Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972 film)

Copyright: Hammer Films and Columbia-Warner Bros.

A little late in getting this up, but better late than never, I always say!  For years, many have debated over who played the best Dracula.  Some say Bela Lugosi, some say Duncan Regehr of Monster Squad, and some say the man who starred in this film, Christopher Lee.  I originally thought of covering the original Christopher Lee Dracula film, Horror of Dracula (or just Dracula on its British release), but realized it would probably be another retelling of the original story, and I wanted to get a little more variety in my articles.

I can't remember if this was my first Christopher Lee Dracula film, or if I saw another before this one, but I know I saw this one years ago, possibly on one of the premium stations like Encore or Starz.  I do know that I enjoyed it, though I still hold Bela Lugosi as the better Dracula actor, myself.  But, before we get too into that, let's get into the summary!

The film begins with a carriage chase (I thought this was going to be different from the original film!) through Hyde Park, with Dracula fighting Van Helsing, his eternal arch nemesis, on top of it.  As the horses pulling the carriage pull away, due to the pin connecting them pulling free, Dracula throws Van Helsing off the roof, then ends up crashing with the carriage into a tree.  As Van Helsing looks on, Dracula stumbles from alongside the carriage with one of its broken wheels impaling him.  With a mild struggle, Van Helsing manages to drive it in the rest of the way, then succumbs to his own injuries as a man rides up to the scene and watches Dracula waste away to dust.  The new man takes Dracula's ring, and a vial of his ashes, and leaves the scene.

Fast forward a hundred years to contemporary (for 1972) London.  The majority of the film takes place here, as one young man seeks to revive Dracula, with Van Helsing's descendants seeking to stop him.  The film here is amazing to me, I love looking back into the past and seeing the fashions, hearing the music, all of that.  The film came out five years before I was born, so it's nice to connect with my decade.

I did enjoy the film.  Christopher Lee was great in the role, but his role in the film was a bit limited.  He is, of course, a highly respected actor, and rightly so.  Besides Dracula, he also was Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Saruman in the Middle Earth saga, and, in one of the first roles I remember seeing him in, Dr. Catheter in Gremlins 2: The New Batch.  He also had roles in quite a few Tim Burton films, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Dark Shadows.  Playing opposite Mr. Lee was Peter Cushing.  Cushing was another great actor, who played in Tales from the Crypt, Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (with Christopher Lee again), and the original Star Wars.  Caroline Munro played Laura, one of the early victims of the film.  She's had a long acting career, including one film I covered on the original version of the site, The Last Horror Film (filmed during the Cannes Film Festival in France).  She was a Bond Girl (in The Spy Who Loved Me), and was also in an old favorite of mine, Slaughter High.

All in all, a pretty fun film, with a few surprises here and there.  I highly recommend a view, and give it a 4 out of 5.  Next up, we'll have something a little more recent, with Bram Stoker's Dracula, starring Gary Oldman as the eponymous count.  Until then, take care of yourselves, and this is Red Hawk signing out!