Dracula (1979 film)
| Dracula | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster
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| Directed by | John Badham |
| Produced by |
Marvin Mirisch Walter Mirisch |
| Screenplay by |
Hamilton Deane John L. Balderston W. D. Richter |
| Based on |
Dracula by Bram Stoker |
| Starring |
Frank Langella Laurence Olivier Donald Pleasence Kate Nelligan |
| Music by | John Williams |
| Cinematography | Gilbert Taylor |
| Edited by | John Bloom |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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13 July 1979 |
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Running time
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109 minutes |
| Country | United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12,164,000 |
| Box office | $31,235,812 |
Dracula is a 1979 British-American horror film directed by John Badham. The film starred Frank Langella in the title role as well as Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence and Kate Nelligan.
The film was based on Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, though much of Stoker's original plot was revised to make the film—which was advertised with the tagline "A Love Story"—more romantic. The film won the 1979 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film.
In Whitby, England in 1913, Count Dracula (Frank Langella) arrives from Transylvania via the ship Demeter one stormy night. A sickly Mina Van Helsing (Jan Francis), who is visiting her friend Lucy Seward (Kate Nelligan), discovers Dracula's body after his ship has run aground. The Count visits Mina and her friends at the household of Lucy's father, Dr. Jack Seward (Donald Pleasence), whose clifftop mansion also serves as the local asylum. At dinner, he proves to be a charming guest and leaves a strong impression on the hosts, Lucy especially. Less charmed by this handsome Romanian count is Jonathan Harker (Trevor Eve), Lucy's fiancé.
Later that night, while Lucy and Jonathan are having a secret rendezvous, Dracula reveals his true nature as he descends upon Mina to drink her blood. The following morning, Lucy finds Mina awake in bed, struggling for breath. Powerless, she watches her friend die, only to find wounds on her throat. Lucy blames herself for Mina's death, as she had left her alone.
At a loss for the cause of death, Dr. Seward calls for Mina's father, Professor Abraham van Helsing (Laurence Olivier). Van Helsing suspects what might have killed his daughter: a vampire. Moreover, he begins to worry about what fate his seemingly dead daughter may now have. Seward and van Helsing investigate their suspicions and discover a roughly clawed opening within Mina's coffin which leads to the local mines. It is there that they encounter the ghastly form of an undead Mina, and it is up to a distraught van Helsing to destroy what remains of his own daughter, which he does.
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