I recently purchased a DVD of the 1931 version of Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi (The only vampire story involving someone named "Bel(l)a" that I have any interest in). It has 2 soundtrack options. Soundtrack 1 contains the original score, which is, from what I hear, pretty much nonexistent throughout the movie, meaning long passages without accompaniement. Soundtrack 2 contains a score composed by Philip Glass and performed by a modern orchestra. From some accounts, the music can be overpowering at times, but largely adds to the atmosphere of the scenes. My question to you is, having never watched the movie, should I take it in with the original score, or the modern score?
Step 1) Load Dracula DVD into DVD player Step 2) Load Tom Waits CD into CD player Step 3) Press play on both at same time Step 4) Profit? I tend to be an "original version" preference type of person, so I'd got with the original the first time.
You might be on to something with the Tom Waits thing, though... The Black Rider followed by Real Gone... this could be epic.
were it me, I'd watch the original 1st, then maybe a few days later watch with the second sound track....
Well, here's how it went. Last Saturday, I watched the original 1931 Dracula as I am convinced is the most proper way to view a film of this nature. One of the local TV stations had a late-night movie show, complete with corny joke telling host whose schtick is having rubber chickens thrown at him. Svenghoolie was an excellent host, and his cheeseball jokes between commercial breaks were just the ticket to make me feel like a kid again, staying up late to watch Elvira wax poetic about the monster feature of the week. The soundtrack was the original version, with horrible hissing throughout and practically no music backing, but the nostalgia that the framing of the show filled me with, more than made up for the poor sound quality.
If you haven't seen it before, or aren't extensively familiar with the feel of it, definitely go with the original soundtrack. Then after you've digested that, and seen it as it was originally produced, go back and revisit it with the new soundtrack. I try to watch old movies like that with the sensibilities of someone who lived at that time, as if I've never seen anything like it.
