1931's Dracula -- True cinematic masterpiece or overrated wasted opportunity?

[Guestx]

I'd probably agree that the Spanish version is superior. It's obviously tough to get over not having Legosi as Dracula but the film itself is simply better. They pushed the envelope a bit more and it was exactly what the film needed. Other than Legosi not being Dracula, Dwight Frye is sorely missed. His Renfield is just incredible and it's a noticeable absence if you've seen both versions.

Even though I was rather disappointed by the movie, I'll probably pick up the Dracula Blu-Ray just because there's some supplemental material on it that I want to see. I know the Spanish version is on there so if I do that I'll definitely check it out. I'm pretty curious about it.

Not surprised the that Spanish Renfield is weak compared to Frye. Frye was awesome.

 

[Guestx]

@MusterX

You should be delighted to know that I am at the library as I type this and have the Rashomon DVD in my hand.

 

[MusterX]

@MusterX

You should be delighted to know that I am at the library as I type this and have the Rashomon DVD in my hand.

Bruh, what is it with you and library DVD's? You know you can just watch all this shit online.

 

[Guestx]

Bruh, what is it with you and library DVD's? You know you can just watch all this shit online.

LOL

I knew that question was going to come up eventually. There are three answers to this:

1. I'm trying to do less pirating on philosophical grounds.

2. With KAT being taken down and PB being a shadow of its former self, torrenting is becoming more and more of a hassle.

3. My library has literally thousands and thousands of movies and going there is like going to the video store back in the day. It's fun to just go up there and browse and pick stuff out like we used to do. And there's also an element of discovery. Remember how you used to just go to the video store sometimes and browse around until you found something that looked good? I do that now at the library. I'm constantly discovering shit that I would've never thought to watch if I hadn't just randomly run across it.

 

[The Senator]

Watched Vampyr last night after reading this topic. Now that was a strange dream of a movie if there ever was one. There was a weird sense of deja vu, as if I've seen it before, but completely forgot everything about the film until I saw it again. It's pretty much a silent film with very sparse amounts of sound and dialog, with weird, weird editing. I read somewhere that there were some scenes left on the cutting board that would have allowed things to make more sense, but I kinda liked the disjointed sense to it all in terms of setting that dream like atmosphere. The whole coffin scene must have been quite the experience for the audience back in the '30s.

Vampyr is a film best viewed in the late, late hour of the night, when the senses are dulled and everything is still.

 

[JSN]

Bruh, what is it with you and library DVD's? You know you can just watch all this shit online.

Where I used to live, the library was the shit for hard to find movies.

 

[Guestx]

Where I used to live, the library was the shit for hard to find movies.

It's the best resource that most people aren't using.

I live just a few blocks from the main library downtown--the big boy--and there is SO MUCH shit there. And it's all free!

I also was in the dark until this one time when I didn't have Internet for a week and needed shit to watch and I was like, "Wait, doesn't the library have movies?" Ever since then it's been a regular thing for me.

 

[MusterX]

LOL

I knew that question was going to come up eventually. There are three answers to this:

1. I'm trying to do less pirating on philosophical grounds.

2. With KAT being taken down and PB being a shadow of its former self, torrenting is becoming more and more of a hassle.

3. My library has literally thousands and thousands of movies and going there is like going to the video store back in the day. It's fun to just go up there and browse and pick stuff out like we used to do. And there's also an element of discovery. Remember how you used to just go to the video store sometimes and browse around until you found something that looked good? I do that now at the library. I'm constantly discovering shit that I would've never thought to watch if I hadn't just randomly run across it.

Gotcha. I also forgot you had that film studies thing going as well and I'm sure some of the sets you get from the library probably have extras and interviews that you wouldn't normally get while watching a stream online. Here is a pic of my public library. I've never been inside it but my taxes built it and maintain it. I should probably go. The internet resists it though, the internet is the devil.

 

[Guestx]

Gotcha. I also forgot you had that film studies thing going as well and I'm sure some of the sets you get from the library probably have extras and interviews that you wouldn't normally get while watching a stream online.

Yeah, that was another thing I actually meant to mention. For instance, the Rashomon DVD I picked up is the Criterion edition. It's got lots of extra shit on it.

Here is a pic of my public library. I've never been inside it but my taxes built it and maintain it. I should probably go. The internet resists it though, the internet is the devil.

Looks like a decent little library. Where is that?

You should check it out for a real. It's seriously fun to just browse the DVDs and randomly find shit. You'll end up watching a lot of stuff that was not even on your radar.

Dude, I LOVE the fucking library.

Here's mine BTW:

 

[Anung Un Rama]

It's all about the Christopher lee dracula movies

Can I get a hell yeah?

Heel yeah.- and a hell yeah for Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. .

 

[HereticBD]

The character is all that matters. In fifty years, people will look back at Nightmare On Elmstreet and wonder what the big deal was. If the movie helped to make the character iconic, then it did it's job. Shit man, SAW wasn't some masterpiece either, but Jigsaw will be remembered. It's a tough thing to create a horror icon, and any movie that manages to do it, despite it's overall quality, has my respect.

 

[MusterX]

Yeah, that was another thing I actually meant to mention. For instance, the Rashomon DVD I picked up is the Criterion edition. It's got lots of extra shit on it.






Looks like a decent little library. Where is that?

You should check it out for a real. It's seriously fun to just browse the DVDs and randomly find shit. You'll end up watching a lot of stuff that was not even on your radar.

Dude, I LOVE the fucking library.

Here's mine BTW:

There are some sick libraries in the world.

This one is in Prague.

Not sure where this one is.

Check this out. This is the Yale "Rare Book" Library.

This is the Stockholm Library. You can note the little people on the left.

 

[Guestx]

There are some sick libraries in the world.

This one is in Prague.

Not sure where this one is.

Check this out. This is the Yale "Rare Book" Library.

This is the Stockholm Library. You can note the little people on the left.

Those are fucking awesome. I especially like the first two, as they look truly warm and inviting and like the kinds of places you could just go and spend a lot of time in.

The thing is, I feel like many people think that libraries are outdated now, but I feel that nothing could be further from the truth. For one, while a great deal of information can be found on the Internet, the Internet is really only best for gaining an overview for most topics. To go deeper than that you still have to pick up a book, and guess what, libraries have thousands of those. The same goes for their other materials, like movies for instance.

Also, many libraries are going beyond just being resources for materials that you can check out. I know that my library is always doing shit like putting on art shows, offering technology courses, doing film screenings, and getting involved with other random educational shit.

Like I said a few posts ago, I was guilty of writing off the library myself, but now hardly a week goes by that I'm not up in there for one reason for another.

BTW, on topic I found this interesting article: http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/14/travel/irpt-library-fascination-travel/

 

[europe1]

This is the Stockholm Library. You can note the little people on the left.

This isn't an actual library. It's some digital model created for an architecture competition.

http://www.cgsociety.org/CGSFeatures/CGSFeatureSpecial/custom_story/5097&page=1

The actual Stockholm library is disproportionately populated by impoverished/homeless people there for the internet acess.

Actual Stockholm library.

 

[JSN]

Wasn't Prague built by Germans who then got kicked out after WW2? I cannot fathom slavs building something that beautiful.

 

[europe1]

For one, while a great deal of information can be found on the Internet, the Internet is really only best for gaining an overview for most topics.

Are you trying to say that people CAN'T get a deep and nuanced understanding of an subject through reading twitter discussions!?

 

[Guestx]

Are you trying to say that people CAN'T get a deep and nuanced understanding of an subject through reading twitter discussions!?

It's just possible that I am saying something like that.

 

[Guestx]

The actual Stockholm library is disproportionately populated by impoverished/homeless people there for the internet access.

I hate to say it, but this is my main problem with the main library downtown. It's the biggest and the baddest and has the most/best shit, but it's also the one that has way too many fucking homeless people.

The neighborhood libraries on the other hand have virtually no homeless problem, but the flipside is that they are not nearly as well-stocked and feature-rich.

I have both within walking distance: the main library and a much smaller neighborhood library. Both are valuable in their own ways.

Actual Stockholm library.

That looks cool, too.

 

[JSN]

Libraries in the 'burbs are almost as bad. A bunch of kids running around screaming and white people in nylon polo shirts/cargo shorts talking into their cell phones.

 

[Guestx]

Libraries in the 'burbs are almost as bad. A bunch of kids running around screaming and white people in nylon polo shirts/cargo shorts talking into their cell phones.

I live in a trendy little neighborhood right outside of downtown. So it's not the burbs, but it is residential. We have a little neighborhood library and I have no problems there. That's actually the one I go to when I want to guarantee peace and quiet. It's not very busy to start with and the few people who are there know how to shut the fuck up.