So I was having this discussion on another forum and there's a lot of different opinions on who the best Dracula was. I have been a fan of many of the Dracula films, but it was still an easy choice for me. I wonder who you would choose; Max Schreck, Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Klaus Kinski or Gary Oldman?
Bela is definitely the most iconic Dracula, with Lee coming in second. However, do they really represent the Dracula of Stoker's novel? Lee's Dracula is clearly based or influenced by Brownings/Lugosi's Dracula, though arguably improved. The more romantic figure. In the novel he is often described as ugly, with hair growing out his ears and hair on the back of his hands, and acted in strange creepy ways. When reading the novel he fills the reader and characters with a sense of dread, he did not impress. That is why I would say Max Schreck is the best Dracula. The mere site of his character instills the viewer with fear and loathing. His movements and actions are genuinely unsettling. He lived the role, and there is no actor who could have played a better Dracula in silent film, nay, in film alone.
Of course the flip side would be that, Browning/Lugosi really took the Dracula image and made it their own. They made it even more popular than it's originator was able on his own. Either way, that's just one man's opinion.
Bela is definitely the most iconic Dracula, with Lee coming in second. However, do they really represent the Dracula of Stoker's novel? Lee's Dracula is clearly based or influenced by Brownings/Lugosi's Dracula, though arguably improved. The more romantic figure. In the novel he is often described as ugly, with hair growing out his ears and hair on the back of his hands, and acted in strange creepy ways. When reading the novel he fills the reader and characters with a sense of dread, he did not impress. That is why I would say Max Schreck is the best Dracula. The mere site of his character instills the viewer with fear and loathing. His movements and actions are genuinely unsettling. He lived the role, and there is no actor who could have played a better Dracula in silent film, nay, in film alone.
Of course the flip side would be that, Browning/Lugosi really took the Dracula image and made it their own. They made it even more popular than it's originator was able on his own. Either way, that's just one man's opinion.
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