Dracula - Pages from a Virgin's Diary

Description

After garnering widespread acclaim with his mini-masterpiece THE HEART OF THE WORLD, red hot cult auteur Guy Maddin (THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD) has taken on the world's most adapted horror tale and concocted his most original and ravishingly stylized cinematic creation yet. Beautifully transposing the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's interpretation of Bram Stoker's classic vampire yarn from stage to screen, Maddin has forged a sumptuous, erotically charged feast of dance, drama and silent film techniques. The black-and-white, blood-red-punctured DRACULA: PAGES FROM A VIRGIN'S DIARY is a Gothic grand guignol of the notorious Count and his bodice-ripped victims, fringed with the expressionistic strains of Gustav Mahler.

Customer Reviews:

A familiar story that looks like no other film. **DVD features below**.......2007-08-29

Dracula Pages from a Virgin's diary is the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's take on Bram Stoker's Dracula brought to screen in the form of a silent film in 2003 by Canadian director Guy Maddin with an Asian Count Dracula played by Wei-Qiang Zhang, and titles that jump off the screen as from a comic book at times. It is one of the most unique movies I have ever seen. For those that know of techniques used in silent films in Roger Ebert's review (which he gave 3 1/2 stars) he states "the visuals include all the favorite devices of the silent period (wipes, iris shots, soft framing, intertitles, tinting), and the effect is--well, surprisingly effective." Mahler's symphony plays throughout this erotic unsettling tale although we sometimes here a thud or two and maybe a head being decapitated from it's body by a shovel.

The 75 minutes does not fly by, you are given time to experience the music and the actors expressing themselves through dance and that's how it should be. Giving a synopsis of a movie like this can't give it justice it is a film that needs to be experienced and is difficult to put something like that into words, It's like someone telling a story, then failing, and saying I guess you had to be there.

This was the most creative version of Dracula hands down along with one of the most creative films as far as how it was made that I've maybe ever seen. This would make my list of great horror and great movies and would be one of the best vampire movies I have seen in the ranks with F.W. Murnau's 1922 Nosferatu the Vampire, Werner Herzog's 1979 version of Nosferatu the Vampire, and Tod Browning's 1931's Dracula. I recently watched and reviewed Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot and enjoyed it very much, it had some actual scares and was entertaining and fun but this film and the three I mentioned above are in another class.

This is a must for any genre but mostly for horror fans who will get to experience something totally new in a time where it seems that everything is being recycled. Would also be great to get a girlfriend or wife into horror that normally might not like it, while expanding your own tastes in the process.

Other original vampire movies I have seen that I'd recommend would be Martin by George A. Romero and an After Dark Horrorfest movie that I won't mention the title so I don't spoil the movie.

**DVD Special Features** (from the back of the box)
-Audio Commentary by director Guy Maddin
-Behind the scenes television special featuring interviews with Maddin, producer Vonnie Von Helmolt and choreographer Mark Godden
-Video piece on the construction of the sets
-Radio interviews with Maddin and Von Helmolt
-Extensive production photo gallery

An oddball concoction: silent film, ballet & music video.......2006-06-10

Here's an oddball DVD for your collection -- a silent Dracuala movie, done artfully in black and white with an Asian Dracula, that is also a music video to the symphonies of Gustav Mahler, a ballet, and a music video. Got all that?

It's a bit hard to tell from watching and listening to this what they had in mind with this piece of art. Produced in Manitoba, of all places, for the Canadian Broadcasting System in 2002, the manifest content is a movie about an Asian Dracula and a group of virgins. This story is told through silent filmmaking in largely arty black & white photography; there are some splashes of color on occasion.

All the while, the visual imagery and occasional on-screen script is cast to the Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 of Gustav Mahler, his "Titan" and "Resurrection" symphonies. The credits says the music is courtesy of Naxos, the Canada-based low priced label, meaning they are the versions conducted by Michal Halasz and Antonio Wit, respectively.

The soft-grained attacks in both symphonies seem to match the soft focus of the art film. These are not among the best recordings of the music, which is secondary to the film but will be the reason some viewers maintain interest in such unusual fare.

Many of the virgins, as well as the Dracula character, perform ballet throughout the film, giving this movie more the character of an extended music video. The dancing is nice and everyone is very lovely to watch, but I wondered what was going on when they all started dancing every now and again, especially when it followed scenes of angry Van Helsing types in floppy hats driving stakes through the hearts of vampires.

The storytelling is punctuated with repetitive scenes that appear to be clipped from earlier frames and inserted again, and the music is equally discombobulated, as pieces of the scores of the two symphonies play through chronologically, then repeat, then come back again later. The whole thing was somewhat off putting to me, to be honest.

In the final analysis, this is more like a 75-minute music video-dream sequence than ballet, Dracula movie, silent movie or exposition of Mahler symphonies. It is an interesting art film with a dreamy coutenance but I doubt I would ever want to watch this thing repeatedly.

Nor could I stay interested in it for the music, which is pretty bland compared to the better Mahler recordings that are available. I think more electrifying performances of the music, perhaps better edited, would have done more to create prolonged viewer interest.

A must for any true Dracula fan..........2006-04-01

This is the kind of movie that has a limited audience. It's what you'd call "artsy", maybe even "pretentious". It's not exactly a break-out-the-popcorn-and-huddle-on-the-couch movie. I can see why people would think it's overrated.

But I love it. Anyone who loves Bram Stoker's novel--not just the movies--needs to watch this because it is the most faithful adaptation of the book. It's not a perfect adaptation, but it preserves the basic plot which every other Dracula movie has more or less butchered. Most of the text in the movie comes straight from the book.

It also recreates the etheral atmosphere of the old Universal movies but adds very modern cinematography and themes. The best part of this movie is that it is visually gorgeous but not excessive. You'll know that all the sets are made of cardboard, but you won't care. The film itself speeds up and slows down to create drama--one scene resembles the 360 degree bullet shot from The Matrix, except it is a tableaux made up of Dracula, Mina, and Van Helsing. It's simple but still beautiful, unlike the decadance of Francis Ford Coppola's version. And ballet is a perfect medium for expressing the repressed sexuality of the story. The sex is satirized to an extent, too. Mina doesn't understand why Jonathan won't do things with her that he did with Dracula's brides. Van Helsing is kind of a fetishist. Seward and Morris give each other carnal glances at one point. Lucy is a perfect "dumb blonde" and the dancer who plays her is an especially good actress. It also touches on the themes of xenophobia and immigration that previous versions of Dracula usually leave out. It even features Dracula's hairy palm, which has never been done before on film.

If you're more of a fan of the book than the movies, you really should see this. If you want a horror movie, well, this isn't it.

The Epitome Of "Dracula" As High Art.......2005-09-25

I came upon this beautiful and unforgettable retelling of the classic Dracula mythos recently.

This is a film that, though quite exceptional, will not be to the liking of all vampire movie fans. It is the brainchild of quirky filmmaker Guy Maddin. Basically, Maddin has taken the ballet(!) "Dracula," performed by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and translated it to film, amplified and adapted, of course, along lines of his very unique surrealistic aesthetic.

I am a fan of all of the fine arts, but I must acknowledge that ballet is my least favorite of them all. But in Maddin's idiosyncratic production, anything other than the evocative rhythmic movements of the characters would diminish the impact of the movie. In addition, Maddin filmed it in "aged" black-and-white (punctuated, at times, by a vibrant and eye-popping crimson) silent films format with occasional captions. Furthermore, he utilizes many of the almost ancient "special effects" that the silent filming masters employed: vignetting, tinting for emphasizing certain themes, lightning fast shots, at times almost like still photos, etc. His homage to German Expressionism, especially the works of Murnau, Lang, Dreyer, etc., is clearly reflected both in his sets and in the ways in which the characters move about within these. Also, his accompanying soundtrack is derived from Gustav Mahler's 1st and 2nd Symphonies, and, believe it or not, the whole thing works!

Those who are not well-acquainted with the core elements of the Bram Stoker fable may have some difficulty following the unfolding vistas and scenarios that Maddin juxtaposes, at times, seemingly irrespective of time or space. But for Dracula aficionados, this stylistic device should not pose any problems. Following in the finest traditions of Frank Langella's Dracula, Maddin's Dracula (Wei-Qiang Zhang)is extraordinarily erotic and overpowering. Indeed, all of the actors/dancers who protrayed the various characters in the movie skillfully executed their roles with precision and credibility, even though, as is the case with silent filmmaking, the actors are obliged to "over-act" in order to convey the essence of whomever each one is portraying. What is especially captivating about this production is the overshadowing surrealistic, dreamlike feel.

I cannot recommend this film too highly. It would be a 3-thumbs way up, in my opinion, and worth 9 stars.

Sublime Journey Converging in Notions and the Subconscious.......2005-05-30

Movement could be interpreted in the same manner that the symbols of the alphabet are, as a series of letters create a word while a number of words form a sentence. In dance the viewer can observe each separate movement though the combination of a successive number of movements that generate a bigger meaning. The dance ultimately leads the audience on a journey with feelings, adventure, and much more. Through the help of ballet the Canadian auteur Guy Maddin restores Bram Stoker's character Dracula in an artistic mirror image of F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror from 1922 or Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979).

Unlike the previous Murnau and Herzog vampire films Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary has purposely shifted its storyline from a typical chronological order to a tossed jumble. This cinematic mixture generates an unconscious imagery with a surrealistic touch where the audience senses the moments of suspense and alarm. There are also emotions such as deep desire and lust which also emerge through the vivid movements of the dancers that once again bring this tale of the dark prince coming to England. Some might assume that the unorganized pattern of the film would affect the experience in a negative way. However, Maddin skillfully induces this nightmare into a surrealistic concoction that allows for the combination of feelings to trickle down to the audience in an artistic manner.

The sexual element of vampires is kept intact in Maddin's film, as he also continues to develop this taboo ridden theme. The film opens with Lucy (Tara Birtwhistle) dreaming, which is illustrated through a number of bizarre shots that have been edited together that deal with the arrival of Dracula (Wei-Qiang Zhang). This nightmare brings out a contradictory desire that Lucy contemplates while scribbling in her journal, "Why can't they let a woman marry three men?" These three men are Arthur Holmwood (Stephane Leonard), Jack Seward (Matthew Johnson), and Quincy Morris (Keir Knight) who all have been suitors to Lucy. However, due to societal convention she must choose one of the men. Throughout the film the viewers will face several situations that deal with the lustful theme, as the vampire desires more from his victims while Van Helsing (Dave Moroni) tries to stop him.

The film creates the same ambience that silent black and white films did before the time of color and sound films. The music that accompanies the film is by Mahler, which induces additional suspense and anxiety. There are some sounds that have been added to the film that highlights characters and situations in such a manner to points out the importance of the situation. Besides the audio the images have also been manipulated through a wide range of color filters that brings about different moods to the film while picture softness on the edge increases the viewers focus on what is pertinent on the screen. Maddin also playfully uses colors, as he later did in The Saddest Music in the World (2003), by enhancing scenes with the color red where there is blood or strong emotion involved.

Dracula: Pages of a Virgin's Diary offers a sublime artistic journey where Maddin converges distinct notions with the vague subconscious. In the area where these two meet we find a surreal dream world with erotic undertones and threatening elements. The union of erotic and fright causes an unknown cerebral notion that enhances the angst in the story. Together with the movement of the dancers the angst is personified and the audience gets an opportunity to visually feel the internal conflict between all of the characters in the film, which in due course ends with a terrific cinematic experience.

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - France ]

Average customer rating:

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - France ]
Director: Guy Maddin
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000II1A6M

Product Description

France released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), French (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SYNOPSIS: This witty but sensual fusion of silent film and ballet is a collaboration by Guy Maddin, a Canadian experimental director, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet performing a work, choreographed by Mark Godden, that had its stage premiere in 1998. The director has accentuated the ballet's racial and erotic subtexts with a cartoonish audacity, portraying the count as a mysterious Eastern Other spreading contamination into the West. As Zhang Wei-Qiang's suave, swashbuckling Dracula seduces and poisons his victims, you think of Attila the Hun as a Valentino-like voluptuary. For all its oddities, the movie, filmed mostly in Super 8, is surprisingly faithful to the 1897 Bram Stoker novel. Mr. Maddin's flickering montages recreate a primitive moviegoing experience with a winking contemporary knowingness. SPECIAL FEATURES: Teaser(s), Storyboards, Photo Gallery, Interactive Menu, Filmographies, Commentary, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Biographies,

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