Customer Reviews

Dracula Has Risen From The Grave

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4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is an entertaining addition to Hammer's Dracula series. Terence Fisher, who directed the first three in the series, had to pull out at the last minute due to an accident, and it was left to lighting cameraman Freddie Francis to take the reins. The film reveals a shift in the underlying worldview: Fisher's triumphant vision of good conquering evil, God defeating Satan is supplanted by Francis's bleaker universe, where God is apparently no guarantee against the Devil, and whose central religious figure (Monsignor, played by Rupert Davies, no match for Andrew Keir or Peter Cushing) is blustering, naive and impotent in the face of evil.

There are some great scenes, as one would expect from a distinguished cinematographer like Francis, although some of the most visually compelling moments (eg. Maria's bedroom scene with the Count, by far the most explicitly sexualized portrayal of vampirism seen up to that time) sit uneasily alongside the bizarrely artless, shakey, badly focused handheld shots.

Still, it's vintage Hammer hokum, and certainly miles ahead of later additions to the Dracula series. I bought this for nostalgic reasons -- hadn't seen it since I was a kid -- and I wasn't disappointed.

Picture quality on the recent DVD release is clear and sumptuous, apart from a brief snatch towards the end when the picture momentarily reverts to an older, grainier print. Hammer buffs should add this to their collection.

A little better this time around, although having Professor Van Helsing would have made it a nicer film to watch. At least this time, the Count actually speaks.

If you are a fan of these Hammer films, stick with this and the other period films. This is one to have for your collection if you are a die hard fan like myself. If not, at least rent this one at Halloween for a night of horror.

Dracula, played by Christopher Lee, is accidentally resurrected from the dead by the dripping blood of a priest. Finding a cross on the front door of his castle, he chooses the niece of the monsignor as his next victim, because the Monsignor performs the exorcism on his castle.

It hard to watch a Dracula movie within out Peter Cushing as Van Helsing

The next film in the series is Taste the Blood of Dracula.

By the time of "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave", Christopher Lee had resigned himself to the fact that the films weren't going to reach the high of the first film in the series. While "Grave" doesn't measure up to "Horror of Dracula" (or even the single solo Van Helsing outing "Brides of Dracula" which hopefully will finally see the light of day on DVD), "Grave" benefits from spooky cinematography and solid direction by Freddie Francis.

Although the Count have much to say here he's at least more than a menacing shape as he was in "Dracula Prince of Darkness". The main weakness of "Grave" is that Van Helsing is MIA. I'm not very clear why Cushing wasn't brought back into this series as his character was the perfect (and only worthwhile foil save the priest played by Andrew Kerr in "Dracula Prince of Darkness"). Cushing, like Lee, brought incredible energy and vitality to any role he tackled whether it was well written or not. Clearly Hammer needed an infusion of new blood here. Luckily, "Grave" still has considerable bite and isn't as anemic as later entries in the series. While far from a classic, "Grave" has considerable power particularly when Lee's presence dominates the scene.

The transfer looks pretty good overall given the age of the negative. It appears that most of the budget for this DVD went into the transfer how else to explain the complete lack of extras? Personally, I would have been willing to pay a bit extra for a commentary from Lee or other production crew members. We do, however, get the original theatrical trailer (the US version) for the film. Additionally, at least Warner got the packaging right with photos from the actual film (unlike "Horror of Dacula").

What an awsome opening credit sequence in this film. The solarizing film effects together with the music make for a colorful and forboding psychedelic experience (no cheating here with CGI..this is real). The topics covered in this film reach much farther than the usual Hammer Dracula. The movie is like a morality play in many respects. The film is thought provoking and the imagery is very rich and beautiful. Christopher lee looks better than ever. Rupert Davies is such a natural actor, to bad we did not see much more of him in other Hammer films.
I still don't understand what is so exceptional with "Horror of Dracula" or "Dracula Prince of Darkness"? Maybe it is just name brand awarness gone amuck for some reviewers? I do prefer "Prince of Darkness" over "Horror of Dracula" but "Risen From the Grave" has it all for my money.

This film is a must! The picture is perfect, the acting first rate, the music truly haunting.

**** Hollywood directors/producers take note, if the Hammer production company could make a film like this for $150.000 in 1968 why can't you folks with your infinite wisdom make a decent film with today's 50 million dollar plus budgets?????

Seems like people either love or hate this particular entry into the Hammer Dracula line of films. I, myself, enjoyed it very much, and would recommend it to anyone interested in the vampire genre.

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1969) has Christopher Lee reprising his role as the ultimate blood-sucking creature of the night, which is kind of strange as in the last film, Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966), he was destroyed...or so we thought. The film takes place a year after the last film, as Monsignor Ernest Muller (Rupert Davies) visits the small village near Dracula's no empty castle to see how things are getting along. Well, things aren't getting along too well as the Monsignor finds the church empty and in a rather poor state of housekeeping. Finding the priest at the local bar, he learns that the villagers believe that while Dracula may be dead, his castle projects an aura of evil, casting a malignant shadow of evil on the town. The Monsignor decides the only course of action is to trek up to the castle, say a prayer of exorcism, and place a fairly large cross at the doorway, expelling the curse forever. Taking the priest with him, the two begin a long and arduous journey up the mountain, but, as they near the castle, the priest balks from fear, and the Monsignor continues on alone. He reaches the castle, says the prayer, and places the cross (the result of both actions cause a rather freakish lighting storm...good thing he rid himself of that big, metal cross). Meanwhile, the priest, who remained behind, starts freaking out, and begins to stumble down the mountain, trips, cracks his head open, and lands on and cracks a pool of ice, one which contains the body of Dracula, and begins to bleed onto the ice, to which the blood revives the dark, yet frozen, one. Upon waking, Dracula takes the weak-willed priest into his service, and returns to his castle only to find his entry spoiled by the cross affixed to the doors. This angers him, as his house has been defiled, and being a creature of evil, seeks revenge on whoever did this. Good thing he's got the priest to fill him in on the details...

The Monsignor leaves the village to return to his home, which he shares with his sister and her daughter, Maria (Veronica Carlson), soon followed by Dracula and his new little buddy. We also get to meet Maria's boyfriend, Paul (Barry Andrews), who works in a local bakery/bar/hotel (interesting combination, to be sure), but is only doing so until he can complete his education, and move on to bigger and better things. Anyhow, Dracula moves into the sub-basement (the sewers) below the bakery/bar/hotel, setting up his coffin and such, and begins with his plans to exact vengeance on the Monsignor and his house. He learns of the Monsignor's niece, and sees a perfect opportunity to carry out his goal...does he exact his revenge? Can anyone stop this monster once and for all?

Directed by Freddie Francis, who won academy awards for cinematography for his work on Sons and Lovers (1960) and Glory (1989), Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is certainly stylish, oozing with atmosphere and providing a good deal of suspense. Christopher Lee provides an excellent performance, despite his overall lack of dialogue. The settings are very suitable for this kind of film, enhancing the performances, and certainly add to the overall presence of oppressive evil throughout. Not really embraced by the critics when it first came out, with claims that the gore was a bit much, now it seems rather understated to the 21st century viewer. The film does proceed slowly, but the pacing seems methodical, all building up to the thrilling climax.

Warner Brothers provides a crisp, clean looking wide screen print here, but very little along the lines of special features, including only a theatrical trailer for the film. I am appreciative that this film finally made it to DVD, as Warner Brothers, in general, is pretty stingy about releasing their catalog of films to this format, and even stingier when it comes to enhancing their releases with special features, falling back mainly on recycling ones released for the laserdisc format. If you are interesting in seeing the other films in this series, look for Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), Scars of Dracula (1970), Dracula AD 1972 (1972), and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973).

Cookieman108

Everyone has their favorite Hammer Dracula film. Opinions vary from different perspectives. I like this installment for several reasons. Christopher Lee has always been my favorite Dracula and "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave" serves him well. He is at his most sinister here and even though Peter Cushing is missing, Lee has the Catholic church to contend with and this seems fitting due to the overall Gothic aura that surrounds the vampire myth. He has overtaken a weak priest and seeks revenge due to a large crucifix that has been placed over the door to his castle during an exorcism by the Monsigneur (Rupert Davies) because the shadow of the castle is falling across the church--- effectively spooking the priest and keeping the parishoners away. Dracula is out to avenge his throne by seeking out the Monsigneur's lovely niece Maria (Veronica Carlson). But he first enslaves the local barmaid Zena (Barbara Ewing). I liked the juxtaposition between "good girl" (Carlson) and "bad girl" (Ewing) as well as the crisis that arises when Maria's boyfriend announces his athiesm but must confront his beliefs when spirituality is called upon to defeat Dracula and rescue Maria. But the best thing of all for this reviewer is the DVD print from Warner Bros. which I found virtually flawless. This is a particularly colorful Hammer/Dracula film with some great location shooting and good Gothic atmosphere---especially the shots of the village rooftops where Maria meets her lover and Dracula comes to seek her out. The casting is good and the acting first rate right down to the small roles. Included is a wonderful theatrical trailer that I remember very well from this film's release in 1969---so well done as to guarantee to bring in the business. So I am recommending this disc to the fans. For the price, you can't go wrong. Enjoy.

It's about time Warner got around to releasing more of their Hammer films on DVD! As someone who has been waiting patiently for years to see a great print of this film, I find it hard (though not impossible) to find any faults with this release. Like WB's previous releases of Horror of Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein and The Mummy, pretty much the only extra here is a theatrical trailer.

As for the film, I've always felt it was a bit underrated. DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS, the previous entry in the series, has been revered for reasons I've never fully understood. It's incredibly slow-moving, is almost entirely set in one location, and Christopher Lee doesn't even speak! At all! At least DRACULA HAS RISEN has a bit more going on, so to speak. OK, there's too much religious "symbolism", which doesn't hold (holy) water upon even minor scrutiny. Sure, Drac just took a HUGE wooden stake to the heart...but ya gotta PRAY over it for it to work? Huh? The early scene in the church is creepy however; so much so, that not much else that follows it seems scary.

On the plus side, there's the fetching Veronica Carlson, some fabulous sets (love those rooftop scenes!), and the ever-imposing Mr. Lee doing his blood-red-eye thing. Director Freddie Francis has been elsewhere maligned as being no Terence Fisher (Hammer's most prolific and arguably gifted craftsman). But Francis holds his own here, despite his over-reliance on filters and the occasional out-of-focus zoom.

So, what we have here is this: A first-rate transfer of a solid entry in Hammer's Dracula series. Oh, and for the uninitiated, here's the complete series in order:
HORROR OF DRACULA, BRIDES OF DRACULA, DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS, DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE, TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA, SCARS OF DRACULA, DRACULA A.D. 1972, THE SATANTIC RITES OF DRACULA, THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES.

And yes, I know BRIDES and LEGEND don't feature Christopher Lee. They still have Peter Cushing as Van Helsing and are part of the series.

This is without doubt the absolute best of the Hammer Dracula films! This film is interesting, exciting and FUN! Sure, Dracula is a one-dimensional character, but that's part of the fun. Check out the orignal book - Dracula is a demonic embodiment of evil, and that's the Count's role in this film. Dracula is sort of a background presence of evil who uses hapless humans to do his bidding!

This outing starts out splendidly with a scary scene in a church. When I was a kid this film was a staple on the CBS Friday night late show. It took my sister and I about three tries before we could make it past the body falling out of the church bell. Of course that was a more innocent time, today it takes a bit more to scare jaded kids.

But this film is a nostalgic delight! Today it can be enjoyed as the campy fun it is. The story is interesting and has a wonderful sense of irony. It never takes itself too seriously, but just sets out to be a good-old fashioned, mildly spooky yarn.

After the scary church prologue scene, the story proper gets started with the arrival of the Monsignor to a little village (the home of the afore mentioned church) which falls in the very shadow of Dracula's castle. It is Sunday morning, but the church is empty. The monsignor finds the priest in the tavern. No one will attend mass because of the terrible attrocity committed in the church by Dracula in his last rampage.

The monsignor reminds the frightened villagers and priest that Dracula is dead, drowned in the river in the mountains (See Dracula, Prince of Darkness.) They contend that the Count's evil presence still haunts the district.

The next morning the Monsignor drags the reluctant priest along and off they climb to Castle Dracula to perform an exorcism. Now the fun really begins - what they actually accomplish is inadvertantly reviving Dracula and freeing him from his icy tomb in the frozen river; locking him out of his castle by a huge cross chained to the front door ( their intention was to trap his spirit inside, instead they lock him out); and royally piss of the ill-tempered Count, sending him on another rampage!

The characters are all pretty well developed. Ewan Hooper is excellent as the tortured priest, enslaved by Dracula and forced to do horrible things. Barry Andrews and Veronica Carlson are interesting and likable as the young lovers that are the principle story line. Barbara Ewing as Zena is one of the most well developed and sympathetic of all Hammer heroines. Rupert Davies is a stand out as the well meaning Monsignor. And, of course, Christopher Lee is the coolest Dracula of all. Mean as hell and taking no prisoners.

Like "Romeo and Juliet", released the same year, 1968, the film, though a period piece, is given a comtemporary feel. Here it is accomplished by the young hero's atheism and Barbara Ewing's "lovable whore" Zena character. Young people of the late sixties must have identified with these characters and situations which mirrored the changing times and youthful rebellion against previous mores. Maybe that accounts, along with a campy advertising campaign from WB, for the film being the highest grossing of all Hammer films. That, plus it is a damn good flick.

The sets are wonderful and, along with the simple story line, evoke the feeling of a fairy tale. It seems much grander than the average Hammer horror. The acting is great, the story is excellent, the music is good, the production values are high. It plays like a mini- vampire epic! This film, along with the next year's "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed," and "The Devil Rides Out" also from 1968, represent the best Hammer had to offer.

Buy this in the Hammer box set from WB. "The Horror of Dracula" (which all the stodgy old critics always rave about, "yawn,") is good, as are "Curse of Frankenstein" and "The Mummy." But the real fun are the late sixties offerings - "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave" (1968) and "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed" and "Taste the Blood of Dracula" both from 1969.

Hammer never made a film that wasn't at least watchable. But for me their fairy taleish fable, "Dracula Has Risen Risen From the Grave" is their high point and their REAL classic.

This third Hammer Dracula film ranks right behind, "Dracula- Prince Of Darkness". A very visual and stunning movie. The plot has the count seeking revenge on a priest's niece. The priest read the rite of exorcisim at Castle Dracula and now the castle door is barred by a giant gold cross. The count wants revenge and he wants it bad! A great scene in the film is when Dracula is put to the stake, and then pulls it right out.

A must for all Hammer Films and Christopher Lee fans.