Review of Dracula

I am the monster that breathing men would kill. I am Dracula.

My favorite vampire film of the lot. It stuck close to the story penned by Bram Stoker (save for a few features, such as making Elisabeta/Mina Murray the resurrected wife of Count Dracula), and the way the film was made with hardly any special effects (a special request from the director) was so effective, it provided audiences with a cinematic masterpiece from the same man who directed the Godfather, another favorite film of mine. Presenting Count Dracula as a romantic being who became a bloodthirsty monster because of the sudden and tragic demise of the woman he loved was also a touch of creativity - audiences tend to find the romantic side to every story, and by giving Count Dracula as a monster who became as such because of love, well, this film can be thought of as endearing. I couldn't help but sympathize with Count Dracula all throughout the film.
In the year 1462, a Transylvanian knight, Dracula (Oldman), is forced to leave his young wife, Elisabeta (Ryder), who he prizes above everything else in the world, in order to do battle with the Turks who are invading their country. His war is successful, and he rushes home to his wife. Unfortunately, Turks have shot an arrow bearing a letter with the news that Dracula is dead into the castle. Elisabeta believes the news to be true, and after penning a letter of farewell, she throws herself out the window and into the river below. When Dracula sees the lifeless body of his beloved wife, he flies into a rage, denounces God and the Church, and swears to avenge her death with all the powers of darkness. Nearly four centuries later, a young clerk, Jonathan Harker (Reeves), is also forced to leave his fiancee, Mina Murray (Ryder), in order to go on a business trip to take care of some negotiations with one of his company's clients who lives in Transylvania. Although both clearly don't want to be separated from each other, they say farewell, and Mina goes to the house of her childhood friend, Lucy Westenra (Frost), who is a free-spirited, but spoiled woman. Soon enough, Lucy gets engaged to Arthur Holmwood (Elwes), a fellow aristocrat. However, Lucy begins her old habit of sleepwalking, and when Mina follows her, she sees a large creature biting into Lucy's neck. Dracula has arrived, and he is Jonathan's mysterious client. He had seen Mina's picture among Jonathan's belongings, and he imprisoned Jonathan in his castle while he traveled to London. Dracula is now determined to claim Mina as his own, but is thwarted when Mina and Jonathan meet in secret. In retaliation, he turns Lucy into a vampire. Jonathan, Mina, Lucy's suitors, and Abraham Van Helsing (Hopkins), who is an expert on the supernatural, have to find a way to stop Dracula in his tracks.
Fantastic. Bloody. Romantic. Seeing Monica Bellucci in this film was also a nice surprise (although when I first watched this film I didn't know who she was back then). Definitely a must see.