I was wondering what the prospects are for a re-release of this title.

I love the film but the transfer is unforgiveable. I remember the film having some really great colors but the disc looks more B&W than anything. The color leves are thoroughly shot to hell. Not too mention the lack of extras (Minor detail).

In any event, I was wondering if there was any other interest in this film's hopeful-re-release?

I would LOVE to see a restored version of this, with the original color hues, anamorphic transfer, and audio commentary. I always thought this was a very underrated film.

Since Universal has already announced their releases through October, I would guess that the earliest you would possibly see this would be late 2004.

In the meantime, the movie-only edition is a decent alternative. It's certainly watchable... and hasn't really gone through the roof price-wise, like the other OOP Image/Universal titles.

I have the Frank Langella Count Dracula DVD I have no problem with it, you see I bought the disc to watch; not do a autopsy on it.



Learn all that can be learned and you will be dispointed at all the flaws Human Being made movies make. I chose Cyphers (The Matrix) way "Ignorance is Bliss" and I enjoy every one of my 1566 R1 and 220 of R2 & R4 discs!

Have you watched a lot of movies not made by human beings, danol?

Amazingly enough, there are people out there who manage to both enjoy watching a movie and also enjoy analyzing it. Startling, but true.

i'd buy an anamorphic remaster of this.
always really enjoyed this version.
i used to have the image disc, and agree it looked pretty bad.
i had a 53" rp at the time and it was pretty much unwatchable.

i'd be happy with just a bare bones remaster as long as it was 16:9 enhanced.
i wouldn't hold out hope of the colors being better though.
it was purposely desaturated at the request of the director who claimed he wanted a look closer to the old B&W movies.
i think it was a un-wise creative choice myself.

Wow, I had no idea that this was a Director's call. Really sad, the film is really great and the colors "were" really great. If he wanted B&W so badly he should have filmed it that way initially rather than bleed the colors out. Thanks for the info. and here's to hoping anyway.

Wow, I had no idea that this was a Director's call. Really sad, the film is really great and the colors "were" really great. If he wanted B&W so badly he should have filmed it that way initially rather than bleed the colors out. Thanks for the info. and here's to hoping anyway.

With 2004 almost upon us, is there any hope for a 25th Anniversary Special Edition of this? As I was watching the superbit version of Francis Ford Coppola's version last night, complete with vibrant colors, I thought about this 1979 verison of Dracula.

I own the original release of this DVD, but remember being disappointed with the transfer. I popped it in my player and, to my suprise, it was worse than I remembered. Some people claim it's black and white. I say it's worse - it looks like it plays on a color TV in need of being thrown into a dumpster. Black and white with faint traces of color here and there. Ugh! How completely ugly!

I know there's a lot of complaining on the internet about certain studios, actors, etc. But this is one time I think complaining is utterly justified. Universal is hands-down the worst for DVD releases. From botched-up jobs of Back to the Future and Jurassic Park, to full screen versions only of such films like The Jerk, and not to mention putting highly-regarded films on moratorium like the original classic monsters (Bela Lugosi's Dracula, Boris Karloff's Frankenstein, etc.), I really hate this studio's DVD department.

i wuld bye this!

Another post said Universal released this with desaturated color on purpose. I'm skeptical of this, but I'm even more irritated that if this is truly "intentional," the DVD wasn't properly labeled as "Director's Crappy Black and White Version" or something to that effect to warn consumers expecting to view the theatrical version!

I had the laserdisc and there was a trailer which was in color of the movie.
It does look better in color.

So are you saying the laserdisc had the same "color desaturated" transfer? (I just can't believe John Badham would want his movie to look just plain awful! I really don't believe this explanation from Universal.)

I haven't seen a home video version of this in any format, but I did see the movie in a theater when it was first released and do not remember the colors being washed out. Even though this was 23+ years ago I'm sure I would have remembered something like that. If the colors are desaturated on any DVD versions, this is not the way that it looked originally. I believe that I have seen some of it on TV in the past 10 years or so and the color levels seemed normal, nothing extraordinary, not too rich, not too light. Why make such a drastic intentional revision to the look of a movie that so many people have seen? It's probably just a screwup.

i agree, the film looks much better in color, and i would probably only grudgingly buy it if the next release is anamorphic with a good print, but still over desaturated.
i had the laserdisc, and to my eyes, it didn't look near as bad in that department as the dvd, although i would be surprised if they didn't use the same masters.

Universal is definitley not the dvd-force they should be.
they have one of the greatest catalogs of any of the studios (universal monsters, 50's sci-fi and mosnters, film noirs, early paramounts, early DeMilles, fantastic tv product including a lot of beloved genre material), but all that material is just sitting there while they churn out (what seems like) nothing but 80s era filler.
when they do dip into the catalog though (Hulk tv series, Don Knotts films) they are capable of some remarkable looking discs.
the Hulk movie is really a top shelf transfer for both a/v.
being a fan of the film, i'm more than happy with it.

its a shame they can't get their act together.
if they don't make big strides with their monster material in '04, with the tie in to Van Helsing(which will probably flop)
, then there is really no hope for that studio.

The theatrical release had fairly normal color, as did the panned and scanned laser and VHS tapes.

When the widescreen laser was released, the director did request that the color be toned down a lot. People complained then, too.

The Image DVD used the laser transfer and is the same destaturated color.

I say, when and if they do a re-release, give us the original color version and if John Badham wants his redux on there as well, then so be it. But why not allow us to see the original version?

I think it's time for an intervention to let John Badham know he's color blind.

Dug this old thread up. According to DavisDVD, this is getting rerelease by Universal on 9/28 for a SRP of $14.98. The box cover is different. No specs announced. Let's hope they clean up the film and do a better job with the transfer. The first DVD was awful. This classy production deserved better. Can't wait!

I love the "drained" look and I believe the theatrical presentation was alot more drained than you remember, but again you guys were still in diapers. Sorry guys, John Badham is a true artist and give credit where credit is due.

I, like a few who posted here, have both the DVD and VHS and there is a huge difference. As was the theatrical version. It's much much MUCH richer than that first DVD. I remember it quite well. As I saw it about 5 times in the theater alone. And I wasn't in diapers. A little older. But remember it just the same