Empire's 100 Best British Films: Now Disc. 90. Dracula (1958)

I simply didn't think the film was as good as the mini-series, though all the performances were good. It did have the sort of cast that shouts: "Oscar me!".

 

I can't WAIT to see this film, but sadly, it probably won't be in cinemas here until January or February.

I'm planning to watch the TV series afterwards (and possibly even reading the books as well), so that I can compare.

 

Yeah, I'm not surprised at all that Oldman would get Oscar buzz. Though is it just me, or is there less strong Oscar buzz in general around everything? It doesn't seem like anything is standing out the way one or two films normally are at this point in the year.

 

Yeah, at this point the race is a bit muddled, although at the moment The Artist is considered the favourite. The Golden Globe nominations come out in a few days, which, for whatever reason, seems to make the whole thing a bit clearer.

I don't know why I follow the awards rubbish. Maybe because it occasionally alerts me to an interesting, low-key film I'd never have heard of otherwise.

Like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

 

93. Brazil (1985)

Directed by Terry Gilliam
Starring Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Robert De Niro, Michael Palin, Ian Holm, Bob Hoskins

"There's a cruel irony in the fact that Terry Gilliam's hymn to non-conformity ran smack into huge studio pressure to conform to audience expectation. Specifically, Universal's grande fromage Sid Sheinberg believed that its ending was too bleak and needed less, well, bleakness. Being Sid Sheinberg he was in a position to force through his infamous 'Love Conquers All' edit, unwittingly providing Gilliam's unique sci-fi with the Big Brother figure it didn't boast on screen. Sheinberg had less luck foisting a new title on the film - the director himself combed through numerous ideas, the Orwell-referencing '1984 ?' amongst them, before settling on a sideways reference to a pre-war ditty called 'Aquarela do Brasil' - but he let the film fester so long on the shelf that Gilliam was reduced to begging for its release in trade press ads. On the other side of the Atlantic, audiences were reveling in a dystopian vision that's since been referenced by everyone from the Coen brothers to Alex Proyas. Like Metropolis with a whole lot more paperwork, it's a melon-twisting vision of a future bureaucracy gone crackers."

24th on the Time Out (British) List

 

92. Four Lions (2010)

Directed by Chris Morris
Starring Riz Ahmed, Arsher Ali, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak, Adeel Akhtar, Craig Parkinson

"On paper, a comedy about radicalised British Muslims blowing themselves up during the London Marathon shouldn't be funny, but with Chris Morris at the helm, nothing can be taken for granted - not even gags about bomb construction or exploding crows. Morris pulls off an incredible trick in extracting comedy from catastrophe with the help of a talented cast, Kayvan Novak to the fore as the earnest Waj with Nigel Lindsay as irascible convert Barry. Morris teases out belly laugh after belly laugh from characters rather than crudeness, sympathy rather than distain, all whilst making a point about the nature of terrorism. For this amazing balancing act alone, Four Lions deserves a place up there with The Life Of Brian in the contentious comedy hall of fame. Sure, the somewhat inevitable ending wouldn't be found in most 'how-to-make-a-money-spinning-comedy' handbooks, but in Morris's masterful hands, you're guaranteed hysteric giggle fits as well as some heavier head scratching."

Did not place on the Brit List.

 

This sounds like a great hook for a movie, but I've heard from a couple of friends who I trust (mostly) that it didn't live up to potential. I think Mastadge said the same thing here in the Amp after he saw it. Too bad; I'll probably watch it sometime, just for the set up.

 

The Remains Of The Day (1993)

Directed by James Ivory
Starring Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Christopher Reeve, James Fox

"You have to get past the imitators and the spoofs, because this Merchant-Ivory classic inspired legions of both, but if you can you'll find this sumptuously shot, beautifully understated drama is worth the effort. Forget Hannibal Lecter: this is Anthony Hopkins' finest performance by a country mile. As the buttoned-down butler who places propriety about everything else in his life, his turn is so restrained he might as well be wearing a straitjacket, but underneath his every mood is clear, if you're paying attention, as he negotiates fascist sympathisers, American newcomers and Emma Thompson's strong-willed housekeeper. The Kazuo Ishiguro novel already provided the elegiac sense of melancholy and missed chances, but this adaptation adds beautiful visuals and a polished sheen that even Hopkins' Steven would admire."

Not on the Brit list.

 

One of the very best films of the 90s. Comfortably the best of the Merchant Ivory films, and it's either this or Nixon as Hopkins' best performance.

 

90. Dracula (1958)

Directed by Terence Fisher
Starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling

Hammer's take on the big daddy of the vampire world (assuming vampires have fathers) is sexier and gorier than any previous adaptation, and most subsequent efforts. Christopher Lee makes an imposing, fiery Count, pitted against Peter Cushing's cool, cerebral Van Helsing in a battle for the soul of Mina Harker and any other comely wenches who happen to cross his path. It's a pacy retelling of the story, only pausing for a moment here and there as Dracula looms threateningly over someone's neck, and it has a rich score that keeps the blood pumping. The Count's gruesome end, flesh peeling and melting in the sun, is an iconic horror image and did much to establish the Hammer style.

65. on the Brit List.

 

(aka Horror of Dracula)

It's certainly a robust and vivid film, though it plays fast and loose with the source material and seems designed specifically to play against the expectations of an audience familiar with the iconic 1931 American film.

(Harker is a vampire hunter rather than a real estate agent; there is only one Bride whom we meet even before we see Dracula; the Count is taciturn and feral, far from the loquacious and elegant figure we meet in Stoker; Harker is turned into a vampire which Van Helsing must destroy; Mina and Lucy are reversed and most of the supporting characters are nixed.)

Taken as a movie on its own merits, it is perhaps a three-star affair, modestly entertaining but hardly a classic or masterpiece; taken as an adaptation of the novel it is a dismal failure.