Dracula – Dead and Loving It

Description

In 1995, it was promising to hear that Mel
Brooks was creating “the companion piece to Young Frankenstein.” He had also
brought in the heavyweight of deadpan–Leslie Nielsen. As Lt. Frank Drebin in
the Police Squad movies, Nielsen has no peer for silly stuff–just the player
Brooks would seem to need for a strong movie, as any fan of Brooks perpetually
hopes a new film may rekindle his madcap magic. Alas, the end results in
Dracula: Dead and Loving It include a sprinkling of amusements and one big
belly laugh. Brooks and his writers use a very tight adaptation of Bram
Stoker’s novel, but the spoofs can be spelled out as we go, as if they are
paint-by-number. Some are jabs at Coppola’s version of Dracula, but most are
attached to classic Dracula films. If any real pleasure comes from the movie
it’s thanks to the efforts of the cast. Peter MacNicol plays the crazed
Renfield to the letter, Steven Weber has a good time as the tight British
Harkin, and Lysette Anthony charms as the doomed Lucy. Brooks and Nielsen ham
it up just fine. There’s even a surprisingly controlled performance by Harvey
Korman (a character spoofing Anthony Hopkins’s role in the misfire The Road to
Wellville). As with Brooks’s period comedies, the film looks better than it
needs to and includes a few tricky special effects for good measure. This has
nothing to do with the audience laughing–we need bigger jokes. And when you
double over laughing in one scene–involving a stake through the heart and a
bucket of blood–you want the movie to achieve Brooks’s days of glory, when
hearty laughter was the norm, not an isolated moment. –Doug Thomas

Features:

Product Details:

• Genre: Horror, Comedy
• Format: Anamorphic, Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen, Subtitled
• Contributor: Clive Revill, Leslie Nielsen, Amy Yasbeck, Harvey Korman, Gregg Binkley, Lysette Anthony, Steven Weber, Steve Haberman, Avery Schreiber, Mel Brooks, Mark Blankfield, Peter MacNicol, Cherie Franklin, Anne Bancroft, Megan Cavanagh, Chuck McCann, Bram Stoker, Matthew Porretta, Peter Schindler, Rudy De Luca See more
• Initial release date: 2006-02-14
• Language: English
• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.85:1
• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 7.56 x 0.75 inches; 2.12 Ounces
• Item model number ‏ : ‎ 2228569
• Director ‏ : ‎ Mel Brooks
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 30 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ February 14, 2006
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Leslie Nielsen, Peter MacNicol, Steven Weber, Amy Yasbeck, Mel Brooks