Spanish-Language Dracula
Concurrent with the making of the English-language Dracula, a Spanish-language version was filmed using the same sets, but a different cast and crew. As in previous DVD editions of Dracula, the Spanish-language version is included in the 75th Anniversary Edition.
The story remains the same in the Spanish version, but John becomes Juan, Lucy becomes Lucía and Mina becomes Eva. Also, some scenes were allowed to run longer in the Spanish, giving the film a different dramatic feel and causing it to end up being nearly a half-hour longer than the English. Another noticeable difference is that Lupita Tovar, the Spanish-language leading lady, is much earthier and more sensual than her English-language counterpart, Helen Chandler.
The Spanish Drácula has production values comparable to those of the English version and is a good movie in its own right. However, the actor playing the title role in the Spanish version is no match for Bela Lugosi, and that's the main reason I can't help strongly preferring the English version.
Two Good Audio Commentary Tracks
The Dracula 75th Anniversary Edition provides two commentaries. One is by David J. Skal, author of several books including Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula From Novel to Stage to Screen, and is carried over from previous DVD editions. Skal identifies differences between Stoker's novel and the film, and he supplies many details about the actors and production. He indicates places where he considers the Spanish version technically superior to the English. And as an example of the crew's sloppiness, he points out a piece of cardboard attached to a lamp. He assumes the cardboard is there to control lighting on the set.
There's also a commentary by Steve Haberman, and it was not on previous DVD editions. Haberman is the author of Chronicles of Terror: Silent Screams and a screenwriter on Dracula: Dead and Loving It. There's quite a bit of duplication of information in the commentaries, but Haberman's is worth listening to when he argues that the English version is technically superior. And that cardboard on the lamp? Haberman says it's part of the story: the Seward household has improvised a makeshift nightlight for Mina because of the vampire scare.
Pop-Up Text Info and Philip Glass Score
The Dracula 75th Anniversary Edition has an option called "Monster Tracks" that can be turned on while watching the feature film. This causes a steady stream of factoids about the movie to appear as text at the bottom of the screen. The information supplied via this option generally duplicates that available elsewhere on the DVD set. Here's an example of one such factoid: "Dracula only has music under the credits and at the concert hall in London."
As this factoid tells us, the original Dracula didn't really have a musical score. But the 75th Anniversary Edition, as have previous DVD editions of Dracula, provides an option to watch the movie while listening to a score composed for it in the 1990s by Philip Glass and performed by the Kronos Quartet, which is made up of two violins, a viola and a cello. The Glass music matches up well with the film, but I prefer the silences of the original.
DVD Details
Below I have given the details for the Dracula 75th Anniversary Edition DVD set.
Release Date: September 26, 2006
Number of Discs: 2
English-Language Film Dracula
Run Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
Widescreen (1.33:1), Black-and-White
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
English Captions for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Spanish Subtitles
French Subtitles
Audio Commentary by Film Historian David J. Skal
Audio Commentary by Screenwriter/Film Historian Steve Haberman
Philip Glass Score Performed by Kronos Quartet
Pop-Up Text Info
Poster and Stills Montage
Theatrical Trailer
Making-Of Documentary (35 min.)
Documentary: "Lugosi: The Dark Prince" (36 min.)
Documentary: "Universal Horror" (1 hr. 56 min.)
Spanish-Language Film Drácula
Run Time: 1 Hour 43 Minutes
Widescreen (1.33:1), Black-and-White
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
English Captions for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
French Subtitles
English-Language Intro to Drácula by Actress Lupita Tovar Kohner
