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| country = United States<br />United Kingdom<br />Japan<ref>http://explore.bfi.org.uk/53c99d8c0e8d7</ref> | country = United States<br />United Kingdom<br />Japan<ref>http://explore.bfi.org.uk/53c99d8c0e8d7</ref>
| language = English | language = English
| budget = $100.000.000
| budget = $70 million<ref>{{cite web | url = http://deadline.com/2014/10/gone-girl-dracula-judge-alexander-box-office-848782/ | title = ‘Gone Girl’ Could Face Another Box Office Barn Burner With ‘Dracula’, ‘Alexander’, ‘Judge’ – B.O. Preview | author = Scott Bowles | publisher = Deadline.com | date = October 9, 2014 | accessdate = October 10, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://m.hollywoodreporter.com/entry/view/id/740119 | title = Box Office: 'Dracula Untold' Earns $1.3 Million Thursday Night | author = Rebecca Ford | publisher = ''The Hollywood Reporter'' | date = October 10, 2014 | accessdate = October 10, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://variety.com/2014/film/news/box-office-dracula-untold-latenight-shows-1201326339/ | title = Box Office: ‘Dracula Untold’ Comes Alive with $1.3 Million at Latenight Shows | author = Dave McNarry | publisher = ''Variety'' | date = October 10, 2014 | accessdate = October 10, 2014}}</ref>
| gross = $47.900.000
| gross = $47.9 million<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=dracula.htm |title=Dracula Untold (2014) |website=Box Office Mojo |accessdate=October 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/10/11/box-office-dracula-untold-tops-with-8-9m-friday/</ref>
}} }}
'''''Dracula Untold''''' is a 2014 ] ]-] film directed by Gary Shore in ] and written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.<ref name="Gary" /> Rather than focus on ] ]'s 1897 novel '']'', the film creates an origin story for its title character, ], by portraying the story of ], of whom Stoker was unaware until he was well into writing that novel. ] portrays the title character, with ] and ] in supporting roles. '''''Dracula Untold''''' is a 2014 ] ]-] film directed by Gary Shore in ] and written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.<ref name="Gary" /> Rather than focus on ] ]'s 1897 novel '']'', the film creates an origin story for its title character, ], by portraying the story of ], of whom Stoker was unaware until he was well into writing that novel. ] portrays the title character, with ] and ] in supporting roles.

Revision as of 15:12, 12 October 2014

2014 American film
Dracula Untold
A man walking away from a large amount of bats.IMAX Exclusive Theatrical release poster
Directed byGary Shore
Screenplay byMatt Sazama
Burk Sharpless
Produced byMichael De Luca
StarringLuke Evans
Sarah Gadon
Dominic Cooper
CinematographyJohn Schwartzman
Edited byRichard Pearson
Music byRamin Djawadi
Production
companies		Legendary Pictures
Michael De Luca Productions
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • October 10, 2014 (2014-10-10) (United States)
Running time92 minutes
CountriesUnited States
United Kingdom
Japan
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100.000.000
Box office$47.900.000

Dracula Untold is a 2014 dark fantasy action-horror film directed by Gary Shore in his feature film debut and written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. Rather than focus on Irish novelist Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, the film creates an origin story for its title character, Count Dracula, by portraying the story of Vlad the Impaler, of whom Stoker was unaware until he was well into writing that novel. Luke Evans portrays the title character, with Sarah Gadon and Dominic Cooper in supporting roles.

Principal photography began on August 5, 2013 in Northern Ireland. Universal Pictures released the film on October 10, 2014 in theatres and IMAX. Universal intends the film to be a reboot of the Universal Monsters franchises.

Plot

In an opening montage the son of Vlad the Impaler recounts the history surrounding the legendary character known as Dracula, and how the stories tell of a monster. Seeking to dispel the legend, Vlad the Impaler's son recounts the events around which the one known as Dracula came to be.

In the middle ages the Sultan of Turkey sought to acquire and train boys in order to turn them into perfect soldiers who would hold no moral or ethical obligations. One such boy was Vlad, who became known as "the impaler" after his use of wooden stakes to display those whom he killed as a form of psychological warfare. Ultimately, Vlad was able to escape from his duty as a soldier, and was made the prince of Transylvania, a tribute territory to the Turkish Empire. While on a scouting mission in the woods Vlad and his team discover a Turkish helmet, and deduce that a scouting party of Turks have entered Transylvania territory. In their search for the party, Vlad and his men enter a cave in the mountains and encounter an ancient sorcerer and master vampire, who subsequently kills Vlad's men, and drives Vlad out of his lair.

The following day, as Vlad and his subjects celebrate Easter, the Turkish party arrives unexpected. Anticipating that they have come for the tribute, Vlad offers the party silver coins, but the envoy demands that 1,000 boys be given over for service in the Turkish army. Vlad turns down the request, but lacks an effective armed force to compel the Turks to leave Transylvania in peace. After a failed attempt at diplomacy with the Turkish Sultan, Vlad skirmishes with a Turkish party that arrived to take his son for service in Turkish army. Realizing that he will need more power in order to defend his territory and his people, Vlad seeks out the vampire's cave and explains that he has need of the vampire's power. After listening to his story and cautioning him about the risks, the vampire offers Vlad some of his blood, which infuses Vlad with the powers of the night. The vampire explains that this power will last for three days, during which time Vlad will be tempted to drink human blood, but if he can withstand the urge for all three days he will be restored to his human form, also warning Vlad that he will be released from his prison if Vlad accepts his curse.

Upon his return from the cave Vlad observes a Turkish siege of Castle Dracula, and single-handedly takes on the besieging force, killing them all. Determined to protect his people at all costs, Vlad instructs the party to fall back to a mountain monastery whose geography will hinder any Turkish attempt to take the facility. It is here that Vlad meets Shkelgim, who dubs himself Vlad's servant and gives him blood, only for Vlad to show hostility and refuse the offer. During the second night, the Transylvanian party is ambushed by Turkish forces, and Vlad and his men engage them. Although victorious in the engagement Vlad's powers begin to attract attention from his closest advisers. The next day at the monastery, as Vlad attempts to rally his people ahead of the battle, his use of the demonic powers is exposed and the citizens at the monastery subsequently turn on Vlad, attempting to burn him to death in a tent. Angered over this perceived betrayal, Vlad- escaping the tent as the smoke created by the fire blocks out the sun- chastises his people before taking his leave.

That night, a massive Turkish force marches on the monastery. Vlad employs bats to defend the territory, however the incoming Turkish army turns out to be a decoy force deployed to allow a handful of Turks to infiltrate the monastery and kill the citizens within. Mirena's attempt to defend her son from the Turks fails, and she ultimately falls to her death despite Vlad's attempt to save her. Angered over the loss of his wife, Vlad embraces the darkness within himself and honors Mirena's last request to drink her blood to give him the strength to save their son before his time as a vampire expires. Returning to the monastery to find a handful of survivors, Vlad offers each the chance for vengeance, and gives them his blood to drink.

At the primary Turkish Army camp the Sultan and his men are preparing for a massive invasion of Europe when Vlad and his small band of vampires arrive. A battle erupts between the two forces, however Vlad's vampires are vastly superior to the Turkish soldiers, and the battle degenerates into a massacre. While the vampires take their vengeance on the Turkish forces Vlad seeks out the Sultan, who has taken his son captive. Aware of the vampire's weakness to silver, the Sultan has lined the floors of his tent with silver coins, and engages in a battle with Vlad using a silver sword. Ultimately, despite his use of silver to weaken Vlad and a wooden stake to try and impale his heart, the Sultan's attempt to kill Vlad fails, with Vlad turning briefly into a flock of bats to escape his assault and then drink his blood.

With his enemy vanquished, Vlad and his son emerge from the Sultan's tent, whereupon they are surrounded by the other vampires Vlad brought. Vlad's vampires demand to drink the child's blood, arguing that the child does not matter now that Vlad is prince to the vampires, but they are stopped by the unexpected presence of a Monk, who keeps the vampires at bay with a Christian cross. After consoling his son, Vlad instructs the monk to take him away, then uses his power to clear the cloud coverage. The absence of the clouds results in the death of the vampires as they are unable to withstand the effects of direct sun contact.

In the aftermath of the battle, Vlad is presumed dead and the Turkish army defeated, leaving Europe safe from invasion and occupation. Vlad's son is crowned the new prince of Transylvania, and the name Dracula is passed down to future generations as a legend. Finding him in his near death state, Shkelgim finds and revives Vlad, who then remains out of the public eye.

In the present day, a woman named Mina who strikingly resembles Mirena is approached by a man who complements her flowers and recites her favorite piece of poetry, seemingly by coincidence. The man introduces himself as "Vlad", and the two depart together. Unbeknownst to him, Caligula has also survived the centuries of time and proceeds to follow them, reciting the very words that he said to Vlad prior to turning him into a vampire: "Let the games begin."

Cast

Production

Anybody who’s going to the film expecting a horror film, is going to be sorely disappointed. For me, it was telling a story. I was trying to tell a good drama, that has action-adventure elements to it.

—Gary Shore, director

In 2007, director Alex Proyas (The Crow) was hired by Universal Studios to direct the film Dracula: Year Zero. The film was to be produced by Michael De Luca and filmed in Australia. Later, Universal ended the deals with Proyas and scheduled star Sam Worthington because of the high budget. It was announced on February 10, 2012 by Deadline.com that Irish director Gary Shore was in talks to direct. Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless wrote the script for the new film. On April 25, 2013, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Universal had announced that the film would be released on August 8, 2014. On May 20, 2013, First Minister of Northern Ireland Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness announced that Universal would film Dracula in August in Northern Ireland. On August 29, 2013, Variety reported that Legendary Pictures was considering co-financing the film. Legendary's involvement in production was confirmed in May 2014.

Casting

On January 25, 2010, it was announced that Sam Worthington was in negotiations to play Vlad the Impaler, with the film set to release in 2011. On August 19, Worthington was confirmed to star in the film. On February 10, 2012, Deadline confirmed that Universal closed the deal with Worthington. On April 8, 2013, actor Luke Evans joined the cast, replacing Worthington to play the role of Vlad the Impaler, the man who would become the mythological bloodsucker Dracula. On May 2, 2013, Sarah Gadon joined the cast to star alongside Evans. On May 8 Variety announced that Dominic Cooper was in talks to join the cast. On July 11, 2013, Zach McGowan also signed on, to play the role of Shkelgim, a gypsy chief. On July 26, Samantha Barks joined the cast to play a character from Eastern European folk tales known as Baba Yaga, a beautiful young woman who transforms into a savage witch; her scenes were later cut from the film. Along with Barks more cast was added, including Charlie Cox, Ferdinand Kingsley, William Houston and Thor Kristjansson, the latter of whom would play the role of Bright Eyes, an Eastern European taken as a slave as a young boy and now an assassin in the Ottoman Army. Art Parkinson then joined on to play the role of Ingeras, son of Dracula.

Filming

On May 20, 2013, Universal confirmed that shooting would take place in Northern Ireland from August to November 2013. The film's shooting officially began on August 5, 2013, starting in Roe Valley Country Park in NI. The production company received permission for two days of shooting, on August 5-6, to film in the park. Other location shooting took place throughout Northern Ireland.

In September 2014, actor Evans revealed that every day after work he got training all the time, rehearsed with the stunt guys, and ate just chicken, beef, fish and green vegetables to get ready for the shoot of the film.

Reshoots and Universal Monsters

On October 1, 2014, it was announced that reshoots had taken place shortly after the end of production to tie the movie into the planned Universal Monsters franchise, which was being rebooted. Producer Alissa Phillips confirmed at the UK Premiere of the film that Dracula Untold was a part of the universe. She hoped that Evans' character might have a cameo in a future The Mummy film and also spoke of a potential sequel to Dracula to reboot the franchise. In an interview with IGN, director Gary Shore stated "It's optional for them if they want to use it as that launching pad."

Music

Ramin Djawadi's score for the film was released by Backlot Music on October 7th on CD. Djawadi was originally chosen to work on the film's musical score after his work on Iron Man and Clash of the Titans, and after signing on to score the film, he gave up his job of scoring the film Edge of Tomorrow, which was given to Christophe Beck.

Release

On April 25, 2013, Universal announced that the film would be released in theaters on August 8, 2014. It was announced four months later that the film would be postponed until October 3, 2014. The release date was pushed a third time to October 17, 2014. The release date was changed for a fourth and final time to October 10, 2014, to give the film three weeks of play before Halloween. The film was released in all formats including IMAX, and in over 25 foreign markets, on its opening weekend.

Reception

Box office

North America

Dracula Untold was released in North America on October 10, 2014 across 2,885 theatres. It earned $1.3 million from Thursday late night showings from 2,133 theatres and $8.9 million on it's opening day.

Outside North America

A few days ahead of its U.S. debut, Dracula Untold was released in 25 foreign markets and earned $21 million. It had a strong $5 million four-day opening in Mexico. The highest debuts came from Australia ($9 million), Germany ($4 million), Malaysia ($3 million) and France ($1 million).

Critical reception

Dracula Untold has received a mixture of reviews from critics, with many criticizing Dracula's characterization and pointing out many plot holes. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 26% based on 84 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The site's consensus reads, "Neither awful enough to suck nor sharp enough to bite, Dracula Untold misses the point of its iconic character's deathless appeal." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 40 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Sequel

On October 2, 2014, producer Alissa Phillips revealed at the UK Premiere of the film that there might be a sequel to the film.

References

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  2. "Ramin Djawadi to Score 'Dracula Untold'". FilmMusicReporter. February 11, 2014.
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  37. Gina Hall (October 10, 2014). "'Dracula Untold' Scares Up $1.3 Million at Thursday Box Office". The Wrap. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  38. Rebecca Ford (October 10, 2014). "Box Office: 'Dracula Untold' Earns $1.3 Million Thursday Night". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  39. Dave McNarry (October 10, 2014). "Box Office: 'Dracula Untold' Comes Alive with $1.3 Million at Latenight Shows". Variety. Retrieved October 10, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  40. Scott Mendelson (October 11, 2014). "Box Office: 'Dracula Untold' Tops 'Gone Girl' With $8.9M Friday". Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  41. Maane Khatchatourian (October 11, 2014). "Gone Girl' Draws Blood With $26 Million, 'Dracula Untold' Tops Friday Box Office". Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  42. Ray Subers (October 5, 2014). "Around-the-World Roundup: Strong Overseas Debuts for 'Gone Girl,' 'Annabelle'". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  43. Nancy Tartagloine (October 5, 2014). "Int'l Box Office Update: 'Breakup Buddies' In Huge China Debut; 'Gone Girl' A Beaut With $24.6M; 'Bang Bang' Holsters $25.4M; More". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  44. "Dracula Untold". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  45. "Dracula Untold Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  46. "Producer Confirms that Dracula Untold is the First Part of the Universal Monsters Reboot". heyuguys.com. October 2, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.

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