Dracula

Seeking refuge in the seaside home of a doctor (Donald Pleasence) and his daughter (Kate Nelligan), seductive shipwreck survivor Dracula (Frank Langella, reprising his Broadway role) works his deadly magic on a nubile houseguest (Jan Francis). Soon the noted vampire hunter Van Helsing (Laurence Olivier) is called to the scene. Dynamite performances and a moody score from John Williams highlight this stylish retelling of the horror classic.

The fifteenth-century Romanian Prince Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, is among the most intriguing personalities in medieval history. Already during his lifetime, his true story became obscured by a veil of myths. As a result, he has been portrayed both as a bloody tyrant — who degenerated down throughout the centuries into the fictional vampire of the same name created by Bram Stoker at the end of the nineteenth century — and as a national and Christian hero who fought bravely to defend his native land and all of Europe against the invading Turkish infidels. Even in recent times, communist and nationalist historiography has continued to obscure the real history of Dracula.

This version of Dracula is closely based on Bram Stoker's classic novel of the same name. A young lawyer (Jonathan Harker) is assigned to a gloomy village in the mists of eastern Europe. He is captured and imprisoned by the undead vampire Dracula, who travels to London, inspired by a photograph of Harker's betrothed, Mina Murray. In Britain, Dracula begins a reign of seduction and terror, draining the life from Mina's closest friend, Lucy Westenra. Lucy's friends gather together to try to drive Dracula away.

This book, written by the author of the latest screen version's book adaption(Bram Stoker's Dracula), offers a great look at the other side of the classic story. The story is told from the point of view of Dracula himself, and begins at the same point as the Stoker novel. But, with the arrival of Harker at Castle Dracula, the story takes a very different turn. Saberhagen portays Dracula as a great warrior prince, caught in a life that he did'nt chose…