Count Dracula (BBC 1977)

I found this television production of Count Dracula to be very interesting. Not only for their decision to cast French actor Louis Jourdan in the role of Count Dracula but also the visual effects they used to acheive a certain look in particular scenes.

The thing you need to understand about any BBC production circa 1977. A great number of television programs worked on a very small budget. So, I always enjoy a production all the more when they make attempts at being creative or producing certain mood with the limited resources available to them.

Both Louis Jourdan and Frank Finlay (my favorite actor to play Inspector Lestrade) are the stand-out performances of the piece. As much as I've enjoyed Christopher Lee's bombastic version of the Count, I thought Louis Jourdan's quieter and more reserved kind of evil. His approach is much more reserved and understated. And for me, it gives the character an air that he is always in control.

And Frank Finlay did an excellent job as Professor Abraham Van Helsing. More along the lines of the Germanic version of the character from the Lugosi movies. Has a knowledge of the undead, but not quite the Vampire Hunter Peter Cushing was in the Hammer Films. Much like Louis Jourdan, a very understated performance that works really well.

There is quite a bit more exterior filming than there normally was in a BBC production at the time. For whatever reason, many BBC Productions from early on until sometime around 1986 maybe (when they switched to just videotape for both for a while) had all their exterior scenes shot on film and all interior scenes shot on video. So you would have these absolutely gorgeous filmed bits and then the flatter interior shots videotaped.

So that makes this production of Count Dracula unique because you get an opportunity to enjoy the filmed bits more than some of the other productions being made at that time.

I suppose since I was raised on PBS and I got used to many BBC Productions the switching back and forth between film and video doesn't bother me as much.

I would give this production a chance. It's a bit slower and stagier than many other versions of Dracula. But seeing what the production team did to try and achieve a certain atmosphere makes the film all the more interesting the watch.