"Dracula" Resting in Peace -- For Now
In a move that is sure to rattle some horror film purists (and possibly have filmmakers Tod Browning and Carl Laemmle, Jr. turning in their graves), Universal Studios is re-releasing its Bela Lugosi version of "Dracula (1931)" on home video with a new and highly significant feature -- a soundtrack score. And while it's not completely unusual to re-release a silent film with accompanying music (Lon Chaney's "The Phantom of the Opera," for example), the idea of tinkering with the artistic integrity of a bona fide "talkie" classic -- film restoration aside -- is relatively uncharted territory. Apart from Tchaikovsky's haunting "Swan Lake Overture" that accompanies the opening titles and other brief musical interludes, the film is void of any sound but dialogue and sound effects. The studio commissioned composer Philip Glass ("Kundun") to score the 1931 film, which was in turn recorded by the Kronos Quartet, a world-renown string chamber group hired by Glass to give the film a definitive 19th century feel. The redubbed home video version of "Dracula" (featuring the film's original poster art) hits shelves Aug. 31, and Glass and the quartet will also be performing live on a short tour, "Dracula: The Music and Film," the last week in October. Appropriately, the tour wraps up Halloween night at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles.
Bacharach's Music Shagadelic Aga-a-a-ain
Famed singer-songwriter Burt Bacharach is getting groovy raves from "Austin Powers" fans once again with a return cameo in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me." Appearing with his newest song collaborator, Elvis Costello, Bacharach delivers a new rendition of his classic, "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" (with lyrics like, "What do you do when you kiss a girl?/You get enough germs to catch pneumonia/After you do, she'll never phone you/I'll never fall in love again" -- how could it not be a classic?!). Oddly enough, Bacharach's movie music career extends back to just before the '60s, baby, yeah! Click here and test your knowledge of Bacharach's history as a movie music composer.
In the Art Houses . . .
Something Wicked "Witch" Way Comes
With the buzz over the new indie-horror film, "The Blair Witch Project" already humming at a fever pitch, this week's section might be more appropriately titled, "In the Art Houses ... but only for a little while." That's because "Blair Witch," opening as an exclusive release on a handful of screens in only 16 major markets on July 16, will go wide a mere two weeks later (40 more markets, with more to come a short time later, according to distributor Artisan Entertainment). Unusual for an indie? Not exactly, if somebody like say, John Sayles or the Coen brothers are attached to the project. But when you consider that the cast and crew of this Sundance Film Festival smash are virtual unknowns, you know that it has to be casting some sort of spell on theater exhibitors.
The film is set in October of 1994, where three student filmmakers disappear in the woods of Burkittsville, MD while shooting a documentary. A year later, their footage is found, and hence, the true horror is unleashed. Rolling Stone's Peter Travers has led the critic's charge by dubbing "Blair Witch" "Scary as Hell." Sleep tight!
-- Additional reporting by Bill Carlson and Nancy Nelson
Win tickets to an advanced movie screening!
New in theaters July 23 is the Miramax drama, "My Life So Far," starring Malcom McDowell, Colin Firth, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Irene Jacob. For a chance to win tickets to an advanced screening of the film July 21 at the Lagoon Theater in Minneapolis, click here. Winners will be selected at random July 15, and will receive their tickets by mail.
With a career rejuvenated by the success of films like "
Okay, Julia, we'll let you nix the return visit this summer. After all, "Notting Hill" is still sporting a strong set of box office legs, and she's got to keep up her appearances. It should be interesting, however, to see how she sizes up against her most formidable opponent in a new romantic-comedy due later this month -- herself (and a couple familiar sounding names to boot) -- in the highly anticipated, "
