I saw this on PBS Great Performances in 1978, then watched the rerun the following year. I raved about it then to anyone who would listen. But, I hadn't seen the whole thing since then. How lucky I am to have gotten ahold of a copy of the full-length version on DVD. While the project may have benefitted from a larger budget, overall they did great work with what they had.
The cast is quite good with Louis Jourdan giving us an urbane, seductive yet menacing Count, and Finlay as a solid Van Helsing. The story has been told so many times but rarely with this much loyalty to the source material. While there are minor revisions to the story, they seem to serve the purpose of moving the story along (such as combining the Holmwood & Morrison characters). Meanwhile, the director manages to squeeze in more of Jonathan's experiences in Dracula's castle, such as his "gift" to the three brides or his departure down the side wall. That last one always struck me as so cinematic in the book, I was surprised that it had never been used in any of the films before.
Some day there may be an even better adaptation of Stoker's novel, with a better budget but, until that day, this will remain my preferred version of the story.
The cast is quite good with Louis Jourdan giving us an urbane, seductive yet menacing Count, and Finlay as a solid Van Helsing. The story has been told so many times but rarely with this much loyalty to the source material. While there are minor revisions to the story, they seem to serve the purpose of moving the story along (such as combining the Holmwood & Morrison characters). Meanwhile, the director manages to squeeze in more of Jonathan's experiences in Dracula's castle, such as his "gift" to the three brides or his departure down the side wall. That last one always struck me as so cinematic in the book, I was surprised that it had never been used in any of the films before.
Some day there may be an even better adaptation of Stoker's novel, with a better budget but, until that day, this will remain my preferred version of the story.