Vampires

[hannagh_at_sea]

The other night, in another usual bout of insomnia, I set myself the task of trying to figure out the top five vampire films... my results were

1) Nosferatu
2) Dracula (1931)
3) Shadow of the Vampire
4) Interview with the Vampire
5) Nadja

I toussled with a couple of others... of course. Anyone agree/disagree?

Comments

[nilsko]

I think Bram Stoker's Dracula is high on my list too. In any way it seems to resemble the original book best.

[hannagh_at_sea]

Yeah, I like that film very much too... although it did bug me that Coppola called it "Bram Stokers..." (which is why it didn't make it into my top five... ah, so picky!) because it isn't really his story, I mean, where did the Mina/Elisabetha and Dracula love thing come from? Stoker's original resembles traditional Romanian vampire folklore (i.e. the vampire as a walking corpse, rather than the sexualised Lestat-esque character) much more than a lot of Western vampire stories do... don't get me started on this though, I've been wanting to do research in this area for quite some time.

[iamagraveyard]

I think mine is Near Dark. :)

[hannagh_at_sea]

ah-ha... good choice. i haven't seen that film for a while.

[slapperfairy]

I have Near Dark on DVD - Marek bought it - and I didn't really like it. I do like Bram Stokers Dracula (it's just so beautifully shot) and we've even got Keanu Reeves to provide the laughs (he's just *so* bad!) My addition would be from Dusk til Dawn for the pure randomness of the ending. It isn't *technically* a vampire film tho really, more a kidnap/thriller with a rather odd twist at the end that bears no relevance to the plot! Methinks we will continue this conversation in the pub later - happy christmas!

[nilsko]

Hmm, "From Dusk till Dawn" is a nice one too. For completness sake I'd consider it a vampire movie. ;-)

Bram Stokers Dracula does have some extra elements thrown in to spice it up. And being Dutch, I hate it that they gave Dr. Von Helsing a German accent ;-)) They always do that.. ;-)

[hannagh_at_sea]

I hadn't thought of "From Dusk Till Dawn"... yeah, that surely counts as a vampire flick. Aww... Nils m'dear, you should volunteer your services to the film world in a decade or three and be the first dutch Van Helsing!

[aerodrome1]

I rather liked Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu". And a British mini-series from the 1990s called "Ultraviolet".

Odd quasi-vampire novel: Storm Constantine's "Burying the Shadow"... Which does cross the vampire idea with "Paradise Lost".

[hannagh_at_sea]

I've been meaning to see Herzog's "Nosferatu" for ages... and "Ultraviolet" was fun. That book sounds interesting... I shall have a search for it at some point.

[aerodrome1]

The Herzog version is lush and eerie.

"Burying the Shadow" is worth finding. Slow beginning, but it builds...