Customer Reviews:
Vintage Polanski.......2008-02-09
One of Polanski's best and most underrated movies........very tongue in cheek, but a wonderful parody of the Dracula myth and Eastern European fairy tales.....(check out the inside of the Inn for Eastern European authenticity)....
I remember reading somewhere there was no snow, so it was all imitation stuff, but it is beautifully filmed and very quirky.......Alfie Bass steals the show as the Inn keeper, but no one could possibly keep their eyes off the late Sharon Tate who is so beautiful, but manages to convey an innocence and touching naivety......what a tragedy that her life was so cruelly and brutally taken by those Manson family psychotics.....hope they rot in hell (along with Manson) for what they did. RIP Sharon, you would have been a mega star had you lived.
Polanski plays the Professor's (Jack McGowran) assistant and I love the 'eek squeak' he lets out when he spies on Sharon Tate and witnesses her abduction by the vampire......Polanski is also a very underrated actor but in this movie he looks about 12 !!!
The soundtrack is wonderful and it still plays on in my head although I have not seen the film for a number of years............I think the hunchback was the boxer-Terry Downes.
Dance of the vampires.......2007-12-06
I grew up watching this film and think it is an absolute masterpiece! There is a perfect balance between horror and comedy. The acting is top notch and the scenery looks stunning. I would recommend it to anyone!
The best vampiric comedy ever! .......2007-10-18
This is one of the best vampire movies ever and definitely THE best comedy dealing with this topic. The story begins with two very unlikely heroes (the Professor and his servant Albert) arriving to a village in Transylvania, where they hope find the proof of the existence of the vampires, something they both were after for years. And they will find it, no problem!
Polanski made here one of his best movies. He however refused just to accumulate gags - rather he made the WHOLE movie in an enormous joke, in which most of the characters are actually trying to be very serious, which only amplifies the irresistible comic effect. Both "Vampire killers" are extremely committed to their mission - and totally unable to perform it! The vampires are shown not really like monsters but more like a kind of dysfunctional - but still very close - family. In fact the scariest character in the movie is the human servant of the vampires, the disfigured handicapped Kukol, who actually is really serious about his business. Some of the gags are totally irresistible - the Jewish vampire is possibly the greatest delight, but the gay vampire who has a crush on Albert (played by Polanski) is also irresistible. Also, Sharon Tate is incredibly beautiful in this movie, her last, before being murdered... which gives a sad after taste to the whole experience of watching it. The music, written by the great Polish composer, Krzysztof Komeda, himself also tragically deceased soon after, is unique and in itself worth to listen, even seprately from the movie. Finally, the landscapes and decorations are stunning - it is the most vampiric decorum I ever saw in a vampire movie. Really, this film is a delight, to see and remember.
"One night, penetrating deep into the heart of Transylvania...".......2007-08-15
How does that line go, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"?
Well, much like the Dukes of Stratosphear's loving imitations of British Psychedelia on the equally enthralling '25 o' clock' album, Polanski's love letter to Hammer 'Dance of the Vampires' (US; 'Fearless Vampire Killers'), almost outdoes that which it is parodying.
The film immediately evokes the correct mood with the superb music of Kristof Komeda (a good friend of Polanski's, who would go on to record the soundtrack to 'Rosemary's Baby') and the superb exterior shots of the Alps-this is a fairy tale for sure, but it's one with a dark undercurrent.
the story rolls along fairly conventional vampiric lines, the superstitious villagers, the castle no one wants to talk about, the esteemed professor/vampire hunter Abronsius (Jack MacGrowan)...and Alfred, his side kick (Polanski himself); the charms of this film however, are in the details. There are twists to the conventions; Alfie Bass as Jewish inn keeper (which leads to interesting problems for our vampire hunters when he eventually joins the Undead), the Count's gay vampire son (cinema's first?) and the twist in the tail ending (more of that later).
But one of the greatest things I can say about this film is how it looks- the scenery is breathtaking and the sets are fantastic (i'm sure Hammer would have given anything to have such lavish creations)- production designed by Wilfrid Singleton and lensed by Douglas Slocombe, they manage to evoke a mittel-Europe that both enchants and chills in equal measures (the section where Polanski and MacGrowan follow the Count's hunchbacked henchman {Terry Downes} to the castle is like a sinister re-shoot of the Alpine scene in the Beatles movie 'HELP!').
It is these parts of the film (including the castle rooftop scenes) that surpass Hammer's own efforts (the Alps or Black Park? you decide) - sure, this film plays for the laughs, but there are moments during the Hammer Dracula cycle that evoke similar mirth...for all the wrong reasons. 'Dance...' looks great, is sassy and humorous and not a little disturbing. It also marks the first point in horror cinema that the bad guys win, something that Hammer (and most other companies) shied away from during all of their vampire movies. Throw in the gorgeous and gloriously-doomed Sharon Tate (who did a semi-nude on set shoot for the March 1967 Playboy), and it just goes to show that imitation can occasionally transcend its source material. Considered an aberration by some in Polanski's canon, the time is right to re-evaluate this as the classic it surely is. if any of you have not seen this gem, i can't stress enough how much you have to see it. it's a film that gets better with each subsequent viewing. This ranks in my own top three vampire movies, and now the evenings are beginning to draw in, I know I'll feel the inevitable urge to drag the film out and watch it again for the umpteenth time...especially if it starts to snow.
Have you got the wrong vampire movie!.......2007-02-12
The Fearless Vampire Killers (aka Dance of the Vampires) is one of those films that always feels too broad and clumsily played to work half as well as it should despite some great ideas - gay vampires, Jewish vampires, even a Richard III vampire - and some gorgeous production design and photography of the snow-covered locations. Aside from Polanski's love of the grotesque, all too often he uses a sledgehammer to crack a nut, telegraphing jokes and egging on some of the performers (Jack MacGowran, Alfie Bass) way beyond the point of caricature while others (Polanski himself as the juvenile lead, Ferdy Mayne as the vampire count) get more with less. But there are enough moments, such as the dance of the vampires, to make it worth watching, and it does have one of the great lines in vampire cinema when Alfie Bass is confronted with a crucifix: "Oy, have you got da wrong vampire!" It also has one of the most curious but strangely effective pieces of dubbing, with the count's son trying to seduce Polanski with Vladek Sheybal's dulcet tones...
The DVD boasts the uncut version of the film in a good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer and also comes with the original trailer ("Two men on a vampire hunt. Simple. They certainly are!") and a ten-minute Scope featurette starring Max Wall as a vampire expert giving the audience a primer for the film. It's not even remotely funny, but it is an intriguing curio.
Customer Reviews:
Vintage Polanski.......2008-02-09
One of Polanski's best and most underrated movies........very tongue in cheek, but a wonderful parody of the Dracula myth and Eastern European fairy tales.....(check out the inside of the Inn for Eastern European authenticity)....
I remember reading somewhere there was no snow, so it was all imitation stuff, but it is beautifully filmed and very quirky.......Alfie Bass steals the show as the Inn keeper, but no one could possibly keep their eyes off the late Sharon Tate who is so beautiful, but manages to convey an innocence and touching naivety......what a tragedy that her life was so cruelly and brutally taken by those Manson family psychotics.....hope they rot in hell (along with Manson) for what they did. RIP Sharon, you would have been a mega star had you lived.
Polanski plays the Professor's (Jack McGowran) assistant and I love the 'eek squeak' he lets out when he spies on Sharon Tate and witnesses her abduction by the vampire......Polanski is also a very underrated actor but in this movie he looks about 12 !!!
The soundtrack is wonderful and it still plays on in my head although I have not seen the film for a number of years............I think the hunchback was the boxer-Terry Downes.
Dance of the vampires.......2007-12-06
I grew up watching this film and think it is an absolute masterpiece! There is a perfect balance between horror and comedy. The acting is top notch and the scenery looks stunning. I would recommend it to anyone!
The best vampiric comedy ever! .......2007-10-18
This is one of the best vampire movies ever and definitely THE best comedy dealing with this topic. The story begins with two very unlikely heroes (the Professor and his servant Albert) arriving to a village in Transylvania, where they hope find the proof of the existence of the vampires, something they both were after for years. And they will find it, no problem!
Polanski made here one of his best movies. He however refused just to accumulate gags - rather he made the WHOLE movie in an enormous joke, in which most of the characters are actually trying to be very serious, which only amplifies the irresistible comic effect. Both "Vampire killers" are extremely committed to their mission - and totally unable to perform it! The vampires are shown not really like monsters but more like a kind of dysfunctional - but still very close - family. In fact the scariest character in the movie is the human servant of the vampires, the disfigured handicapped Kukol, who actually is really serious about his business. Some of the gags are totally irresistible - the Jewish vampire is possibly the greatest delight, but the gay vampire who has a crush on Albert (played by Polanski) is also irresistible. Also, Sharon Tate is incredibly beautiful in this movie, her last, before being murdered... which gives a sad after taste to the whole experience of watching it. The music, written by the great Polish composer, Krzysztof Komeda, himself also tragically deceased soon after, is unique and in itself worth to listen, even seprately from the movie. Finally, the landscapes and decorations are stunning - it is the most vampiric decorum I ever saw in a vampire movie. Really, this film is a delight, to see and remember.
"One night, penetrating deep into the heart of Transylvania...".......2007-08-15
How does that line go, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"?
Well, much like the Dukes of Stratosphear's loving imitations of British Psychedelia on the equally enthralling '25 o' clock' album, Polanski's love letter to Hammer 'Dance of the Vampires' (US; 'Fearless Vampire Killers'), almost outdoes that which it is parodying.
The film immediately evokes the correct mood with the superb music of Kristof Komeda (a good friend of Polanski's, who would go on to record the soundtrack to 'Rosemary's Baby') and the superb exterior shots of the Alps-this is a fairy tale for sure, but it's one with a dark undercurrent.
the story rolls along fairly conventional vampiric lines, the superstitious villagers, the castle no one wants to talk about, the esteemed professor/vampire hunter Abronsius (Jack MacGrowan)...and Alfred, his side kick (Polanski himself); the charms of this film however, are in the details. There are twists to the conventions; Alfie Bass as Jewish inn keeper (which leads to interesting problems for our vampire hunters when he eventually joins the Undead), the Count's gay vampire son (cinema's first?) and the twist in the tail ending (more of that later).
But one of the greatest things I can say about this film is how it looks- the scenery is breathtaking and the sets are fantastic (i'm sure Hammer would have given anything to have such lavish creations)- production designed by Wilfrid Singleton and lensed by Douglas Slocombe, they manage to evoke a mittel-Europe that both enchants and chills in equal measures (the section where Polanski and MacGrowan follow the Count's hunchbacked henchman {Terry Downes} to the castle is like a sinister re-shoot of the Alpine scene in the Beatles movie 'HELP!').
It is these parts of the film (including the castle rooftop scenes) that surpass Hammer's own efforts (the Alps or Black Park? you decide) - sure, this film plays for the laughs, but there are moments during the Hammer Dracula cycle that evoke similar mirth...for all the wrong reasons. 'Dance...' looks great, is sassy and humorous and not a little disturbing. It also marks the first point in horror cinema that the bad guys win, something that Hammer (and most other companies) shied away from during all of their vampire movies. Throw in the gorgeous and gloriously-doomed Sharon Tate (who did a semi-nude on set shoot for the March 1967 Playboy), and it just goes to show that imitation can occasionally transcend its source material. Considered an aberration by some in Polanski's canon, the time is right to re-evaluate this as the classic it surely is. if any of you have not seen this gem, i can't stress enough how much you have to see it. it's a film that gets better with each subsequent viewing. This ranks in my own top three vampire movies, and now the evenings are beginning to draw in, I know I'll feel the inevitable urge to drag the film out and watch it again for the umpteenth time...especially if it starts to snow.
Have you got the wrong vampire movie!.......2007-02-12
The Fearless Vampire Killers (aka Dance of the Vampires) is one of those films that always feels too broad and clumsily played to work half as well as it should despite some great ideas - gay vampires, Jewish vampires, even a Richard III vampire - and some gorgeous production design and photography of the snow-covered locations. Aside from Polanski's love of the grotesque, all too often he uses a sledgehammer to crack a nut, telegraphing jokes and egging on some of the performers (Jack MacGowran, Alfie Bass) way beyond the point of caricature while others (Polanski himself as the juvenile lead, Ferdy Mayne as the vampire count) get more with less. But there are enough moments, such as the dance of the vampires, to make it worth watching, and it does have one of the great lines in vampire cinema when Alfie Bass is confronted with a crucifix: "Oy, have you got da wrong vampire!" It also has one of the most curious but strangely effective pieces of dubbing, with the count's son trying to seduce Polanski with Vladek Sheybal's dulcet tones...
The DVD boasts the uncut version of the film in a good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer and also comes with the original trailer ("Two men on a vampire hunt. Simple. They certainly are!") and a ten-minute Scope featurette starring Max Wall as a vampire expert giving the audience a primer for the film. It's not even remotely funny, but it is an intriguing curio.
DVD:
- The Ghost And Mrs Muir [1947]
- The Gospel According To St. Matthew [1967]
- The Greatest Show On Earth [1952]
- The Green Man [1956]
- The Haunting [1963]
- The Hustler [1961]
- The Jungle Book : 40th Anniversary 2 Disc Special Edition [1967] [1968]
- The Killing [1956]
- The Lady Eve [1941]
- The L-Shaped Room [1962]
DVD List
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![The Fearless Vampire Killers [1967]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21Y0YEC4ASL.jpg)
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The Fearless Vampire Killers
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The Devil Rides Out [1968]
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Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter [1974]
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Taste The Blood Of Dracula [1970]
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