I'm between the Lugosi version and Horror of Dracula. I love Lugosi's genuine old-world charm, but I like the overwhelming menace that Lee possesses. Those red contacts are freaky.
I enjoy the Coppola movie, but mostly in an MST3K way. I really don't see why other people love it unironically- I'm unable to take a movie seriously when Dracula appears to be Dale Earndhardt cosplaying as a pimp and the tacked on love story both slows the movie to a crawl and is absolute nonsense. On the other hand, it did give us what is perhaps Cary Elwes greatest scene in cinema.
Cary Elwes "What in God's name is going on up here?" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0YotQEjzOU#)
I also dislike how forced the romance in Coppola's Dracula is. Especially considering the character is essentially a rapist and our tragic "hero" is shown to laugh about feeding a baby to his brides. Unless he's changed his name to Soma, Dracula as a sympathetic hero just doesn't work imo. Which is why I like that Kouta Hirano skipped trying to make him sympathetic.
Horror of Dracula and Lugosi version are both good but very slowly paced.
I think most modern audiences would find the 1931 Dracula boring. I saw it in a theater once during a sort of mini Halloween film festival and heard a child complain to their parents "You said it would be scary!"Man yeah, that is real sad. people have no taste nowadays. Old horror movies were not exploitation slashers, or thrillers, they were just well, "scary stories" or rather, "monster stories". They were rarely ever actually scary. And when they were, they were scary because of suspense and atmosphere.
CruelAngel: I have seen Shadow of a Vampire! I totally love that movie, I'm glad somebody else here knows about it. That's a good date movie, too.
I found an interesting video review which tackles the 1931 vs Coppola remake debate and very articulates why I think most people who like the Coppola remake actually do (it is not because we take the dramatics of the film seriously). For anyone with the time:
http://blip.tv/thedistressedwatcher/dracula-1992-review-4353373 (http://blip.tv/thedistressedwatcher/dracula-1992-review-4353373)
Yeah it's like the very moment he goes from Gary Oldman to Gary Youngman (lol) the character does a COMPLETE 360, and becomes this dramatic and romantic figure, who even seems to show remorse while feeding Mina Harker his blood.
Yeah it's like the very moment he goes from Gary Oldman to Gary Youngman (lol) the character does a COMPLETE 360, and becomes this dramatic and romantic figure, who even seems to show remorse while feeding Mina Harker his blood.
Now this can be explained in several different methods (if we care to discuss it). First and foremost Dracula loves Mina. Well, not really Mina but Elisabeta, the love he lost in the beginning of the film and denounced God over her loss, etc. To Dracula, Mina is his victory, and to have her love him as he loves her will show that all the evil he has succumbed to will of been worth it. The denouncement of his faith, sacrificial babies, roofies in champaign, ALL of it will have been for a purpose if he can have his Elisabeta back.
FUNimation will be releasing Hellsing Ultimate Stateside. A Blu-ray set containing the first four episodes is out this month, and another four eps next month.
Wait, so will Funi be dubbing it, or...?
Thanks for the great news.
Yeah, I'm excited as all get-out. I don't like the OVA (based on the first four eps) as much as the TV series, despite it being a bit more close to the manga, but it's still really cool.
I only own the first DVD, so I'll be all over the Blu-ray sets. Right Stuf has them pretty cheap, so I'll place an order sometime after I get my car fixed up.
Yeah I think for a lot of people it depends on which one you saw first. Whether you prefer the at least Half-Cthulhu Dracula of the manga and OVA or the emphasis on creepiness (and Seras Victoria) in the TV show. I can't remember clearly which one I saw/read first though (they were all owned by an Otaku roommate I had) but the manga is by far my favorite. The TV series always felt kind of overly subdued to me, partly because of the TV budget, partly because the manga was nowhere near finished so they had to make up the ending, and partly because of censorship (What is that, ash? Sand? Not blood anyway.) But the OVA isn't perfect, it sacrifices pacing for the sake of constant action. Which leaves you less invested in the characters.I think the OVAs are honestly one of those things where it expects you to already be a fan, and have read the manga and maybe the tv show.But all three versions are still awesome. Quite possibly my favorite incarnation of Dracula aside from Castlevania.(click to show/hide)
I'm a little nervous that Funimation apparently hasn't licensed the final 2 episodes so the dub for those is still vaguely in doubt. Let's just hope strong sales convince them to buy those episodes and finish the dub. Too bad I'm broke, but that 4-8 set has gone just about to the top of my list of non-necessities to get when I can.
I think the OVAs are honestly one of those things where it expects you to already be a fan, and have read the manga and maybe the tv show.
Just wanted to note he was dissolving sugar cubes in absinthe, not roofies in champagn-ya.
FUNimation will be releasing Hellsing Ultimate Stateside. A Blu-ray set containing the first four episodes is out this month, and another four eps next month.Also holy cow, way to dictate how I'll be spending my paycheck! That is awesome and exciting news! I love Hellsing, so I'll definitely be sure to pick this up!
I love Hellsing. I started with the TV show, got into the manga, and then saw the OVAs. One thing I thought dragged Hellsing Ultimate down though, was its soundtrack. The TV show was really eclectic and interesting- gave the show a "Tarantino does vampire hunters" feel. Ultimate's just feels so...generic by comparison.
In my opinion the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra performing "Merche Fuenbre" at the end of OVA 2 is one of the high points of the franchise as a whole.
I'm a hardcore Hellsing fan and I still think that piece of music may be almost too good, or at least too classy, for a series that inspired the "Party Hard" style image "Nazi Vampires Eating Babies!"
I also love the scene with Rip singing.
Tags for violence and spoilers. But seriously, an awesome scene.(click to show/hide)
I would agree with you except that parts 1 and 2 are just about perfect adaptations in terms of pacing and everything else.
That's kind of odd to read because I felt the first episode more than any other tried to squeeze a whole lot of story into 45 minutes. One of the coolest segments from the TV show is in the first episode when Alucard confronts the priest in the church, which was taken pretty much word-for-word from the manga and was paced really well. OVA episode 1 takes that, squashes it to a much shorter running time, and doesn't even get the setting right—they were so focused on just getting it over with that the confrontation happens out in the woods or a plain. I hated that. That first episode actually made me swear off the series for quite some time; I'd already spent a hell of a lot of money on one episode that I wound up not caring much for, so I didn't see the remaining (available) three eps until years later when I rented them from Netflix. It was primarily with those later episodes that I came to enjoy the show a lot more, though a rewatching of the first episode did also make me enjoy it considerably more. Guess I needed some time away from it, heh.
I started with the TV series, went manga and then finally OVA. I really enjoyed the TV series until I read the manga and was blown away by the millennium arc, and felt pretty ripped off for Geneon's version of the ending, well except for one part.(click to show/hide)
Dang that was cool! While I think Ultimate is better than the series only because it follows the manga closer (which is amazing), I do have to admit the first parts of the tv series were definitely well paced and incredibly enjoyable. In fact, I think I'm going to dust off my old Hellsing dvds and watch some tonight!
So many people seem to love the TV show's soundtrack and I don't know why. I've always thought it was one of the weaker points of that version. (But then my favorite music genre is Ska so what do I know?) Sure the TV show's opening theme is memorable, but I'd contend that Hellsing Ultimate's main theme is just as memorable, but more subtle. It comes down to the difference between the manga and OVA's emphasis on action and the TV show's tendency toward gothic-punk creepiness I suppose.
OVA's music is largely forgettable, IMO. TV series' tunes stick out so much because, yeah, they're awesome rock tracks with a lot of experimentalism in instrument usage and production. It brought a great deal of style to the TV series.Eh, I disagree but "De gustibus non est disputandum"
Ratty, maybe you'll know the answer to this. Any idea if Hellsing Ultimate was animated/mastered in standard def or not? I'm guessing being originally a production from '06, it's likely SD. Just wondering because these Blu-ray shots look like upconverts (http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hellsing-Ultimate-Collection-Volumes-1-4-Blu-ray/50912/#Screenshots) (ya gotta be logged in to see 'em full 1080p). FUNimation seem to be pretty good about getting actual HD source materials when available or granted to them, and their upconverts seem to be all right save for a few rocky titles in the beginning (first Samurai Champloo BD set sucked pretty bad, though the "remastered" [a.k.a. properly upscaled] one is really nice).
Anyway, set's around $35 on Deep Discount so I placed an order. Wish it weren't so pricy, but I imagine the three included DVDs drove the price up quite a bit. Guess even the anime business has to go the way of the combo pack these days.