DVD Review HTF Review: Midnite Movies - Countess Dracula & The Vampire Lovers (1 Viewer)

[AlanBrom]

Jack, THE VAMPIRE LOVERS was shot open matte, and I don't know if you read the other posts on this forum, but when open matte shot films are presented letterboxed, they are supposed to reveal less picture information on the tops and bottoms. This is correct. Also, the DVD is more restored and does have full frontol nudity not in the tape (even though the running time is the same), and I think the colors and clarity are still far better on the DVD. And I can't really call a commentary with the director, screenwriter and star "lame."

 

[Jeff_HR]

The little in the way of DVDs extras are lame...

I agree with AlanBrom. A budget DVD with a commentary is hardly lame. I'm very happy to have this film on DVD in an uncut version for the first time. I'm quite pleased with it.

 

[Jack Shappa]

And I can't really call a commentary with the director, screenwriter and star "lame."

A commentary on a budget DVD us unexpected, but they hardly talk about what's on screen, and they all sound like they need some sleep. One of them has to keep prodding the others to speak and they just kind of grunt.

- JS

 

[AlanBrom]

The DVD is for sure OAP. The film was co-produced by AIP who by this time (by the mid 60s) wanted all their non-2.35:1 films to be shot 1.85:1, and VL is no exception. But again, the DVD has at least one full frontal shot NOT on any VHS version or foreign DVD.

 

[Brandon Gantt]

The full frontal shot has never been in any of the various versionsof the film (i.e. theatrical, home video) until now. There's a article about the 1998 and 2002 restorations, along with a review, over at the DVD Savant website.

 

[Brandon Gantt]

Here's part of the new DVD Savant article:

This new disc release of The Vampire Lovers is a major film restoration. This was the subject of one of Savant's first articles in 1998, the timidly-titled Restoring Prime Hammer Horror - Nudes and Gore Galore! Fans had long wailed about the fact that all prints had been raggedly censored, even though glimpses of the trimmed scenes had shown up in various TV docus. An AIP/Hammer co-production, Vampire Lovers was heavily censored for both England and the United States, leaving big continuity gaps in both the opening and the closing scenes. Savant's article lauded the work of MGM Technical Services 'team member' James Owsley for a film restoration that required research to find uncut elements in England. Owsley first discovered the cuts when better optical track elements didn't match AIP's printing negatives, and researcher Gary Teetzel brought forth documentation to support fan claims that the opening and closing sword beheadings were heavily censored. There was also an uncut bathtub scene with full frontal nudity that fans had seen excerpted in English docus, along with claims of a docu showing another brief angle in the first beheading. A final scene, a shot of a female vampire biting a bloody breast, is a rumor that nobody has actually claimed to have seen cut into the film.

In 1998, only the violent bookends were restored, but to prepare for the DVD, Owsley went back for the missing nude scene, the absence of which had raised howls of protest in magazines like Dick Klemensen's Little Shoppe of Horrors. Again, MGM Tech Services supported going back into the original unreleased-version elements in England, and everything has been restored that can be restored. The breast-biting and extra decapitation shots may be apocryphal, or they may have been in some earlier cut that did not make it to finish.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Thank you for giving away every single plot devise & turn. :rolleyes
You have assured that once one reads your review, they will NEVER be 'surprised', by either of these movies! :frowning:
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TOO "SPOILER'S"?

 

[Jason Perez]

Ed,

I too believe in being as spoiler-free as I can going into a film, and I am sorry if I took some of the suspense out of these films for you, but "surprises"? Quite frankly, most older horror films are nothing if not predictable (i.e. the villain or creature almost always succumbs to the protagonists), and these two films certainly fall into the predictability category, as far as I am concerned.

In any event, I hope you enjoyed the film(s), if you have had a chance to watch them yet. Also, I assure you, your comments are both welcome and noted, and I will try to be more careful how much detail I go into the movie portion of my reviews from now on.

Regards,

Jason

 

[Arnie G]

I enjoyed Countess Dracula more than Vampire Lovers. I didn't find it slow at all.

 

[Jack Shappa]

Jason,

I made the same observation as Ed earlier in the thread. Its good you'll be avoiding spoilers in the future. Perhaps you should pare down the review above to remove a large portion of your movie description which serves no purpose in the review and basically spoils 90% of it.

To simply defend it by stating "Com'on we all know what's going to happen in these movies anyway" is ridiculous. What you find predictable someone else may not. And I'd say there are just as many new movies as old that are "predictable" but that doesn't mean we want to know the entire movie's details from a movie review before we watch it.

- Cryo

 

[Jason Perez]

Jack,

I think you took my comments too literally. I was not defending myself, because no one was "attacking" me. What I was doing is considering the comments of the membership, and agreeing with Ed (and you)! I did seeyou earlier post, but I responded to Ed because he was the second person to mention it.

Please take into account that this was one of my first reviews, and that my effort to give you all a lot of detail admittedly went too far. In any event, I tried not to ruin the end of either film (you have to at least give me that!)

What I do not agree with is that a commentary on the movie serves no purpose. How would you like to read a review that said "Ishtar has a breathtaking picture and incredible sound quality!" but did not provide any hint of how bad it is, and then go rush out to buy it having never seen the film? Regardless of how good a transfer or audio track may be, it is damn hard to sit through a horrible movie to appreciate them!

Thanks to this forum, I have seen some wonderful movies I would have never thought of watching, not because of detailed descriptions of how good the transfer is (although it is a consideration), but because the reviewer or thread starter gave me some information about the film that made me want to see it.

Please do not take my comments as an attack on your position, because they most certainly are not. I value the opinion of *everyone* on this forum, and appreciate your thoughts on my reviews. In fact, without them, my reviews would never improve!!! With that in mind, thanks are in order...

Regards,

Jason

 

[Jack Shappa]

What I do not agree with is that a commentary on the movie serves no purpose. How would you like to read a review that said "Ishtar has a breathtaking picture and incredible sound quality!" but did not provide any hint of how bad it is, and then go rush out to buy it having never seen the film? Regardless of how good a transfer or audio track may be, it is damn hard to sit through a horrible movie to appreciate them!

I agree part of a review should include a personal opinion of the movie itself, and a brief description of what its about. Anything too detailed (becoming spoilers) is where it gets "pointless".

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed your review. Just wanted to offer that bit of constructive criticism.

- JS

What?! You didn't like Ishtar!?

 

[Jason Perez]

Got it Jack!

Like I said, I really do appreciate your comments, because at the end of the day, I am reviewing these discs for *you* (i.e. the membership)! Therefore, without feedback, I cannot give you what you want. I never took your comments personally, and thanks again for letting me know your thoughts!!!!

I just happen to be a very detail oriented person...so I will have to try a little harder to keep my reviews pretty spoiler-free.

Regards,

Jason

 

[Brandon Gantt]

I watched The Vampire Lovers for the first time last night, and while it is certainly well made and acted, it didn't really live up to the hype of being Hammer's creative high of the 70s. The story has no sense of urgency or menance until the last 3 minutes, and even than it still manages to end with a whimper. On the bright side MGM Technical Services outdid themselves with a superb restoration of the video and audio. If only all catalogue titles received such lavish attention. The commentary is a little dry, but Pitt/Baker/Gates do provide some interesting factoids about the film and Hammer in general. The best feature, for me, is the excerpts of "Carmilla" read by Ingrid Pitt. Apart from the pleasure of hearing her lovely accent, which I adore, it's made me want to track down Le Fanu's original novella.

Next up Countess Dracula...

 

[Jack Shappa]

VL is not your typical "monster movie". Its about as faithful to the story "Carmilla" as any movie ever has been. It's one of Hammer's nicest looking films and has kind of a meticulous, delicate "pace" to it. Actually reminded me of "Solaris" in that way (weird comparison I know)...

- Cryo

 

[RyanPC]

Another excellent review, Jason. I've never seen either of the films, but have heard some good things about them, and reading your review is making me want the DVD even more! It'll most likely be in my next order, as it can be had fairly cheap from Deep Discount DVD.

 

[Jason Perez]

Thanks Ryan!

If you (or anyone else) can recommend some other titles in this line, I would be grateful. I have not seen too many of them, and am always on the lookout for a good horror film!

Regards,

Jason

 

[RyanPC]

--If you (or anyone else) can recommend some other titles in this line, I would be grateful. I have not seen too many of them, and am always on the lookout for a good horror film!--

I highly recommend Motel Hell, it is in a double feature with Deranged. I've never seen that film (although I want to), but Motel Hell is a wonderfully campy horror-comedy. I have a feeling you would enjoy it.

Another I recommend is Theatre of Blood. Possibly Vincent Price's best role and it is a great film as well. HIGHLY recommended.

I didn't like it TOO much, but I'd also recommend The Beast Within. It has it's share of cheese and it's not a bad film. At first you almost think it's going to be a werewolf film (it was even directed by the director of Howling 2 and 3) but it turns out to be more of a mutant-bug monster horror film. Not bad at all.

 

[Jason Perez]

Ryan,

Thanks again! I love Vincent Price, but have never seen Motel Hell, so I will try and check it out. However, I have seen the Beast Within already. My grandmother took me to see it in the theater when I was about eight or nine (she was always cool like that). Unfortunately, I remember having nightmares for about a month!

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy Countess Dracula / The Vampire Lovers when it finds its way into your collection!

Regards,

Jason

 

[Brandon Gantt]

I watched Countess Dracula a few days ago and what a chore that was! Again it's nicely made and the actors all rise to the occassion, but the script pulls them right back down. Peter Sasdy and Jeremy Paul have obviously worked on too many genteel BBC production by this point, because Countess Dracula plays exactly like a plodding early television drama (With blood and breast of course!). Pitt/Sasdy/Paul provide a fairly standard commentary. We learn early on that both Sasdy and Paul have had very good educations, and while Ingrid remains mum for most of the time she does offer some historical notes on the real Erzebet Bathori. After hearing Mr. Sasdy accent on the commentary one wonders why he decided to dub Ingrid's in the film, as Pitt once mentioned in an interview, his could explode a banana! While enjoyable The Vampire Lovers and Countess Dracula certainly aren't the creative reawakening Hammer would experience with Captain Kronos: Vampire and Hands of the Ripper they are not without their own charms.

And speaking of Hammer and experience.:b Ingrid Pitt has recently updated her website to include more news and a plea for her forthcoming book THE HAMMER XPERIENCE. The tome will trace the complete history of the legendary production company, and Ingrid would like some help with material from Hammer's early years. A quote is below.

I've been contracted by Hammer to write a book about the company from 1935 right up to the present time. It's to be called THE HAMMER XPERIENCE. As you know there have been hundreds of worthy books written about the company. When anyone writes a book they always swear it will be different and break new ground. The trouble with Hammer is that, because it is so popular, all the archive pictures and stories have been done to death. I want something different. For instance. Don Stannard was Hammer's Dick Barton - Special Agent. After his last outing as the character in DICK BARTON STRIKES BACK (1948) he attended a garden party at Bray Studios. As he was leaving his car went out of control and he was killed in the resulting crash. There must have been pictures taken at that party but I've never seen them. 'Buddy' pictures with arms wrapped around the stars are also something I could use. Especially if they have a little story connected with them. Also if you know anybody who was connected with the company but has got out of touch. I would love to hear from them. So please, please, please sort through those old photo albums and attic trunks and let me know what you can come up with. All contributions, anecdotal or graphic will be acknowledged in the book.

Ingrid can be contacted through her website: Pitt of Horror