new Eggers one. I have seen the original 47 million times so I decided I would try one that's new to me, and I did something very ill-advised and watched Return to Salem's Lot. Everyone hates it, but hey, it's directed by Larry Cohen, stars Michael Moriarty, and features indie director Sam Fuller in an acting role, so I figure hmmm, maybe it's got something entertaining going on? It's got this Silent Night Deadly Night 3 vibe, i.e. some very talented people probably had fun making this movie, but they had no money, and I don't think they had a ton of fucks to give about the thing they were supposed to be making a sequel to. Well, it's no SNDN3, I must say.
Every time I watch Coppola's Dracula I legitimacy forget that Keanu is in the movie and he's playing the character this is our narrator. Like it gets to the part where Jonathan and Mina are getting married with his powered hair that I don't know if it's meant to make it look like his hair's gone white or if it's just powdered., and I'm like "Oh yeah Jonathan's in this." And I've also read Dracula like 3 times.
I refuse to watch the new Nosferatu because it's just a massive insult to me that Eggers thinks he can make a better Nosferatu than the og. The og is one of my all time favorite movies and it's one of VERY few movies that actually creep me out, it's a masterpiece in every way and a special experience to watch. That's why it's survived for over a hundred years. It takes a massive delusional ego for someone to think they can make the same movie but better because their name is attached to it.
Im not opposed to remakes and think they can be better than the OG.
I don't hate him in Dracula, either, I just find certain traits of his Jonathan Harker a bit cheesy. Cheesy can be fun, though.
I think "reimagine" is a better word for the ones that work. Things like Carpenter's The Thing for example or Cronenberg's The Fly. I love the originals more personally, but the reimaginings brought something new to the movies that make them actually distinct from the originals in exciting ways that are worth watching multiple times.
The Blob is another one for me. It follows the same beats of the original but it adds a lot. The first death with the boyfriend getting eaten still gets me. They did those FXs a little too well. If I remember right that scene was one of the last ones worked on so they put everything they had learned in to it.
I like the change that the Blob is the result of a government experiment. The ending with the deformed priest was excellent as well.