r/movies • u/Morgan-Moonscar r/movies Contributor • 8h ago

Media "Horror of Dracula" (Directed by Terence Fisher, 1958) - Doctor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) vanquishes Dracula (Christopher Lee) in the original uncut version of the ending

161 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

30

u/Antoshi 7h ago

As someone who only saw Christopher Lee in the 00s, it's odd to see him so young.

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u/Ozzel 4h ago

The Wicker Man is dope.

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u/Mst3Kgf 4h ago

He has so much great stuff before "LOTR" and "Star Wars" to discover. 

15

u/bncts 7h ago

It’s really fun to see how well the editing in particular holds up. The quick cuts to important details etc

11

u/dj_swearengen 8h ago

I saw this movie with my older siblings when I was 7-8 years old. It scared the shit outta me.

6

u/Revolutionary-Key650 6h ago

Grew up on Hammer films. Watched most of them from behind the sofa.

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u/dj_swearengen 5h ago

I saw this Horror of Dracula in a theater. There was also the scene where the female character (Nina?) gets a steak driven through her heart in her coffin because she had been turned into a vampiress by the Count. Ohhh that was really scary.

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u/LastXmasIGaveYouHSV 3h ago

I thought chicken would have worked better.

10

u/bonedirgelessi 6h ago

cushing sprinting down that table and ripping the curtains down is such a great bit of physical acting - no speech, no spell, just a guy who did the reading and committed

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u/Mst3Kgf 4h ago

He also came up with it on his own. Hammer was concerned about him getting injured, but he still did it.

He also came up with the idea of Van Helsing using the candlesticks as a makeshift cross since he didn't want Van Helsing to be "a crucifix salesman with an endless amount of crosses on hand.

13

u/Slo_Chill 8h ago

You were watching the movie channel too, huh?

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u/SharkeyGeorge 2h ago

The lighting and shadow work is amazing

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u/ratherenjoysbass 1h ago

Cushing: 😐

Lee: 💀

4

u/fhtagnfhtagn 7h ago

I was home sick from school and watched this. That scene of him melting haunted my dreams for weeks. And his black heart...

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u/KyonaPrayerCircleMem 4h ago

To think that both of them got kicked out of a movie theater for laughing too loud while watching Looney Tunes.

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u/testtube-accident 2h ago

As a teenager I Loved the Hammer Horror films on late night Saturdays on the BBC back in the mid to late 80’s

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u/deadspacekillers 2h ago

This was a few years before he blew up Alderaan, I guess.

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u/TransplantedSconie 4h ago

Hammer films were so damn good.  That period of horror films was so well acted and set the bar for future generations. 

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u/RedditTipiak 1h ago

I remember watching a YT video explaining in great detail how Sleepy Hollow is a direct tribute to Hammer movies...

https://youtu.be/brj1ESOjq50

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u/LastXmasIGaveYouHSV 3h ago

That moment when Christopher Lee thinks he's won and decides to bite Peter Cushing. It's like his face has transformed all of sudden.