Vampire movies are nothing new. One of the most iconic silent films of all time is the 1922 German film, “Nosferatu.” Flash forward seventy years later, and we’d receive another iconic vampire film in the form of “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. A gothic masterpiece for the ages, it was successful at the time of release and has since become even more popular for it casting, costumes, aesthetic, and shaping of vampire lore. 30 years later and the film is getting a 4K steelbook release and a bit more than that, if you happen to live in the UK.
“Bram Stoker’s Dracula” already received a 4K release for its 25th anniversary, but now we’re at 30 years and that deserves a little something more. The steelbook promises hours of special features, including a music video (presumably for the Annie Lennox piece, “Love Song for a Vampire”), and an additional 30-minutes of behind the scenes footage. Is that enough for you to purchase it again if you own the 25th anniversary edition? We guess it depends on how much you enjoy a steelbook case.
Either way, you get to enjoy one of the best vampire stories every put to film, along with one of the most surprisingly eclectic casts that actually works better than it looks on paper. Gary Oldman is stunning as Count Dracula and pitting him against a Van Helsing portrayed by Anthony Hopkins was spot-on casting. Things start to get a bit more 90s from there though when you get Keanu Reeves in the role of Jonathan Harker and Winona Ryder as his fiancée, Mina. Keep in mind, Reeves was just coming off the success of “Point Break” and “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey” so putting him into a gothic horror, time period piece, was kind of a stretch to imagine at the time. Oh, and also Tom Waits plays Renfield. And he is glorious.
Citizens of the UK are in for an extra special treat though as starting on October 7th as “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” will be coming to theaters for a limited run, featuring the 4K print. Film purists will naturally argue over the benefits of seeing the original version over a digital copy. But any Dracula is good Dracula when it comes to seeing this film on the big screen. It also represents one of the last truly noteworthy films Coppola directed, as his career fell off dramatically following this, both critically and commercially.
“Bram Stoker’s Dracula” represents the height of vampire media that we’d receive in the early to mid ’90s. When coupled with the film adaptation of “Interview with the Vampire” in 1994 they represent the peak of gothic vampire romance before the shift into more modern day vampirism. “Buffy the Vampire Series” and later the Twilight films would shift the appearance and narrative of vampires for years. But now that the Twilight era has reached its end, the gothic style is coming back. AMC is adapting Anne Rice‘s “Vampire Chronicles” into a television series.
Seeing “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” resurrected for its 30th anniversary is a welcome sight, and we’d love to see a stateside theatrical release as well.
Pick up your 30th anniversary 4K steelbook on Amazon here. The title will release October 4th, 2022.
