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Dracula is one of my favorite movies to watch during the Halloween season. Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, John Carradine, and Udo Keir (you have to see it to believe it) have all played the bloodthirsty and hypnotic count from Romania. All the actors mentioned earlier, except for Keir, played Dracula as a dramatic role meant to frighten the audience. Francis Ford Coppola turned the story of the undead into the romance that is his 1992 film, Bram Stoker's Dracula. The film was screened last weekend at the Auditorium Theatre as part of the Auditorium Philms Concert Series with the accompanying score performed by the Chicago Philharmonic and the Chicago Chamber Choir.
The origins of Dracula are based on a ruler from Romania named Vlad Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler. Coppola takes Vlad's origin story and depicts him as a conquering soldier returning to find his wife dead. He curses God and the church and is turned into the undead by his anger and promise of revenge.
Bram Stoker's Dracula takes place in Victorian England, and Coppola went all out on the costumes, mores, and special effects. He did not use any CGI or camera tricks in his push for extreme authenticity. Winona Ryder plays the lovely Mina, the identical image of Vlad's dead wife. Sadie Frost debuted in this film as the unfortunate victim of Dracula. As Jonathan Harker, Keanu Reeves repeated the same character from Dangerous Liaisons (1988).
Gary Oldman plays all versions of the Dracula character as a shape-shifter and predator. He is heartbreaking as the young Vlad reborn and dressed in steampunk attire. One of the most romantic lines in the movies is "I have crossed oceans of time to find you," spoken by Oldman. The other great performance is Anthony Hopkins as the eccentric and pithy Van Helsing. I don't know if anyone else can say, "After we stake her, we cut out her heart and chop off her head," as if it were the most simple solution. It is the only Dracula film in which I felt sorrow for the vampire.
It is a true Coppola production with no expense spared. It is beautiful, but the real star of Bram Stoker's Dracula is Wojciech Kilar's haunting and driving soundtrack. Before the film, WFMT presenter LaRob K. Rafael hosted a panel of musicians and scholars to discuss the music of Kilar. Pianist Aleksander Dębicz played a piano medley he transcribed from the score to start. It was very good, and orchestral scores are difficult to transcribe for a solo instrument. Music scholar and Polish music expert professor Beata Bolesławska joined him. Presenter and music journalist Magdalena Miśka-Jackowska rounded out the people from Kilar's Polish homeland. AE Stevenson, a media studies and horror professor from the University of Chicago, also joined.
It was a good dialogue with helpful information that even someone unfamiliar with the music would enjoy. Dr. Stevenson was the first person I knew of with a doctorate in horror. She was instrumental in explaining the passion for violence and how sexuality can cause a passionate response.
Kilar's music is considered uniquely European. Its requiem passages express the characters' sorrow and loss. Lovely cascading notes and charging brass and lower strings are motifs throughout the score. The Chicago Philharmonic and Chicago Chamber Choir exceeded my expectations of playing the score with the film. The opening music sounded like a requiem mass, and the choir was perfect. The score had tension, and playing live brought it more into the foreground. None of the dialogue was drowned out, and the dialogue was perfectly balanced.
The exit score ended with "Love Song for a Vampire" by Annie Lennox. The lyrics speak of a haunting and burning love and being set free. It was sung by Cheryl Wilson, who also sang for the live performance of the Philharmonic with Blade Runner. The audience stayed for the credits to the end and gave a standing ovation to the Chicago Philharmonic and Chicago Chamber Choir. It was well-deserved.
Spooky extras! My daughter and I met the fabulous Svengoolie, aka Rich Koz. He had a meet-and-greet before the show, which included candy and a special drink called "A Bite." Koz also hosted the costume contest, which was won by a group costume of Jonathan Harker and Dracula's Three Wives. Koz also introduced the Philharmonic, conductor Navarro, and the Chicago Chamber Choir. Koz has been doing Svengoolie for 45 years and is loved nationwide. He started as Son of Svengoolie and took over for the original character, played by Jerry Bishop, who hosted Screaming Yellow Theater. I know these facts as a person born and raised in Chicago, and I have driven through...BERWYN! I may never know why Berwyn became a buzzword for the show, but it doesn't matter because I grew up with the Svengoolie character. Also, he did bring his rubber chicken. It's fancier than I thought with a groomed crown. I still mourn the loss of the Uncle Fun store, where a person could get a decent rubber chicken or whoopie cushion.
The Auditorium Philms Concert Series continues with Love, Actually on December 7. More information and the 2025 schedule here.
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