totaldracula Reviews

Morbid Montage (2018 Video)

Poor

[3/10 · 17 October 2018]

Basicly a mix of unused material, this short has two parts: one focused much more on splatter and a second one which deals with the misadventures of a milk man and his partner. This second one is much more interesting and one feel that the final product will be really interesting... Anyway, is Dora's work...

The Day of the Purple Sun: Part II (2017)

...and the trip goes on...

[10/10 · 30 July 2018]

...And the trip goes on... A personal journey to self discovering, giving light onto the inner demons of the incurable Margarethe... She takes us by our hands and led us to this land of fear, death, despair, loneliness... And hope....

A dantesque journey in the XXIt century...

'The Day of the Purple Sun': Part I (2017)

A trip to the inside

[10/10 · 30 July 2018]

A trip to the inside. Death, fear, pain and loneliness. Then: hope under the rule of Anubis; from despair to life: true life.

The body is only a tool.

A wandering soul seeking for peace and hapiness.

Help me I am Dead - Die Geschichte der Anderen (2013 Video)

Good for a Bethmann movie

[6/10 · 24 April 2018]

Taking into account the kind of cinema Bethmann has been doing, this one is the best. Nice camera shots, crisp image but above all two performances which save the movie: the ones given by Carsten Frank and Margarethe Von Stern; both steals the show.

Secrets of a Soul (2012)

Superb work

[10/10 · 19 March 2018]

It is difficult to explain the feelings this movie has stirred in my mind. It was a long time ago that a movie was able to make such an impression on me. A voyage to the depths of Margarethes soul, a trip to heart and nature, a portrait of a world which is not here but inside us... I highly recommend this movie to art cinema buffs and everyone with the need of feeling far away from our crazy world. No doubt Carsten Frank is an artist on its own and Margarethe a superb, great actress.

Bestie! (2013)

Another kind of cinema

[10/10 · 2 January 2017]

"Bestie" by Carsten Frank and Von Stern is a experience to watch. Is like a trip to another kind of reality. It defies any explanation and seems to deal with the relationship between a woman and her lover (Frank) who assaults and humiliates her. Frank appear naked in all his screen time which is quite small. I cant see any link with Marian Dora except for the use of outdoors locations and animals and insects; no scat neither extreme situations. In the Frank/Dora team, Frank is the more delicate ( to say something) of the two. By the way, a painting used in MDE appears in the companion piece of Bestie, Secrets of a soul and I guess is a work done by Frank himself.

I love Franks and Sterns work. I will watch every movie the make.

Money Movers (1978)

extremely well acted by all cast

[8/10 · 10 March 2008]

First time i watched this move i was fifteen..., i found in money movers action, shootouts, angry people and violent scenes..., this movie concerns a guy called Jackson who works in a security company and wants to rob it..., he is helped by his brother(brown) and his friend, played by Ray Marshall; unfortunately for them, a local mafia gang discovers their intentions and wants to be in the mix..., the movie concerns some nowadays problems as violence, angry, unhappiness..., by the way i have to point the final scene, in which the violence level rises to the top: fist fights, chairs broken in a guys back..., there is a guy called geronimo who exhibits a crude brutality in his actions..., this actor, although secondary cast offers a high range performing..., only you have to see how he uses his gun and his fist..., if antibody knows something about him, send me a pd here in IMDb..., his name is rick hart i give it nine star from ten

Richard III (1912)

quite good

[7/10 · 28 August 2006]

This silent movie concerns the road to the throne in late fourteen century England of scheming and ruthless Richard Duke of Gloucester. I am really interested in the character created by Shakespeare and the historical Richard both. But trying to make a movie based upon a play in 1912 when cinema was silent is quite difficult; so if you haven't read the play, is possible that sometimes you find yourself puzzled about what is going on, although restored titles summarize the plot well. Mr Warde gives a creepy feeling to the character, showing at the same time a brutal and fearful man, as possibly the real Richard III was. I recommend this movie to all Shakespeare lovers…, a long time go I watched the movie made by Lawrence Olivier…, like too… Keep in mind that this movie was done when cinema tricks, like editing or crosscutting, was yet not in use; so the way of filming is quite simple: they put the camera and shoot all the scenes in a medium shot…, there is only a brief shot closer to Richard…, reminds me all the movie the Frankenstein made by Edison in 1910. So, if you love Shakespeare, old movies (well transferred to DVD) and tasting the feeling of watching a near 100 years old flick…, see it. I give it 7 stars out of 10.

Krull (1983)

good but...

[7/10 · 14 August 2006]

Krull concerns a prince, a princess, a bunch of bad guys and a Beast, who kidnaps the girl to marry her. We are in the planet Krull, which is invaded by said Beast and his army of killer soldiers, the slayers. The plot is a tale: the, young hero sets out on an adventure to finding his girl and defeating the beast, with the help of robbers ,wizards and a weapon called The clave he finds in the way. I watched this movie when it was released in 1983, and I was a boy, so I enjoyed it a lot. Last week, I found the DVD at a extremely low price on a store and bought it. Well…, the movie is well done, well acted, unless the girls who plays the girl, she is stiff…, But I think that some sets seemed cheap and the army of slayers were a wooden mob. The Glaive is nicely designed and is visually striking. The creature, the beast, is too terrifying although almost is not seen… The are some messages concerning friendship and loving but they are not fully developed and kept in a childish level. So, it's a nice show with some limitations (pay attention when slayers attack on the castle, you can see the wires they use to lift the stunts) but, after all, a beautiful tale that takes you to another world, to another time…Focuses more on characters than in FX. Give it a shot but don't expect Star Wars watching it… I give it seven out of ten.

Hunger (1966)

speechless

[10/10 · 31 May 2006]

This movie left me speechless..., simply said. It's amazing how Per Oscarsson portrays that starving writer trying to live in 19th century Oslo. He is convinced he is a genius so he tries unsuccessfully selling his works and nobody cares of it. He is unable to find another job... It's strange but although he suffers from paranoia and then he finds himself absolutely good, you cant sympathize with him..., there is a moment in the movie actually great: he is eating a bone and then he gets ill..., and he starts crying..., that moment is... i have read the novel and i know how difficult is to show in images a novel that is whole a monologue...; I think that Oscarsson is a cold performer..., i mean: he is a Great actor in this movie..., but the way he portrays the writer doesn't make you feel anything for him..., in the novel and in the movie you know that he cames from the country..., so this is a story about a man who fights against everything and everybody in order to achieve his goals..., at the end he heads for a sea trip... Read the novel, feel it, watch the movie, feel it... Beautiful black and white photography with sharp contrast.

Frankenstein (1910)

fine

[7/10 · 4 May 2006]

I have just watched this jewel..., is a real good thing that one print of the movie has survived till now...; i like a lot the performing made by Ogle, cause with no words he actually speaks..., and he is real, and not overacted, as the other actor do. I got a copy, i recommend it... Musical score is not the best for me. In the same disc is included Nosferatu, not tinted and not good print..., avoid it, watch the other... Don't forget that this move was done when cinema was beginning, so don't expect inter cuts, close ups..., regarding editing, the movie is done with the camera fixed at one point..., no travelings and that kind of thing... Recommended.

The Living Corpse (1967)

interesting

[8/10 · 21 December 2005]

*MAYBE CONTAINS SPOILERS* I liked it a lot. Simply said, this movie is great; is like a Hammer movie with Pakistani dances and a special taste... I am fed up of these boring movies concerning Dracula without adding anything else... In black and white, i have to admit that crew members really did a quite good work; there are some shots that seem taken from German silent expressionistic cinema; the movie shows you too how professor Tabani turns into an undead... In fact, this guy was trying to find eternal live using a formula made by him..., drinking it causes him to dead..., but he returns form the grave as a vampire...; so, he found what he was looking for..., although with some differences... Mr Rehan plays Dracula As good as Lee does... So you may think that European and Eastern people are not so different... Check it out..., DVD release in very good...quite good photography too... I dislike the music but i found dances weird and bizarre; they remember you that you are in a eastern movie!... So if you wanna see something really different..., watch it.

Montenegro (1981)

good movie

[8 January 2004]

Mrs. Jordan is a rich house wife. She got all the things that maybe all of us need: a family, a couple of kids, a palatial house by the sea... But the movie shows the emptiness of her life: she is bored, she doesn't like her life. Her husband decides get some holidays on Brazil these Christmas... She decides to go with him but at the airport she falls in with some Yugoslavian immigrants that run a bar called Zanzibar. Attracted by their way of living she enters Zanzibar, she feels very well, she feels something different, she realizes that doesn't need all the things she had... When she phones her family, she finds out that her daughter (a nine years old girl) has taken her place at home: the girl cooks, cleans... Her husband says "it is so peaceful when your mother is not here"... He doesn't love her... And this is the problem: since Mrs. Jordan is unable to understand that, that her family doesn't need her, that all her life was wasted, and although she feels alive in Zanzibar, she forgets that she doesn't belong to the world of the Yugoslavian immigrants: she is out of place. So really she has no way to go. Very sad. Understanding that all your life was a nonsense, understanding that all your life has always been empty I suppose is not easy: so she kills the man who becomes her lover in Zanzibar and then kills all her family including the psychiatrist her husband hired !!!: the movie got some comic moments, but is not a joke in anyway. Makavejev scoffs at family, materialism, capitalism..., he is telling you "forget the money, forget the clothes, just feel the heat of life..." Think of it. Very good movie.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981)

bizarre, interesting, great movie

[10/10 · 5 July 2002]

I cant believe that this director made this movie with only intention of retelling this fable wrote by stevenson..., i think borowcyk is always scoffing at society, military, Church, patriarchal family..., he uses the already known plot for his purposes..., yes..., he is an artist..., watch how is portrayed the General, watch how he is always giving orders, using a gun and watch how he beats his daughter when she tells him "i love him, i love him..." i.e.: she loves Mr Hyde... Watch too the scene in which Hyde kills his mother or Jekyll´s wife hers..., ay the end... ,Hyde and Jekyll´s wife makes love in a cab..., then you understand: love, or sex, cause in this movie is rhe same thing, is relly good and joyfull whithout the limitations imposed by society.

Very good soundtrack, that reminds me a lot of Rick Wakeman´s works and interesting using of editing.

Blood for Dracula (1974)

so different!!!

[8/10 · 22 January 2002]

Count Dracula leaves for Italy in order to find the pure blood he needs for surviving, because, as Arno Juerging role put `you and your sister are too well known in rumania'. When they reach the country, met Di Fiori family and arrange a redenzvous between the daughters and Count Dracula. Although educated acording to the `Holy Church' two of them are not virgins cause the gardener(Dallessandro) impedes it. Unable to find what he wants, Dracula decides leaving the country and returning to Rumania. But it is too late: he is killed by Dallessandro and his servant shot to death by the mother of the girls. This is the plot. Directing is sometimes poor, but performings, specially by Arno Juerging(Where is he know? If somebody can help me, please get in touch with me) are good. Kier plays fine a sad Dracula with not-so-bad heart, and Vittorio de Sica is the father, a non-stop gambler who always loses including the furniture of his house. But there is a political content in this movie: as you will see, the father(Sica) is portrayed as a out of fashion guy who likes poetry unable to understand what is happening there; the house is full of dust and empty rooms; and, at the end, the servant(pay attention when Juerging says to him: `Excuse me: i misunderstood: I thought that servant and worker are the same' what a line!!) takes control of the house and the family by killing Dracula. You could see all this as a metaphor of the Russian Revolution, maybe... Three stars and a half out of four.

The Damned (1969)

very enjoyable movie

[10/10 · 11 November 2001]

I love Visconti´s films: all of them. He is able to show his mind through images, trough music and ambience. "The damned" is full of good music and terrific performers..., especially, as i think, Helmut Berger... Don´t miss the final shot... And of course, don´t miss all the movie. Long and slow moving but it is kinda grateful for your mind...

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Is this the so-called classic?: poor acting, poor direction

[5 October 2001]

Last night i watched two classic movies for horror buffs: Texas Chainsaw Massacre and this one: Night of Living Dead. I can´t understand why people say this is a good movie... For God´s Sake!: it got very poor acting, poor direction, bad photography... There is nothing good to see here... It reminds me of another zombie movie, made six years later, called "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie", a much better spanish italian production... The difference(gee...) is NLD is an american film..., and the other one is european... TCM is a movie of the same kind: low-budgeted, with an absolutely unknown cast..., but it does really work, despite you dont understand whats happening... Concerning "Night of the living Dead"..., a piece of trash...

Under the Sand (2000)

Sad but true portrait of an puzzled woman

[23 September 2001]

French cinema usually gives me deep and fine emotions; this movie deals with a woman who suddenly loses her husband, Jean: he disappears, on a beach, with no explanation. Puzzled, she dreams with him, and rejects any proposal. I think the central point of the film is the fact that she thinks he lives yet, so doesn´t want lo love anyone else. She is always waiting for him..., but he doesn´t get back. You realize that she truly(¿?) loves him after 25 years of marriage, but Jean´s mother tells her that he was in depressed and that maybe he wanted to make another kind of living or commit suicide... And what we got at the end?: the sad but truly portrait of a woman, left by her husband, who is not capable of face the reality: he didn´t love her nevertheless 25 years of marriage and she didn`t realize...

Worths see it...,

The Others (2001)

Kick out this one and run!

[12 September 2001]

How people can say this is a great movie?: for God´s sake!: there´s nothing new!..., it reminds a lot of "The sixth sense"..., with a difference: The others is unable to make you feel bad as The sixth can do..., nevertheless ALL CAST is very good..., they did their job very, very well... But i think that if this movie would be done by another crew almost unknown(and of course, not by Amenabar) it will probably never been released out of its country.... If you really love true horror-mystery movies..., kick out this one and try other one...

Dracula 2000 (2000)

stupid from start to finish

[6 April 2001]

I´m still scratching my head: what kind of movie have i just seen?; supposedly it´s a movie that deals with Dracula... but finally, you realize that DRacula is JUDAS ISCARIOT!: he betrayed Jesus, hung himself and then(the movie does not explain it) he becomes a vampire who LOOKS FOR VAN HELSING´S DAUGHTHER two thousands years later...It sounds horrible... Dracula is here a blue eyed long haired hunk who jumps a lot; of course, all girls fall in love with him only on a sight(gee..!) Some scenes reminds me a lot of Coppola´s Dracula; and some action scenes seems taken directly from Matrix(jump...)

If you haven´t seen it, avoid it...

Terror of Frankenstein (1977)

The best of all Frankenstein i´ve ever seen

[10/10 · 16 August 2000]

The first time I saw this movie was when I was eleven...; my father said to me " both the cast and director are unknown, but see it...". He was right; this is a peacefully film, full of landscapes and brilliant moments... Per Oscarsson is a big-heart monster, sometimes sober, sometimes frightening... I think that is the best of all Frankensteins, because is ACTUALLY accurate to the novel...Calvin Floyd tries to make a different and real(real here means "the tale written by Mary Shelley")Frankenstein, and he doesn´t fail... So is very far from Whale, Branagh(what a catastrophe he made!) and of course, Warhol.