Dead and loving it is brooks final filma fittingly. Known for his deadpan comedic style in sillierthanlife projects such as the naken gun series, leslie nielson returns to the screen as the title character in mel brooks dracula. Dracula is sick and dying, so renfield is the one who comes up with the plan to go to italy. As of 2018, it is the most recent film brooks has directed. It has glimmers of the old brooks comic madness and genius, but it just fails to be a great film all the way through, as compared to his ultimate western spoof, blazing saddles. He leads renfield up the staircase, while his shadow limps across the wall behind him. Book depository books with free delivery worldwide. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of dracula and what it means.
Though the author writes well, and i thought what she did with renfield s story was interesting, the pacing of this story was way too slow. Dracula leaves the party, but seward and the professor know to follow renfield and he will lead them to the count. Dracula starts to introduce himself and trips on some bat guano, tumbling down the steps. Dead and loving it might be silly, even gleefully stupid at times, but it is. Renfield laugh dracula dead and loving it 1995 youtube. Underrated vampire spoof from master of parody, mel brooks. Dead and loving it is a 1995 satirical comedy horror film directed by mel brooks and starring leslie nielsen. When dracula visits renfield in the sanitarium, he pulls apart the metal bars on renfields window to have him crawl out. Dead and loving it is a masterpiece, with pivotal acting that would have made any hollywood agent salivate. This book is based on the character of renfield in bram stokers dracula. Count dracula or simply just dracula is the titular antagonist of mel brooks dracula.
Dracula, xander harris falls under the spell of dracula, and begins devouring insects and spiders for much of the episode. Peter macnicol plays the comedic, simpleminded thomas renfield in mel brooks 1995 film dracula. It is a spoof of bram stokers novel dracula and of some of the films it spawned. Dead and loving it by eisforextinction on february 08, 2010.
Thinking back, many moons ago i read dracula but as far as i can recall thats the only vampire tale ive ever read seen a few different films though. Brooks has directed was 1995s dracula, dead and loving it, which is now available on dvd. Dead and loving it is a 1995 satirical comedy horror film directed by. Renfield stoker 114 renfield sees dracula as his master for the majority of the novel.
Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. A gospel of dracula is a 2005 novel written by tim lucas and the first of the mashup horrorthemed novels that rose to commercial prominence later in the decade. Nov 03, 20 rodney dangerfield at his best on the tonight show starring johnny carson 1983 duration. Dead and loving it dvd mel brooks takes a turn at a classic horror tale. This happens once more before dracula hoists renfield up by his shoulders and goes through it all very fast. Seward is awoken with news that something has happened to renfield, and he, along with van helsing, lord godalming, and quincey morris, go to renfield s room to make sure that everything is alright. It is a parody of the novel dracula by bram stoker, and of some of the films it inspired. Hambly also managed to add depth and character development to the original story. Having just read bram stokers dracula, i was eager to learn what had become of the beloved characters. Acting is of an incredibly high standard with peter mcnicol as the dumbest renfield of all time. Like the original novel, renfield is an epistolary novel written in series of. Dead and loving it is a fun horror comedy from start to finish. Dracula has been living in his dark and dull dusty castle, but over time, he has become bored. Renfield eventually allows dracula to enter the asylum, but regrets this decision when he learns that dracula wants to harm mina.
Youll never look at houseflies the same way again after renfield decides theyre a tasty snack. Dracula walks in on the scene, and decides that renfield will be his new slave. Renfield meets count dracula who, unknown to renfield, is a vampire. In mel brooks biography it was stated that halloween might have been a better time to release dracula. The character of renfield in dracula from litcharts the. Hes described as a lunatic and a madman, but theres. Dead and loving it is a 1995 satirical comedy horror film directed by mel. Renfield appears as the protagonist in a number of works that provide his backstory or retell the story from his viewpoint. Seward works, is a difficult character to get our heads around, simply because of his abnormal psychology. Dead and loving it skip to main search results amazon prime. It is an unofficial prequel to bram stokers dracula.
It merely turned the whole tale into a hilarious romp, making fun of dracula and his inept sidekick, renfield, as well as the other characters. Dead and loving it wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. An insane man kept in sewards institution, renfield has a desire to gain the lifeforce of flies, spiders, birds, and cats, and later has a desire for blood he promises to be draculas student, and is eventually killed by dracula, once renfield invites the count into the asylum. It focuses mainly on renfield, mostly remembered for his minor role in dracula as a lunatic that ate flies, rodents and other animals, and dr. As a parody of the original dracula, he is more comedic than evil. As of the start of 2017, this is the most recent film brooks has directed. This comedy followed the bram stoker book very closely. Renfield laugh dracula dead and loving it 1995 evilmadman1. Dead and loving it wikimili, the free encyclopedia wikimili, the free encyclopedia. The role was originated memorably in the 1931 movie by dwight frye, then by by tom waits in 1992s bram stokers dracula, peter macnicol in the mel brooks parody dracula. As of the start of 2018, this is the most recent film brooks has directed. Like the original novel, renfield is an epistolary novel written in series of written documents. In hamblys novel, renfield, is the central character. For the scene in which jonathan drives a stake into lucys heart, steven weber s reactions to getting doused in blood are real.
Dead and loving it, leslie nielsen brings the deadpan humor of the naked gun series to the role of the infamous vampire. Renfield, startled, turns around and is relieved to see the count. So as for where to place the book of renfield in the collective bastion ill leave to the historians pun intended. Dead and loving it topic 25 great dr evil quotes duration. The novels the book of renfield by tim lucas and renfield. The dance sequences by dance doubles of course were amazing. The 1990s were particularly dry with mel writingdirecting three theatrical releases, none of which were as successful as his earlier triumphs. Both dracula and renfield are invited to a ball, where van helsing has. For this particular sequence, mel brooks did not tell him what was going to happen.
Granted its sillier than young frankenstein, but i still loved it both films in fact. Dracula dead and loving it critics consensus lacking any of the comedic bite that audiences have come to expect from a mel brooks farce, this vampire parody just plain ol sucks. That kind of person must find slap slick and jokes about boobs. Dead and loving it quotes that can help you when you are tired of being in the same old rut, and all you need is a little push, a little inspiration, a smile on the face. John seward, the administrator of an insane asylum who is trying to understand renfields psychosis.
The only real sparks are set off by macnicol as renfield, the solicitor who develops a taste for flies and spiders after being bitten by dracula. Mar 07, 2010 renfield is a type of vampire though he prefers to consume the whole rather than feeding off the body slowly over a number of nights. Peter macnicol plays the crazed renfield to the letter, steven weber has a. Renfield often escapes the asylum to meet with dracula, and then willingly agrees to go back. Between its many sight gags and puns, the movie sticks fairly closely to the classic story line of previous screen versions, beginning with renfield s peter macnicol visit to count dracula s creepy transylvanian. The character dracula of the first film interpretations in the 1920s and 30s is definitely not the same dracula in dracula 3000 or dracula. Dead and loving it 1897 1995 fiction into film is a series devoted to pagetoscreen adaptations. However, renfield promptly falls asleep before dracula can make him his slave.
Here are eighteen widely accepted interpretations of dracula, many of which have been detailed to show draculas evolution as he explores his. Brooks coauthored the screenplay with steve haberman and rudy deluca. Though nielson may portray a rather debonair undead, the character and the film itself are as lifeless as the unflappable count. There is a struggle, and renfield opens a hole in the ceiling to let dracula escape, but the light kills him.
How did dracula become the worlds most famous vampire. He anticipates that some people might assume that he was hallucinating or in an alcoholinduced haze when they read about the blue lights and the wolves, so he tells us exactly what he had to eat and drink beforehand. Dead and loving it include a sprinkling of amusements and one big belly laugh. Dead and loving it quotes about the 1995 satirical comedy horror film.
The scene in the anatomy college class is fantastic and hilarious, and well, lets just say the bedroom scene with the two draculaen brides attacking renfield at the transylvanian castle made a rise in my levis. The servant renfield was the most enigmatic character to stalk in the. Even though it is renfield who makes his way to the castle as in the. Dead and loving it is pretty much like his later comedies. Too bad those critics couldnt know how truly bankrupt the. I have four stephen king books to choose from which one should i read. Dead and loving it, despite similar characters and plot lines. A lot of slapstick gags in this film, some i saw coming from a mile off, but i still got a kick out of them. Dead and loving it, renfield himself is a major character, and hes a spoof of his novel self, like everyone else in the film. In the novel, renfield never visits the castle dracula. You actually understand who renfield is, why dracula ends up in england.
They then sail for england and along the way count dracula kills all of the crew. Dracula dead and loving it was a hilarious movie, a nice play on the original novel. Dead and loving it, dvd, widescreen, subtitled, dolby, comedycontemporary, horrormonsters, 053939270020. George hamiltons 1979 love at first bite features arte johnson as renfield, who carries around a large array of creatures, including a boa constrictor, for nourishment. I have limited experience in this particular genre. The end up in an old chapel, and the sun is coming up. Dead and loving it is, as of this writing, mel brookss last movie, released in 1995 and starring leslie nielsen as dracula the story begins as a young solicitor from london, thomas renfield peter macnicol, meets the mysterious count dracula. Jonathan harker assures any future readers of his diary that he wasnt drunk the night he traveled to castle dracula. Renfield meets count dracula, a charming but rather strange man who is a vampire. Dead and loving it lasted until september so it was released in december. It is a unique take on renfield, the madman in bram stokers dracula. Similar to the draculas daughter film mentioned above, blood for dracula has a renfield who is mostly in control. He called it the 99yard touchdown and it worked like this.
Renfields eyes get wider and more twitchy as he listens, and the scene ends with renfield totally under dracula s control. I dont know what happened to the driver and my luggage and. Its telling that out of the entire book, the most sexual moment for any. Somehow lucy ends up outside and they find her dead. Fiction into film is a series devoted to pagetoscreen adaptations. The vampires are loose, but somehow everyones having a great time, including the undead count himself in dracula. Brooks and his writers use a very tight adaptation of bram stokers novel, but the spoofs can be spelled out as we go, as if they are paintbynumber. In bram stokers novel dracula, renfield is a lawyer who becomes dracula s henchman after visiting the vampires palatial lair castle dracula. In the book, arthur drives the stake through lucys heart, but in this movie, john harker does it. Dead and loving it is a 1995 comedy film starring leslie nielsen, directed by mel brooks. Dracula dead and loving it on dvd the great movie producer irving thalberg used to have a surefire formula for movie success. The great movie producer irving thalberg used to have a surefire formula for movie success.
An imaginative novel that puts a fresh and frightening new spin on bram stokers dracula. It takes a certain type of person to love a mel brooks movie. Though not as great as other mel brooks films, this is still a. This vampire story runs concurrent with stokers dracula storyline and much of it overlaps. Tom waits in francis ford coppollas 1992 film bram stokers dracula. It is a spoof of bram stokers novel dracula, and of some of the films it inspired. The most common version of the character is count dracula s mentally ill and completely devoted slave novel. Dead and loving it received much scorn at the time of its release, as critics derided the creative bankruptcy they thought it represented in both its star leslie nielsen and its writerdirector mel brooks. Renfield is a supporting antagonist in bram stokers 1897 novel dracula, and several of its film and tv adaptations. Well, and with all this, i thought i was in the wrong place. The process of translating prose to the visual medium is a tricky and only intermittently successful one, but even the fumbles provide a great platform for understanding stories, and why they affect us the way they do.
Dracula casts a hypnotic spell on renfield, making him his slave. Renfield is confined to an insane asylum, but he still answers his masters calling, setting the stage for the ultimate battle between good and evil. To be completely honest i was disappointed by the hum drum they all lived happily ever after ending of the original. Dracula, i feel, has a damned good case continue reading fiction into film. He is a driving force in the added action that distinguishes renfield.