Wonderful Dracula retrospective that was a featurette on the initial Dracula DVD release and has been included on subsequent releases. It's hosted by the delightfully charming Carla Laemmle, niece of the founder of Universal and an actress in her own right. She appears in the opening scene of Dracula as one of the coach passengers and actually says the first lines of the film. This featurette covers the history of Dracula from Bram Stoker to the stage play on to the classic 1931 film. It also oddly covers the Frank Langella '70s version of the film. While the inclusion of this seems strange, it does lead to one of the more amusing moments in the short where the elderly Laemmle swoons over Langella's "sexy" Dracula.
There's lots of interviews with the likes of Rick Baker, Clive Barker, Lupita Tovar, and the sons of Bela Lugosi, Dwight Frye, and John Balderston. It also features film historian and author David J. Skal, who wrote and directed this short. The only real complaint I have is that it doesn't cover the sequels to Dracula or any of the other versions, like Hammer's enjoyable series of Dracula films. But the focus is on Universal's Dracula film and the history of the character leading up to that, which is fine. It's a fun featurette with lots of information and history, especially for those new to Dracula or the Universal horror films.
There's lots of interviews with the likes of Rick Baker, Clive Barker, Lupita Tovar, and the sons of Bela Lugosi, Dwight Frye, and John Balderston. It also features film historian and author David J. Skal, who wrote and directed this short. The only real complaint I have is that it doesn't cover the sequels to Dracula or any of the other versions, like Hammer's enjoyable series of Dracula films. But the focus is on Universal's Dracula film and the history of the character leading up to that, which is fine. It's a fun featurette with lots of information and history, especially for those new to Dracula or the Universal horror films.