Dracula - Prince
of Darkness (1966)
By: CJ.
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| Anchor Bay (USA). All Regions, NTSC. 2.35:1 (Non-anamorphic). English DD 1.0, French DD 1.0. 90 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director: Terence Fisher
Starring: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer
Screenplay: John Sansom (Jimmy Sangster)
Music: James Bernard
AKA: The Bloody Scream of Dracula, Disciple of Dracula, Dracula 3, Revenge of Dracula |
Although the third Dracula film in the series
(Brides of Dracula being the second, even
though Dracula wasn't actually in it) this is
only the first reprisal of the role by Christopher
Lee. This time around Peter Cushing is conspicuous
by his absence in the role of nemesis to the vampiric
Count. In fact, it was a whole 16 years after
the first Hammer Dracula outing before Cushing
and Lee would face off against each other again
as Van Helsing and Dracula respectively. However,
in Dracula - Prince of Darkness, the Lord
of the Undead is pitted against a new foe, Father
Sandor, played capably and aggressively by Andrew
Keir, who is in fine form here and more than makes
up for the absence of Cushing. The supporting
cast is also exceptionally good, especially Barbara
Shelley as Helen Kent who ably portrays her character
as a prim and proper English Lady and then becomes
the surprisingly voluptuous vampire vixen once
she is transformed by the bite of the Count. The
production values are very good and the story
is told effectively by director Terence Fisher,
who is as capable and reliable as ever. It also
features some surprisingly graphic violence and
gore, and it's worth noting that this release
by Anchor Bay is uncut, whereas the recent Warner
Bros UK disc was trimmed.
The story itself is a simple affair, four English
travellers, Charles Kent (Francis Matthews), Alan
Kent (Charles Tingwell), Diana Kent (Suzan Farmer)
and Helen Kent (Barbara Shelley), are holidaying
in Eastern Europe and whilst resting up at an
old inn meet the inimitable Father Sandor. He
asks where they are headed and they inform him
that they are heading for Carlsbad. Horrified,
Sandor warns them against going there, but that
if they must, they are to avoid the castle there.
But, we all know that they are going to discard
this advice and they head for Carlsbad anyway.
However, their coachman reaches the vicinity of
the dreaded castle and refuses to take them any
further as nightfall is approaching. He tells
them he'll be back in the morning and abandons
them in the midst of the forest. Bewildered and
unsure as to what to do they begin discussing
their options when suddenly a driverless carriage
appears out of nowhere. Foolishly, they jump aboard
with the intention of heading onto Carlsbad, but
the horses have other ideas and so, unable to
control the horses, they are taken straight to
Castle Dracula. Of course, they are expected,
and arrive to find the dinner table set for four.
Soon, a manservant appears in the menacing form
of Klove (Philip Latham) who informs them that
even though his master is dead he left instructions
that the castle always be ready to receive visitors
and offer courteous hospitality. Tired and weary,
they eagerly accept the invitation, with the exception
of Helen, who senses that something is dreadfully
wrong. Her intuition is correct and later that
evening Klove murders Alan Kent and utilises his
blood to resurrect the undead Count in a surprisingly
gory sequence. From this point on Dracula resumes
his reign of terror, his first victim being Helen
Kent whom he transforms into a vampire that obeys
his bidding. It is then left to Father Sandor
to dispatch the evil Count, which he does effectively.
This is standard Hammer fare and as such is highly
entertaining. The cast turn in some great performances,
especially Keir, Shelley and Lee. The one disappointment
though is that Lee doesn't utter a single syllable
throughout the entire film. Lee has a wonderfully
deep and menacing voice and it's a shame that
in all of the Dracula sequels Lee gets to say
very little. However, this is a great Hammer classic
and well worth owning on DVD. This is quite an
old disc now, having been released by Anchor Bay
back in 1998, but copies are readily available
from most online retailers. This reviewer recommends
that fans of Hammer gothic horror snap up a copy
while it's still available, especially UK collectors
as the R2 disc contains a trimmed print of the
film. |
| Video |
| Being an early DVD from 1998, this is obviously
not as good as newer discs. However, it is of a
perfectly acceptable standard and really doesn't
look too bad. The print looks a bit worn in places
and occasionally the image becomes a little unstable,
but overall it's a very nice looking transfer. Not
great, but pretty much what you'd expect from a
DVD this old now. It's also good to see the film
presented in its theatrical ratio of 2:35:1, which
is quite a revelation and shows off the attention
to detail in the production more than previous fullscreen
incarnations ever have. |
| Audio |
| The audio is presented in simple Dolby Digital
Mono, but it is surprisingly rich and powerful and
far better than you would expect. The dialogue is
crisp and clear and the score by James Bernard is
reproduced with great clarity and sounds excellent.
Despite being mono, the audio does not disappoint
and envelops the viewer in the atmosphere of the
film perfectly. Surprisingly good. |
| Extra Features |
| Anchor Bay have provided some interesting extras
on the disc (to be found on the flip side - it's
a double-sided single-layered DVD). There is some
on-set footage that was filmed by Francis Matthews'
brother, Paul. It's interesting to watch and is
accompanied by a commentary by cast members. There
is a theatrical trailer and a combo-trailer with Plague of the Zombies which has an amusing
voice-over that sounds a little dated now, to say
the least. Also amusing on the trailer is the advertising
for 'Dracula Fangs' for the boys and 'Zombie Eyes'
for the girls. Hmmmmm.. Also included is an Episode
of the World of Hammer series entitled Dracula and
the Undead. Relatively entertaining, but looks a
bit cheap and cheerful. Finally there is an audio
commentary accompanying the main feature with cast
members Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Francis
Matthews and Suzan Farmer. It's a fairly lively
and informative commentary and, as ever, Lee shows
himself a wonderful commentator. Definitely worth
a listen. A good effort here by Anchor Bay with
some very worthwhile extras. |
| The Verdict |
| Overall this is a very nice package from Anchor
Bay. Any minor faults it may have are forgivable
due to the age of the DVD, but, to be honest, it's
actually really very good. Of course, it cannot
compare to newer Hammer discs from Anchor Bay which
are mastered to a higher standard, but the disc
doesn't disappoint too much and is a great addition
to any horror fan's collection - especially fans
of classical gothic horror. Highly recommended and
the disc has been given a reasonably high rating
because it's a great film and has interesting extra
features |
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