Nigel P The reason I had wanted to get hold of this pretty rare DVD is because of the wealth of truly picturesque publicity stills that have been featured in horror compendiums, websites and the like. On that front, I was far from disappointed – the visuals look extravagant and beautiful throughout. Reminiscent of what Hammer might have achieved had they the budget – not that this seems to have had money thrown at it, but every set is crammed with detail, every building is huge and forbidding, every location seems endless.The telling of this unique take on Dracula is austere and joyless, however, with not a moment of charm or lightness to offset the brutal, screaming mixture of gore and politically enhanced narrative. Released 25 years after the end of WW2, The Count (Paul Albert Krumm) seems to be modelled on Hitler; his still, commanding presence, given to rattling out extensive chiselled barks and speeches. His male acolytes, who delight in torture and beatings, are more soldiers than vampires (not that the two must be mutually exclusive). There are no mist and bat transformations for this vampire, just a very assured solidity and many romantic musical flourishes as he administers the bite. He and his pasty-faced entourage do not fear daylight, and yet running water continues to be a fatal obstacle for them all.Scenes are often carefully and delicately choreographed, contrasting the bombastic vampire brigade with ravishing, arty scenes of beauty (hence the impressive stills that drew me to the project), with splashes of colour (often red, of course) bringing to life otherwise colour-drained scenes. Director Hans W. Geißendörfer had apparently just left university when he began shooting. His flourishes are stylised, operatic, like a ballet. As Eleonore (Ilona Grübel) lies dying, shot down after being pursued across a vast rolling, frosted lawn, we hear only the softly, teeth-clenching creaking of the weathered ropes holding a wooden swing, occupied by silent children. The Count's men storm past in unison. This might be my favourite scene. Later, bodies floating in the water, seem to sink or disappear, leaving only their red cloaks and capes floating, like petals on the surface.This brutal, rural horror is a mixed bag, really. There are parts I really like, and yet the lack of any comfort whatsoever drags the uncompromising production occasionally into one-note greyness.

Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Jonathan" is a West German movie from 1970, in the German language, so this one approach its 50th anniversary as well. It was written and directed by Bavarian filmmaker Hans W. Geissendörfer (his very first work as writer and first full feature work as director) and is loosely based on Bram Stoker's Dracula. I think the connection is very vague though because honestly the fact that vampires are in here and one of them is the count is not really enough to make this connection. I am not entirely sure if this film plays in the past or future, but it is the story of the character in the title and how he was chosen to stop the domination of the vampires. There are some major problems with this film though. First of all, from the poster it may look like a soft porno, almost a Schulmädchenreport, but honestly it is a completely different movie and I guess they just wanted to use this series' popularity to get as many people to theaters as possible. Anyway, there are also issues with the plot. We have really strong vampires here apparently, who managed to adapt evolutionary in a way that not even sunlight can't hurt them anymore, yet we are supposed to believe that a young man is powerful enough to put an end to them. I just can't buy it. Other than that, the film occasionally offers an approach on the subject of vampire films that can still be considered fresh and different almost half a century later. So I think there was definitely the possibility for this to turn into a really interesting work. But because of major plot holes I think it can really only be appreciated as a guilty pleasure today or for its general awkwardness. In contrast to many other German films from the 1970s, the film does not include actors in the cast that are still known today, not even to big film buffs I'm afraid. This also includes lead actor Jürgen Jung. Still I think that is not the major problem here. Of course, none of the performances stand out at all or are memorable, but they also aren't worse than the mediocre rest in all areas of this projects. I give it a thumbs-down and nobody except vampire film completionists should check it out.

nicedood i was looking endless for this movie and finally got my hands on a DVD copy. its a very political movie, if you see it in the context of the time that it was made. it has a great camera, that starts of a certain point for example, then goes without a cut for some minutes through a scene and ends again with the scene from the beginning, continuing the story it had started in the first location. other parts of the movie remind more of a play performed on a stage. the surroundings and behaviour look very staged but though very familiar. and not to forget the great "dracula", the one second you think you might look through his mask, but the next second you notice he fooled you. great acting. i really can recommend that movie, even if the political aspect might be a little antique. its this old style though that makes the whole movie so refreshing. it should be a must in everyones vampire collection, thats for sure. i think i'll watch my DVD again soon, its definitely worth a second look.

Edgar Soberon Torchia Geissendorfer's first feature was an original approach to Bram Stoker's Dracula, but it is seldom mentioned in most studies of vampirism on film. Jonathan must fight against wild and aristocratic vampires, who do not stop at anything to satisfy their thirst for blood. Cows, sheep, chickens, anything is left bloodless in this outrageous film, which luckily is also funny.