When I watched
"Dario Argento's Dracula"
last month I said that I would watch all my versions of the Dracula story back
to back next year. I've decided to start already. I shan't watch all seven of
them. I'll just watch my four favourite versions in chronological order,
starting today.
Friedrich Murnau's 1922 version avoids the use of the name Dracula, because he
didn't have the rights to adapt the novel. He calls the vampire Count Orlok.
He's also changed the names of the other main characters, but it's easy for anyone
who knows the novel to recognise who's who. Nevertheless, the film was deemed
to be an illegal adaptation of the film, so Bram Stoker's widow sued Murnau,
and a court ordered all copies of the film to be destroyed. Luckily, film
reels were later found in a warehouse in London, so this important film has
survived.
The story has been simplified, omitting many details of the original novel,
but one thing has been added. In the final scene Orlok (Dracula) dies because
Ellen (Lucy) tempts him to stay awake until the Sun rises. This ending has
been copied in many other adaptations of the novel. I have to admit that it's a better
ending than the long search for Dracula as written by Bram Stoker.
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