The Silver Screen Oasis

Joe,

I completely forgot about RETURN OF DRACULA 1958 FILM ... It was exactly what you said it would ... here's the trailer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iasOE3y-d-g

DRACULA 2014

I heard about this movie and it's coming our way in October and I'm planning on seeing it in the theatres ... here's the trailer ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZFZxEnB7ws

I'm on the fence with this one, Erik. CGI and it looks to me as if it might be another VAN HELSING-type superhero offering.

Erik, The trailer for RETURN OF DRACULA contains some interesting differences to the film as released. Lederer's line to "Rachel": "One drop of your blood, and you are bound to me." doesn't appear in the finished product. Also, the van Helsing character, Mr. Meierman (played by the excellent John Wengraf) refers to "A pointed stake" rather than "A wooden stake". Little differences, but fascinating. Lederer's opening spiel would only have been used in the trailer, but it's good to hear that. W.G., I agree with you about the up-coming pic. Modern films have a very strange visual style that simply alienates me.

Yeah Joe, I have a very low tolerance for many of today's horror-inspired films (heck - movies in general). VAN HELSING was a total mess, IMO. I was slightly more accepting of the remake of THE WOLF MAN, although that also tended to go overboard. As I've proudly stated time and again, I'm an anachronism. Give me the classics (in any genre) over most of what passes for "entertainment" today. I mean, seriously, can anyone really choose the last incarnation of KING KONG over the original? The craftsmanship of Willis O'Brien (crude though it may be to contemporary audiences) far surpasses the (ultimately boring) CGI of Peter Jackson's ambitious but ultimately vacuous rehash. And let's really be honest here: I can accept Naomi Watts in the Fay Wray role . . . but what the -- Jack Black as Carl Denham . . . Adrien Brody as Jack Driscoll?? I'm getting nauseated just thinking of this insult to the memory of Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot.

And please, that monkey-butt ice skating in Central Park . . .

Dare I ask: Did I open a can of worms?

W.G., You've stated everything I feel about KONG, and modern movies in general.

. . . Which is why I appreciate this site. I find in my environment fewer and fewer people have an appreciation for the classics. I sometimes find when I mention an old-time movie performer that people don't know who I'm talking about.

And that's depressing.

These two movies will be on TCM on Saturday Night - October 11th

Blacula (1972)
Scream, Blacula Scream (1973)

On, Tuesday October 28th ... these Dracula Movies will be on too ...

Vampire Bat, The (1933)
Return of the Vampire, The (1944)
Horror of Dracula (1958)
Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1965)
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1969)

On, Halloween - Only One Movie is Playing ...

Mark Of The Vampire (1935)

Check TCM for more details ...

Perfect Halloween fare. Keep your fangs sharpened.

W.G., It seems that we're both men out of our time. And, like you, I'm proud of that! Saw the "new" KING KONG at a local cinema when it came out (in fact, that was my last visit to a picture house). I felt exactly the same way about Black as Denham. Love Robert Armstrong (I like SON OF KONG and MIGHTY JOE... too). A Halloween vampire fest--sounds good Erik. I don't take T.V. channels, but TCM is probably the only one I'd have any use for. Got RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE DVD on order (Region One edition). Looking forward to seeing it in a crisp print. Got BLACK SABBATH on the way too (supposedly, restored edition of original Italian version).

I'm getting so I don't even know anything about contemporary movies. I'm sure some of them are good; some are great. But you have to shovel through so much nonsense to find them. I'm tired of taking out the trash!

Does it matter RR? You care about old movies. I care. I can't reconcile the differences between the old and new. Even under the studio system, the various aspects of production were handled by skilled individuals, who put their stamp upon the assignments they were employed to carry out. The result? A factory product. A factory product in which the hand of the indivdual can still be discerned! What do we have now? Commercially fed, commitee generated bunk!

There have been some contemporary movies that I've been tempted to see but for one reason or another missed on their initial release. Caught up with them later on Pay-per-View and was only glad I never forked out the big bucks (two adult tickets, popcorn and a beverage now at about $50) to see them at the theater. Inevitably I find I'm disappointed and generally feel ripped off that I even paid a five buck charge to watch them on the small screen. When I check out the new releases I very rarely find anything that turns my crank. The last movie I saw at the theater was HEAVEN IS REAL. Nice film but I would have enjoyed it just as much on television.

Yeah, I'll stick with the classics.TCM and DVDs.

The one movie being shown on Halloween is the one that I want to see badly - I haven't seen that movie in 20 years!

Western Guy wrote:
Yeah, I'll stick with the classics.TCM and DVDs.

Same here ... with our humble respect!