Review of Bram Stoker`s Dracula (Superbit)

Introduction

Columbia Tristar try a new marketing ploy for DVD`s by introducing the "Superbit" collection; a format which eschews the space used for extra features, instead using it to optimise the picture and sound quality by using a special high bit rate digital transfer process to encode movies at "double" the normal DVD bit rate. And is it successful? Read on.

Historically Dracula has been portrayed as a monster, the Prince of Vampires who must be killed to save young virgins from becoming his concubines. Coppola`s retelling goes back to the original routes from Bram Stoker`s tale - that of a love story. After Dracula returns from a crusade, his bride (played by the excellent Winona Ryder) is tricked into thinking he has died on the battlefield. At this she plunges to her death from the castle into the river. On D`s return he finds his dearest Wilomena has killed herself. Now she is dead the church state she is damned, and will not go to heaven because she committed suicide. D gets stroppy, renounces the church, drinks the blood of a bleeding cross and becomes the horny, blood guzzling devil we all know and love.

Gary Oldman was perfectly cast for this role. The range of characters he can portray is exceptional, and in this he injects Dracula`s spirit with passion, anger, hatred, charm and elegance as he walks cursed through time, waiting to be reunited with his love Wilomena.

And Winona adopts the perfect English rose accent for this role and is wonderful as the vulnerable and innocent girl whose world constricts as Dracula moves in to claim his bride. The same cannot be said for Jonathan Harker (played by Keanu Reeves), the accent occasionally slips and the beach bum "hey dude" undertones are always present giving a character who lacks credibility.

Anthony Hopkins, as the only man who really knows what`s going on, comes across marvellously as usual. His presence commands attention, but the ease in which he slips into this character is purely effortless.

Video

When I first saw Coppola`s version of Dracula released on Superbit I was very excited. Coppola paints a visually rich and beautiful tapestry with every scene. If Superbit lived up to the hype then this was going to be a film to cherish in this enhanced format.

And happily (with this disk at least) it lives up to its very high reputation. There are a number of scenes in this film which will test the hardiest of DVDs. Fine clouds of fog and smoke are rendered perfectly, skin tones are very natural and blood takes on a lovely dark ebony-red colour. But the standout scenes for me are ones that show the mountain range near Dracula`s castle. The detail evident in these is exemplary, even though the lighting is dim; each craggy surface is rendered perfectly giving a wonderful three-dimensional feel to the film.

Whilst it definitely isn`t twice as good as other DVDs (I`m thinking of Star Wars and the New Line Platinum titles here) it certainly is a noticeable improvement on picture quality. When I bought this title, the Superbit collection was only available on Region 1. I`m staggered to think what this will be like on the superior PAL format of Region 2.

Audio

And so to the sound - which again is excellent. The opening score is dark and brooding, foretelling the impending doom. The mid bass dips slightly down into the sub adding weight and gravitas. Dialogue is always clear, and panning effects have been excellently done - especially on the dts mix. One point of note is the fly that buzzes around the cell of the mental patients… and your room. The dts mix really excels at these moments, dolby loosing out slightly on definition. However, that old complaint about the +10db recording level on dts sub bass still exists, and as such sounds a little overblown and woolly in places. But this is a minor detraction, as in this film I preferred the dts mix to dolby.

Now is the soundtrack twice as good as DVDs not recorded in Superbit? I`d say no in this instance. It is very good, but there are other soundtracks out there which cut the sonic mustard just as well - and in some cases better. Again Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is currently the reference disk that all others must be judged by, and I have to say it still keeps that title. TPM has obviously been recorded to a very high quality, but this disk also includes a stunning picture and a wealth of extras too.

Features

None whatsoever but obviously you were expecting that!

Conclusion

In my opinion Coppola came up with an excellent telling of the Dracula story, keeping it true to the original novel and imbuing it with the right mix of supernatural darkness, sexual passion and heart-breaking love.

The film was always noted for its excellent visual style and the picture quality of this Superbit DVD really does it justice. This has a wonderful clarity and depth of picture that will challenge the best pictures in your DVD collection. Is it benchmark stuff? Yes, but there are some very close runners.

As far as a purchase of a film, this one was a bit of a risk for me, I liked the film, but from memory I didn`t think it is one I would have invested any more money in, just to see if there really was a difference in picture and sound quality. I am happy to report that there is a definite improvement and this is a worthwhile addition to your collection.