Comments on: Horror of Dracula (1958) – Retrospective Review http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/11/horror-of-dracula-1958/ The Review of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction Films Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:44:15 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Richard LeStrange http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/11/horror-of-dracula-1958/comment-page-1/#comment-13932 Richard LeStrange Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:52:42 +0000 http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/?p=2719#comment-13932 Hi Steve, After several months of working behind the scenes on this project, I'm very pleased to let you know that Hammer Films have now made an official announcement and that they have confirmed at least the two extra pieces of footage I saw back in March. http://www.hammerfilms.com/news/article/newsid/314/dracula-resurrected All the best, Simon Rowson Hi Steve,

After several months of working behind the scenes on this project, I’m very pleased to let you know that Hammer Films have now made an official announcement and that they have confirmed at least the two extra pieces of footage I saw back in March.

http://www.hammerfilms.com/news/article/newsid/314/dracula-resurrected

All the best,

Simon Rowson

]]> By: Richard LeStrange http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/11/horror-of-dracula-1958/comment-page-1/#comment-13874 Richard LeStrange Fri, 01 Apr 2011 03:14:43 +0000 http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/?p=2719#comment-13874 Dear Steve, I'm very sorry you had problems with the link I posted - I had totally forgotten that the British Horror Films site is "members only", even for viewing threads. Another site that shows the full details of the discovery made by my wife and I (including some photos) is the Classic Horror Film Board: http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/3607/Again-with-THE-HORROR-OF-DRACULA-missing-footage?page=7 Thank you for your kind words regarding the current situation in Japan. As you rightly say, any investigation into this film's possible restoration must take a back-seat when compared to a national disaster of this magnitude. However, both myself and the Japanese archive were fortunate enough to be based in Tokyo rather than the devastated Tohoku region and so, compared to the the poor people who had their lives literally swept away by the horrific tsunami, we got off extremely lightly. Regards, Simon ("Richard LeStrange") Dear Steve,

I’m very sorry you had problems with the link I posted – I had totally forgotten that the British Horror Films site is “members only”, even for viewing threads.

Another site that shows the full details of the discovery made by my wife and I (including some photos) is the Classic Horror Film Board:
http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/3607/Again-with-THE-HORROR-OF-DRACULA-missing-footage?page=7

Thank you for your kind words regarding the current situation in Japan. As you rightly say, any investigation into this film’s possible restoration must take a back-seat when compared to a national disaster of this magnitude. However, both myself and the Japanese archive were fortunate enough to be based in Tokyo rather than the devastated Tohoku region and so, compared to the the poor people who had their lives literally swept away by the horrific tsunami, we got off extremely lightly.

Regards,
Simon (”Richard LeStrange”)

]]> By: Steve Biodrowski http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/11/horror-of-dracula-1958/comment-page-1/#comment-13873 Steve Biodrowski Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:46:24 +0000 http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/?p=2719#comment-13873 The link you included for the British Horror Films site leads only to an error message, so I have removed it. I perused BHF, using the search engine, but could not find the thread you reference. If you have something to add on the topic, perhaps you could mention it here? UPDATED: I have found another <a HREF="http://christopherleeweb.com/forums/movie-discussion/extended-japanese-cut-hammers-1958-dracula-has-been-proven-last" TARGET=_BLANK rel="nofollow">forum thread</a> by Mr. LeStrange (posting under his real name, Simon Rowson), which gives the pertinent details: <BLOCKQUOTE>My wife and I live permanently in Japan and, following a year long process of painstaking negotiation, we were actually able to view the final two reels of the sole remaining Japanese copy of Dracula at the Japanese National Film Center on March the 9th - only two days before the earthquake that destroyed most of the North East coast of Japan. In a nutshell, the long debated extra footage DOES exist - including the extended disintegration scene at the film's climax - and I am liasing with Hammer about how to proceed at the moment.</BLOCKQUOTE> This of course is great news for Hammer horror fans, who I am sure would love to see the complete version of the film - hopefully in theatres but at least on home video. Of course, efforts at film restoration must take a back seat to the unfolding disaster in Japan, a tragedy of epic proportions that dwarfs any enjoyment we might anticipate in regards to a restored version of HORROR OF DRACULA. The link you included for the British Horror Films site leads only to an error message, so I have removed it. I perused BHF, using the search engine, but could not find the thread you reference. If you have something to add on the topic, perhaps you could mention it here?

UPDATED: I have found another forum thread by Mr. LeStrange (posting under his real name, Simon Rowson), which gives the pertinent details:

My wife and I live permanently in Japan and, following a year long process of painstaking negotiation, we were actually able to view the final two reels of the sole remaining Japanese copy of Dracula at the Japanese National Film Center on March the 9th – only two days before the earthquake that destroyed most of the North East coast of Japan.

In a nutshell, the long debated extra footage DOES exist – including the extended disintegration scene at the film’s climax – and I am liasing with Hammer about how to proceed at the moment.

This of course is great news for Hammer horror fans, who I am sure would love to see the complete version of the film – hopefully in theatres but at least on home video. Of course, efforts at film restoration must take a back seat to the unfolding disaster in Japan, a tragedy of epic proportions that dwarfs any enjoyment we might anticipate in regards to a restored version of HORROR OF DRACULA.

]]> By: Richard LeStrange http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/2008/11/horror-of-dracula-1958/comment-page-1/#comment-13871 Richard LeStrange Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:31:25 +0000 http://cinefantastiqueonline.com/?p=2719#comment-13871 "For decades, rumors abounded that Hammer Films created multiple versions of their movies for different markets, supposedly even shooting different versions of some scenes: a tame one for England, a slightly rougher version for the U.S., and an outright bloody one for the Far East. Although Hammer executives propagated these stories to generate publicity, they appear to have been more mythical than real". The Japanese extended cut of Dracula does indeed exist - please see my thread on the "British Horror Films" site for full details. “For decades, rumors abounded that Hammer Films created multiple versions of their movies for different markets, supposedly even shooting different versions of some scenes: a tame one for England, a slightly rougher version for the U.S., and an outright bloody one for the Far East. Although Hammer executives propagated these stories to generate publicity, they appear to have been more mythical than real”.

The Japanese extended cut of Dracula does indeed exist – please see my thread on the “British Horror Films” site for full details.

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