Hollywood in known for making literary adaptations, and such adaptations will exploit context. Movies bring literary properties to the public that otherwise would not bother to read them. However the "marriage" of literature and film holds their own separate qualities.
It is precisely the point that Hollywood distorts and corrupts serious literature for the entertainment pleasures of a mass audience. In the task of comparing and contrasting the novel of "Dracula" to film extracts of "Bram Stoker’s Dracula", values, meaning and context discovered lie between discrepancy and similarity. The change from differing mediums, novel and film, reveal characteristics and possibilities of narratives. Through the advancement of technology, modern writers
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The introduction of Mina, starting of with a medium long shot of her in the Westenra house, which allows the audience to pay more attention to what is happening in the background, the mise-en-scene being a large decorated room of the Victorian era, including plants, chairs. The setting of the whole room is surrounded by glass, which has the ability to allow natural light. This shot slowly zooms in to the sound of the typewriter and turns into a reverse shot that is a close up on the face of Mina Murray. Her diligent use of the typewriter allows the background noise of chirping birds add to the innocence of her character. Lucy then enters the shot, which goes back to a medium long shot. Lucy and Mina are contrasted; Lucy represents threatening sexuality, whilst Mina represents socially accepted sexuality. Lucy before being vamped contains personality characteristics that are classified as unacceptable in Victorian society. In the film extract, the significance of Arabian Nights reveals Mina’s sexual inquisitiveness in contrast to Lucy’s fantastical application. The neat brown hair and conservative green dress of Mina in comparison to Lucy’s wavy red hair and flowing white dress, emphasize, from Coppola’s deliberate use, the wild passions of Lucy and steadiness of …show more content…
Lucy poses a threat to the Victorian ideology by exposing herself as a danger to sexual propriety. She remarks about wanting to have more than one husband, which displays promiscuity, “Why can’t they let a girl marry three men or as many as want her?” this statement works as a threat which comes to fruition after Lucy is bitten. Once infected by Dracula, Lucy becomes sexually overt and aggressive; and is portrayed as a monster and a social outcast. She transforms into a fiend and feeds on children making her the maternal antithesis as well as a child molester. Coppola mimics the book onto the film with a degree of exactitude in the staking scene. In which the entrance of the tomb has a spooky minor tune is played to add another layer of horror to the gothic setting of the tomb. As the men open Lucy’s coffin, an aerial shot notifies the empty contents and a reverse angle shot is used of the dominant figure of Arthur looking into the coffin. The viewpoint of this shot highlights the submissiveness of women and dominance of their partners in Victorian England. A supernatural force was surrounded by Lucy when she, herself, entered the tomb, this, Coppola’s addition of candelabras instantaneously lighting themselves when Lucy draws nearer, highlighting her supposed fantastical
Florescu, Radu, and McNally, R. T., Dracula: A Biography of Vlad the Impaler, 1431-1476 (1973)
Since the 19th Century, Bram Stoker’s Dracula has entertained its readers taking them to heights of excitement in the climax
In the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, there is much evidence of foreshadowing and parallels to other myths. Dracula was not the first story featuring a vampire myth, nor was it the last. Some would even argue that it was not the best. However, it was the most original, using foreshadowing and mood to create horrific imagery, mythical parallels to draw upon a source of superstition, and original narrative elements that make this story unique.
This fictional character was soon to be famous, and modified for years to come into movie characters or even into cereal commercials. But the original will never be forgotten: a story of a group of friends all with the same mission, to destroy Dracula. The Count has scared many people, from critics to mere children, but if one reads between the lines, Stoker’s true message can be revealed. His personal experiences and the time period in which he lived, influenced him to write Dracula in which he communicated the universal truth that good always prevails over evil. Religion was a big part of people’s lives back in Stoker’s time.
Comparing the 1931 version of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, with Frances Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula 1993 version yields some similarities. Both films are of the same genre: Horror. Both films are set around the same time period. Also, both deal with a vampire coming to England and causing disruptions in people's lives. Beyond these few similarities are numerous contrasts.
The late nineteenth century Irish novelist, Bram Stoker is most famous for creating Dracula, one of the most popular and well-known vampire stories ever written. Dracula is a gothic, “horror novel about a vampire named Count Dracula who is looking to move from his native country of Transylvania to England” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Unbeknownst of Dracula’s plans, Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, traveled to Castle Dracula to help the count with his plans and talk to him about all his options. At first Jonathan was surprised by the Count’s knowledge, politeness, and overall hospitality. However, the longer Jonathan remained in the castle the more uneasy and suspicious he became as he began to realize just how strange and different Dracula was. As the story unfolded, Jonathan realized he is not just a guest, but a prisoner as well. The horror in the novel not only focuses on the “vampiric nature” (Soyokaze), but also on the fear and threat of female sexual expression and aggression in such a conservative Victorian society.
Over the years people have given new out looks on the original vampire, Dracula. He was a tall non-attractive looking man who would never come out during the day. Hollywood however has made new vampire stories such as Twilight, True Blood, and The Vampire Diaries/The Originals that have new ideas of a vampire. These novels/books all have differences, but some still have key characteristics of the original vampire.
Spencer, Kathleen L. Purity and Danger: Dracula, the Urban Gothic, and the Late Victorian Degeneracy Crisis. 1st ed. Vol. 59. N.p.: Johns Hopkins UP, 1992. JSTOR. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. .
The novels were written in the 19th century, ‘Frankenstein’ was first published in 1818 and ‘Dracula’ was first published in 1897. In this century there was a fanaticism with Gothic horror stories and these novels reflect this. In the last century, a wide audience would have appreciated these novels, although they are not great literary accomplishments, people of that period enjoyed reading this type of story, filled with horror, suspense and intrigue. The very idea that such an evil and frightening creature could exist shocked and aroused the curiosity of many people at this time. Society in the last century was extremely corrupt and immoral, the novel ‘Frankenstein’ reflects this, in which an innocent creature is shunned by society because of it’s abnormal and somewhat shocking appearance.
Mise-en-scene includes everything that appears in front of the camera. The director generally controls these elements. The mise-en-scene affects if the audience perceives the degree of realism or fantasy in the film. Broken Blossoms clearly aims for realism, however, the actors needed a more expressive style in order to portray their characters without sound.
Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” was written the year after Stevenson released his book. Dracula follows Byron’s idea of being alluring and of magical ability, but differs in that he is unpleasant in ...
The one book that started the vampire industry with a boom is the book Dracula written by Bram Stoker. Dracula had the most suspense and dread filled plot along with unique characters. Some characters stood out more than others, especially the foreigner Dr. Van Helsing. Van Helsing is a philosopher and metaphysician with many important roles in this novel. His characters personality, major actions/reactions, themes, and motivations demonstrated made him a useful and significant figure throughout the story.
One quality that individualizes Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the way that he is able to diversify a single motif by creating a different experience for each character in
Every great literary source has the ability to provide a majestic getaway for your mind. With each significant piece of literature, readers are transported into a different dimension through the pages of alluring romances, perplexing mysteries, and sublime fantasies. While reading Dracula, by Bram Stoker, readers are transported into the Victorian Era, where controversial topics, such as religion and sexuality, are masked behind the riveting fictional work. Not only does Stoker place emphasis on the gender role issues circulating the 1800’s, but focuses on sexual morality as well. Written in 1897, the book takes place between a series of letters and journal entries recorded by the characters. It shifts between the perspectives of Jonathan Harker
The novel Dracula is a work of fiction that was published in 1897 and was written by the author known as Bram Stoker . This novel has an eerie outcome but also a successful one due to the fact that the novel so easily plays off of human fears. Stoker created a novel that very well reflects off the fears and anxieties that troubled the people in the 1897 era. The vampire Count Dracula is a figure Stoker created to symbolize evil and England's worst fears. There are many film adaptations of Bram Stoker's novel but the 1992 film "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is the film adaptation that will be compared and contrasted to the novel.