For those familiar with the novel or the various film versions of "Dracula" that have tried to stay in the vicinity of Stoker's original text, the story picks up in England with Lucy Westernra (Tara Birthwhistle) trying to pick between her three suitors, Dr. Jack Seward (Matthew Johnson), Arthur Holmwood (Stephane Leonard), and Quincy Morris (Keir Knight), not to mention creepy bug-eating Renfield (Brent Neale). When Lucy falls prey to the vampire's curse, Dr. Van Helsing (David Moroni) arrives to teach the unbelievers what to do when someone they love becomes one of the undead.

The second half of the ballet deal with the effort by Dracula (Wei-Qiang Zhang) to take Mina (CindyMarie Small) away from her intended, Jonathan Harker (Johnny A. Wright), and the flight back to Castle Dracula. But if Lucy is the pivotal character in the first half the film, and Birthwhistle's performance is the most thrilling in the ballet, then it clearly all comes down to Dracula in the second half. The vampire's final fate will certainly strike a chord with those aware of the more perverse habits of the historical Vlad the Impaler, who served as the inspiration for Stoker's Dracula. Those familiar with the story will have no trouble following along, but the copious use of title cards fill in any and all gaps. Fortunately they become much less frequent in the ballet's climax, where dance becomes the vital medium of expression.

Visually, "Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary" is as fascinating as Abel Gance's "Napoleon" or Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane." Maddin shot the film in black & white on both 16mm and Super 8 stock, used special effects and aging techniques to simulate the grainy and shadowy images of silent films, and tinted frames various colors to accent items. The inside of Dracula's cape and most of the blood in the film appears bright red. Those familiar with the standard techniques of silent films (wipes, iris shots, soft framing, intertitles, tinting) will find that Maddin employs them and then turns them into something more suited to his own tastes (you can listen to the director's audio commentary to get insights into all the strange and weird things he did in putting Mark Godden's ballet on screen, such as using Bram Stoker's text as much as possible for the titles and chocolate syrup for the blood in the opening credits).

Maddin avoids sustained shots; there must be at least a dozen cuts in every single minute of this 75-minute film. When you check out the Behind the Scenes segment on the DVD you will see what Winnepig audiences saw on stage with this version of "Dracula," but there are relatively few moments that are recognizable of that production in the film. Shooting the footage was just the first part of the artistic process for Maddin. Fans of the silent cinema may well be more impressed with this film than devotees of the ballet or those who like vampire movies.

Not surprisingly the emphasis is on the eroticism inherent in the story that is as important as the horror. The sets for the convent and Dracula's castle invoke the height of German Expressionism, but the soft shapes and curves of the walls also emphasize the sensual. All of this serves as a setting for the sensual dancing. The coy sensuality of Lucy and her beaus because charged with a more overt sexuality when she becomes a vampire, while Dracula's coolness only serves to heighten his raw sexual energy. Fans of the ballet will probably not appreciation all of the hoops Maddin makes them jump through to watch the dancing here, but I think fans of Dracula will really enjoy this bold twist on the old tale.


Sensuous and Dreamy Dracula   October 26, 2004
 11 out of 14 found this review helpful

Guy Maddin's ballet adaptation set to Gustav Mahler's First, Second and Ninth Symphonies captures longing, optimism, tragedy, sensuality and madness and almost embodies a classic innocence (except for a few overtly erotic moments). Dracula's victims (Lucy and Mina) feel a force of attraction so powerful, they seem to revel in the seduction and call him from his world of darkness. Not even garlic or crosses seem to dissuade his lust for blood as Lucy (Tara Birtwhistle) reclines helplessly in bed.

Dracula (Zhang Wei-Qiang ) plays the part of a romantic rival, tempting women away from men who fail to meet these women's desires to be needed, as if for life itself. In a seductive play of shadow and light, energetic ballet performances spin in scene after scene of color. Yes, in this black-and-white adaptation, you will find scenes drenched in emerald, rose, deep navy, lavender, sage and crimson. The colors are rich, yet transparent and the fantastic detail of the set is at times almost hidden on the first viewing.

In fact, I recommend watching this movie twice. Once to view the story and romantic choreography, then the second time to take note of the actual set, costumes and use of color. I found it difficult to take in the richness of this movie in one sitting because I found myself concentrating on the story more than the set on the first viewing. The ruby glow in Dracula's eyes and the sapphire glow on the crosses are worth watching twice. You can see how the sets were made in the extras and also choose to listen to the commentary on the second viewing.

Vampire hunting is a main theme throughout this story. Van Helsing appears as a coarse mad scientist who is determined to save his patients from Dracula's blood draining tendencies and yet his concern for Lucy seems less than professional. Dracula seems to treat Lucy with more care as he drains the life force from her body. In fact, you may start to feel sympathy for Dracula, who seems much less of a seducer and almost a supplier of pleasure for his victims. Van Helsing observes Dracula dancing with Lucy through binoculars. This creates a circle in the center of the screen, which significantly reduces the picture size for moments at a time. The scenes shift in tone and size on a constant basis.

The fantastic detail, inventive fantasy sets, delicate women in romantic luminous gowns makes this a lush dreamy Dracula movie. If you keep waiting for the vampires to turn to dust, it never happens. They even seem to recover from brief moments in the sunlight.

There are a few moments of tongue-in-cheek humor instead of blood-drenched terror. Dracula bleeds coins and has stashes of emerald bills, which seems to represent an economic rather than physical threat to his romantic rivals.

Overall, I have to say this is stunningly beautiful and as fantasy as ballet could be. The scenes of Dracula and Lucy dancing in the snowy graveyard take romance to spectacular levels. If you dislike horror and love romance, then this Dracula adaptation is sure to please. The horror seems more like a mythological dance, so it doesn't appear threatening or allow you to become emotionally involved or even terrified.

If you hit "pause," you may enjoy reading a few pages from the diary. If you enjoy creating moods for movies, the Archipelago Botanicals Ambiant tea light candles melt into a shimmering crimson liquid. Definitely watch this by candlelight because it helps to emphasize the play of light and shadow.

~The Rebecca Review



A familiar story that looks like no other film. **DVD features below**   August 28, 2007
 11 out of 12 found this review helpful

Dracula Pages from a Virgin's diary is the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's take on Bram Stoker's Dracula brought to screen in the form of a silent film in 2003 by Canadian director Guy Maddin with an Asian Count Dracula played by Wei-Qiang Zhang, and titles that jump off the screen as from a comic book at times. It is one of the most unique movies I have ever seen. For those that know of techniques used in silent films in Roger Ebert's review (which he gave 3 1/2 stars) he states "the visuals include all the favorite devices of the silent period (wipes, iris shots, soft framing, intertitles, tinting), and the effect is--well, surprisingly effective." Mahler's symphony plays throughout this erotic unsettling tale although we sometimes here a thud or two and maybe a head being decapitated from it's body by a shovel.

The 75 minutes does not fly by, you are given time to experience the music and the actors expressing themselves through dance and that's how it should be. Giving a synopsis of a movie like this can't give it justice it is a film that needs to be experienced and is difficult to put something like that into words, It's like someone telling a story, then failing, and saying I guess you had to be there.

This was the most creative version of Dracula hands down along with one of the most creative films as far as how it was made that I've maybe ever seen. This would make my list of great horror and great movies and would be one of the best vampire movies I have seen in the ranks with F.W. Murnau's 1922 Nosferatu the Vampire, Werner Herzog's 1979 version of Nosferatu the Vampire, and Tod Browning's 1931's Dracula. I recently watched and reviewed Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot and enjoyed it very much, it had some actual scares and was entertaining and fun but this film and the three I mentioned above are in another class.

This is a must for any genre but mostly for horror fans who will get to experience something totally new in a time where it seems that everything is being recycled. Would also be great to get a girlfriend or wife into horror that normally might not like it, while expanding your own tastes in the process.

Other original vampire movies I have seen that I'd recommend would be Martin by George A. Romero and an After Dark Horrorfest movie that I won't mention the title so I don't spoil the movie.

**DVD Special Features** (from the back of the box)
-Audio Commentary by director Guy Maddin
-Behind the scenes television special featuring interviews with Maddin, producer Vonnie Von Helmolt and choreographer Mark Godden
-Video piece on the construction of the sets
-Radio interviews with Maddin and Von Helmolt
-Extensive production photo gallery


mesmerizing   November 2, 2004
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

the other reviewers have paid tribute to the dancing, the cinematography, the costumes, and other wonderful technical aspects of this fabulous but somewhat schizoid film.

no one seems to have mentioned the humor. most of the humor occurs at the beginning, and led me to think this was going to be a spoof of dracula movies and silent films. however, the ballet is quite wonderfully serious and tragic, and beautifully danced, so i was left wondering why the initial spate of visual and verbal humor, some of which was quite hysterically funny and some of which is inexcusably sophomoric. the scenes with renfield are indescribable, and well worth watching.

do, as one other reviewer suggests, watch it more than once--there are so many fascinating things to enjoy that one viewing is definitely not enough.


Sublime Journey Converging in Notions and the Subconscious   May 30, 2005
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Movement could be interpreted in the same manner that the symbols of the alphabet are, as a series of letters create a word while a number of words form a sentence. In dance the viewer can observe each separate movement though the combination of a successive number of movements that generate a bigger meaning. The dance ultimately leads the audience on a journey with feelings, adventure, and much more. Through the help of ballet the Canadian auteur Guy Maddin restores Bram Stoker's character Dracula in an artistic mirror image of F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror from 1922 or Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979).

Unlike the previous Murnau and Herzog vampire films Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary has purposely shifted its storyline from a typical chronological order to a tossed jumble. This cinematic mixture generates an unconscious imagery with a surrealistic touch where the audience senses the moments of suspense and alarm. There are also emotions such as deep desire and lust which also emerge through the vivid movements of the dancers that once again bring this tale of the dark prince coming to England. Some might assume that the unorganized pattern of the film would affect the experience in a negative way. However, Maddin skillfully induces this nightmare into a surrealistic concoction that allows for the combination of feelings to trickle down to the audience in an artistic manner.

The sexual element of vampires is kept intact in Maddin's film, as he also continues to develop this taboo ridden theme. The film opens with Lucy (Tara Birtwhistle) dreaming, which is illustrated through a number of bizarre shots that have been edited together that deal with the arrival of Dracula (Wei-Qiang Zhang). This nightmare brings out a contradictory desire that Lucy contemplates while scribbling in her journal, "Why can't they let a woman marry three men?" These three men are Arthur Holmwood (Stephane Leonard), Jack Seward (Matthew Johnson), and Quincy Morris (Keir Knight) who all have been suitors to Lucy. However, due to societal convention she must choose one of the men. Throughout the film the viewers will face several situations that deal with the lustful theme, as the vampire desires more from his victims while Van Helsing (Dave Moroni) tries to stop him.

The film creates the same ambience that silent black and white films did before the time of color and sound films. The music that accompanies the film is by Mahler, which induces additional suspense and anxiety. There are some sounds that have been added to the film that highlights characters and situations in such a manner to points out the importance of the situation. Besides the audio the images have also been manipulated through a wide range of color filters that brings about different moods to the film while picture softness on the edge increases the viewers focus on what is pertinent on the screen. Maddin also playfully uses colors, as he later did in The Saddest Music in the World (2003), by enhancing scenes with the color red where there is blood or strong emotion involved.

Dracula: Pages of a Virgin's Diary offers a sublime artistic journey where Maddin converges distinct notions with the vague subconscious. In the area where these two meet we find a surreal dream world with erotic undertones and threatening elements. The union of erotic and fright causes an unknown cerebral notion that enhances the angst in the story. Together with the movement of the dancers the angst is personified and the audience gets an opportunity to visually feel the internal conflict between all of the characters in the film, which in due course ends with a terrific cinematic experience.