TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA - DVD review

Christopher Lee made a good career from the bloodsucking Count, having already undertaken the role at least five times before doing this fourth entry in the Hammer Films series of Dracula movies, 1970's "Taste the Blood of Dracula." This one is not up to the best in the series (most of which are now available on DVD from Warner Bros.), but it is atmospheric at the very least.

Probably the film's greatest claim to fame at the moment is its 2004 re-rating from an original GP (or PG-13 today) to an R. Presumably, the new R rating of the DVD is the result of some additional brief nudity. But in all candor, the several seconds of bare breasts that are offered would hardly appear to merit an R. I have the feeling the new R is more of a marketing ploy to spice up the proceedings and perhaps tempt potential buyers into looking further at the product. Frankly, I've seen more nudity in PG-13 rated films and more violence on network TV.

Anyway, "Taste the Blood of Dracula" is an unwieldy title for a fairly clumsy and mundane vampire flick. Indeed, it's a vampire film where the vampire hardly shows his face or fangs. Poor Mr. Lee only gets a few minutes of screen time, and even then I'm not sure he utters so much as a word of dialogue. OK, maybe he does, and I wasn't paying attention. In any case, the film suffers from his absence and relies on a turn-of-the-century English atmosphere to carry it through.

Rather than focusing on Dracula, the film centers on a trio of old reprobates: respectable, middle-aged Londoners to their family and friends but debauchers in reality. William Hargood (Geoffrey Keen) is the straightlaced stepfather of a prim young woman, Alice Hargood (Linda Hayden), who is eager to see her young man, Paul (Anthony Corlan). The old hypocrite stepfather, however, won't hear of it; yet he goes out secretly on weekends with his friends, Samuel Paxton (Peter Sallis) and Jonathan Secker (John Carson), to brothels, where sex, booze, and drugs are the order of the day (or night).

Nevertheless, the trio is bored with mere sex, booze, and drugs and want something more exciting, more bizarre, more arcane to fill the void in their miserable lives. So when they meet Lord Courtley (Ralph Bates), who claims to be possessed of the Devil and can afford them eternal life, they accept his offer. Courtley introduces them to a fellow named Weller (Roy Kinnear), who claims to own the ring, cape, clasp, and dried blood of Dracula himself, and with these articles Courtley believes they can revive the Count from one of his many demises and attend him forever. "These pieces," says Weller, "belonged to the most evil man of all time--Count Dracula."

But the plans go awry, and the trio of gentlemen wind up beating poor Courtley to death during the blood ceremony needed to bring Drac back. The trio flee the scene, and moments later the Count does return; but Drac's so ticked off that the old miscreants killed his servant, he vows to vindicate Courtley's death. The rest of the picture is a revenge plot, with Dracula tracking down the men responsible and attempting to do them all in. It's hard to say in this scenario, though, who are the worst villains.

Unfortunately, after a promising first third, culminating in a scene in a mausoleum chapel, the film degenerates into typical horror-movie clichés. There are, of course, the requisite erotic overtones, with scantily clad young women, plunging necklines, and throats waiting to be bitten. Not only the lovely daughter, Alice, but Paxton's daughter, Lucy (Isla Blair), as well, are there for the Count's pleasure.

The transformation segment is silly and nonsensical, but most of the rest of the movie at least looks good. The sets and costumes of 1890's Victorian England seem authentic, and the graveyard and crypt scenes are appropriately creepy. Even the sound effects lend to the eerie atmosphere--things going bump in the night--so if only for the mood it conveys, the film may be worth one's time.

I was also tickled to see Peter Sallis in a role he did previous to his long-running part in British television's "Last of the Summer Wine." And tickled to see that he didn't look much different back in 1969 than he does today. Either he hasn't aged much, or he always looked old.

But as for Christopher Lee, he barely makes an appearance. We see him die at the start of the movie, although it's never explained who killed him, how, or why. Then we see him come back to life about halfway through the show. Finally, we see him bump off a few people in the last part of the story, and, naturally, die in the end. It's the way all good vampire stories must close. It's in the vampire code or contract or something. But it's not much, and poor Lee barely gets his fangs wet. Where's Peter Cushing when you need him?

Video:
The picture quality in this older film is surprisingly good, due in large measure from its having been transferred to disc in a 1.74:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen at a reasonable high bit rate. Color and definition are more than adequate, and blood shows up vividly. True, the blood Hammer uses in the film appears to have a neon-like quality about it, almost fluorescent, but it blends in with the campy nature of the plot. Production costs were never overboard with Hammer Films, but production values were never compromised, either, so the movie looks good, both in its exteriors and interiors. A very light grain is evident, however, which gives the image a slightly gritty look at times. Otherwise, it's a nice job all around, with few or no haloes or moiré effects.

Audio:
The sound is an ordinary monaural of its day, here rendered via Dolby Digital 1.0 mono. It is very clear and conveys dialogue well, but there is not much bass or dynamics involved, and it is a tad bright and edgy, overall. If turned up to very loud levels, the sound betrays its origins with a small degree of background hiss, but it should not present a problem to most viewers.

Extras:
Well, I'm not sure I have enough room to list all the extras, but I'll try. There's a trailer. Hmm, that didn't take up as much space as I thought. In addition to the theatrical trailer, there are twenty-seven scene selections; English as the only spoken language; and English, French, and Spanish subtitles. Understand, Warner Bros., like many other studios, issue new films with a multitude of extras at full price and older, non-classic films like this one--films they call "catalog items"--with hardly any extras but at a reduced price. Seems fair enough.

Parting Shots:
I couldn't help thinking while watching "Taste the Blood of Dracula" how long Christopher Lee has been making movies, over fifty years now, and how well established he's become as a leading screen villain. His more recent work in "Star Wars" and "The Lord of the Rings" proves his enduring quality as the actor we love to hate.

But in thinking about the actor in this film, I was also reminded of how many bad films he's been in, and how, if I'm thinking about him instead of the role he's playing, how undistinguished the film must be. No, "Taste the Blood of Dracula" is certainly not a classic, nor was it ever intended to be. It's simply another chapter in the Hammer Films "Dracula" series, a series that ran on and on like a weekly television drama. Lee's fans will want to own the film, but the rest of us might want to wait and rent it one dark and stormy night along with a handful of other things in Lee's oeuvre.