Originating from poetry in the early 18th century, vampires are often seen as vile creatures in literature and film. Published in 1819, the short story The Vampyre by John Polidori was one of the earliest and most popular examples of a horror story focusing on the creatures known as vampires.
While there had been several vampire tales in folklore prior to 1897, Bram Stoker changed the game when he published Dracula.
The story takes place mostly in England and Transylvania and focuses on Jonathan Harker who travels to Count Dracula’s castle to give him legal assistance on a real estate transaction.
Dracula has since been adapted on several occasions by filmmakers and thus the Count has received a special place in the history of the horror genre.
Some of the most popular movie adaptations of Stoker’s book would be F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu starring Max Schreck and Tod Browning's Dracula starring Bela Lugosi.
While these two movies are both important to the history of cinema in their own ways, Francis Ford Coppola added his own spin on the vampire genre by directing Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1992.
The film starred Gary Oldman as Dracula, with Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Keanu Reeves filling out the rest of the main cast.
Coppola’s take on Dracula was and still is one of the closest adaptations viewers have seen of Stoker’s novel. While the movie has now been out for over 25 years, the vampire genre continues to develop with new movies constantly coming out about the blood-sucking creatures.
No matter how many times the tale of Dracula is adapted, Coppola’s will always be ed.
Here are the 25 Incredible Facts Behind The Making Of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Liam Neeson Almost Played Van Helsing
Many actors have played Professor Abraham Van Helsing over the years. Edward Van Sloan, Christopher Plummer, and Hugh Jackman have all played versions of Van Helsing in different movies.
The role went to Anthony Hopkins for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. However, it almost went to Liam Neeson.
Prior to 1992, Neeson had acted in many movies, but not nearly as many as Hopkins.
Neeson was thought to have badly wanted the role in Coppola’s film, but the role ultimately went to Hopkins because of the recent success of The Silent of the Lambs.
Winona Ryder And Keanu Reeves might've been Married On Set
It is very common for two actors to pretend to be in love in order to capture a love story for a movie and even partake in fake wedding ceremonies.
Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder's characters may have only been engaged in the story, but the two were actually married on the set of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Coppola brought in a real Romanian priest to make the scene appear more authentic, which means that even though they were acting, Ryder and Reeves might have been married during filming.
Ryder has since joked about this while talking with Entertainment Weekly about her new rom-com Destination Wedding, which also stars Reeves.
Winona Ryder And Gary Oldman Didn’t Get Along On Set
With the mass amount of people it takes in order to make a full-length motion picture, it's not surprising that actors can’t always get along with everyone on set.
As intimate as Winona Ryder and Gary Oldman become in the movie, it is surprising that they were the two who actually clashed the most.
It has always been widely believed that Ryder and Oldman often didn’t get along during filming Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
When speaking with Interview Magazine in 2013, Ryder revealed that Oldman is now a close friend of hers and that their fighting back in the '90s was really just “teen drama.”
Sadie Frost’s Makeup Terrified A Child Actress
The finished product of Bram Stoker’s Dracula terrified people sitting in a theater, but imagine being a child acting in the movie.
Late in the film, Sadie Frost’s character Lucy carries a living child into her crypt likely to feast on her blood.
At this point in the movie, Lucy had already ed away and was now a vampire, which caused her skin to become pale and her teeth to become fully grown fangs.
It would be no doubt a frightening appearance to a child and Frost broke character at several points in order to comfort the child so they could finish filming.
We wonder if the former young actor still has nightmares about it.
Keanu Reeves Isn’t A Fan Of His Performance
While Bram Stoker’s Dracula was praised for many reasons, Keanu Reeves was not.
While many people did not overly enjoy Reeves as Jonathan Harker, Reeves himself didn’t really like his performance.
Since Dracula’s release, Reeves has stated that he was exhausted from filming several other projects in 1991 and “just didn’t have anything left to give.”
Reeves’ performance certainly could have been better, but he has since redeemed himself by starring in movies such as The Matrix and the more recent John Wick series.
With that being said, most actor’s have roles they aren’t overly fond of, and Reeves is no exception.
It Helped Save Coppola’s Production Company From Financial Ruin
While Francis Ford Coppola no doubt made a lot of money from his popular movies, he was all too familiar with certain films becoming financial flops.
In 1992, Coppola had money issues for the third time in nine years, this time with his Zoetrope Corp. and Zoetrope Productions.
In 1982, his movie One From the Heart didn't make a lot of money, which was part of his financial troubles.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula needed to be a hit with not just fans but critics alike so that he could start to pay off some of his debt.
Thankfully, the movie was a hit and some of the money earned no doubt saved his production companies.
Coppola Wanted The Movie To Be Achieved With Practical Effects
In movies today, CGI is a common tool to make a film come to life and seem incredibly realistic. While CGI can sometimes be a useful tool, Coppola wanted all of the effects for Bram Stoker's Dracula to be done practically.
As explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the effects were all done live in the camera, like live magic tricks.
For the effect of the green mist, Coppola and the cinematographer used double exposure and put the film through the camera multiple times before it was finally developed.
Wanting the movie to look the way it would have if early filmmakers had recorded it, Coppola decided to use old tricks to pull off the practical effects.
Gary Oldman might have been Intoxicated During His Razor Blade Scene
While it may not be the best example to lead by, there have been many s of actors being drunk on the set of movie productions.
Just that happened during a scene early on in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Shortly after Keanu Reeve’s character Jonathan Harker arrives at Dracula’s castle, he can be seen shaving his neck and accidentally cutting himself.
The Count then appears to assist Harker in shaving his neck, but not before he secretly licks the blood off of the razor blade.
It is widely believed that Gary Oldman was intoxicated while filming this scene.
Coppola Fired The Entire Special Effects Department
Movies usually are not cheap to make, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula was no exception.
While firing an entire department of the crew may be one way to cut costs, Coppola did just that because he wanted to rely on practical effects for his movie.
Coppola fired the special effects department and hired his son named Roman to help him with the practical effects since he was a magic enthusiast.
The end result came out looking very authentic, especially since Coppola and the crew used tricks that were used during the silent era of filmmaking.
Singer Lux Interior Shared His Voice For A Scene
In the first few scenes of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Elisabeta flings herself from the castle window because she was given fake news about the ing of her beloved husband.
Count Dracula is then seen renouncing god since his beloved Elisabeta’s soul could not be saved because she ended her own life.
As he takes his first steps in becoming immortal, he lets out a furious shriek. However, it wasn’t actually Oldman who yelled.
Coppola’s daughter Sofia suggested that they use punk rock singer Lux Interior from The Cramps for the pivotal scene.
Oldman acted out the scene and Lux’s roar was added in during post-production.
