Dracula Untold: A Story That Should Have Remained Untold

F or the uninitiated, "Dracula," for many is a vampire who wears a black tuxedo and sometimes turns into a bat after he seduces women with his hypnotic stare. He speaks with a Romanian accent and says silly things like, "I want to drink your blood," He is a monster that preys on women, and in a venereal sense, is a creature of lust. However, "Dracula Untold" attempts to tell the story behind the legend and bring to light the historical figure that Bram Stoker hinted at in his 1897 Gothic Horror novel. Luke Evans ("The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," "Immortals") plays the semi-historical Prince Vlad of Transylvania. Sarah Gadon ("The Amazing Spider-Man 2") plays his wife Mirena, and Art Parkinson, little Rickon Stark from the HBO series "Game of Thrones" is Ingeras his son. Although freshmen director Gary Shore and writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless attempt to fill in the details behind the mystery of who Dracula is, they fall short in the history department while trying to make up for it in effort, special effects and action. 

This is the second origins blockbuster film for 2014. The first, "Hercules" staring Dwayne Johnson did a decent job bringing a version of the demigod to the big screen that is a more human and perhaps a more honest view at how we see ancient legends. Bram Stoker gave only a few hints in his novel of who he was basing his dark count on. For instance during one of Jonathon Harker's conversations with the Count, Dracula mentions that his family comes from the proud Székelys, and Boyars who fought Ottoman Turks in defense of his people and their lands. This narrows the field down to Prince Vlad III of Walachia, situated next to the region of Transylvania. Although Stoker displaces Vlad III to the Transylvanian Carpathian Mountains, there was no person other than the reviled Vlad Țepeș, the Impaler. Even more specific is the name Dracula, as Vlad III was a Christian Knight in the Order of the Dragon, or Dracul, or Dragkwlya. As the reputation as the bloodthirsty Prince spread, 400 years later, Irish playwright and theater manager, Bram Stoker, created a vampire story around that legend. Others say that Stoker had his story pretty much outlined when he was looking for a name for his vampire and came upon the bloody prince.

"Dracula Untold" attempts to bring back Stoker's Count by providing the audience with a few morsels of truth about the infamous man behind the legend, as well as plenty of Hollywood myth making tossed in for good measure. In this version, a narrator recounts how Vlad and his brother Radu “The Handsome” were given as political hostages as a children and were educated by the Turks. He learned the Quran, Turkish, literature, logic, and the Art of War. Instead, Sharpless and Sazama turn the atrocious Vlad into a sympathetic anti-hero. Yes, Vlad the Impaler was a Christian Crusader who took up the cross during Pope Pius II's Crusade against the Ottomans, but he did so with such gusto that both friend and foe alike reviled him.  "Untold" presents us with a man born into a cruel world and tries to soften the edges and humanize him. As the narrator tells us, after leaving the captivity of the Turks, and returning to his own lands to reign, he renounces violence, and like Rock’s character in “Hercules,” intends to settle down and become a stay at home prince to his wife and a good and loving father to his son. 

After encountering evidence that the Ottoman Turks are on his lands, he and a small band of his men track the Turks to a bat infested mountain cave. Within the cave, they find the bones of humans who have lain there for centuries, along with the recently dispatched Turkish scouts. So many so, that Vlad realizes that something darker abides there. In a decent scene of horror (for a PG-13 movie), Vlad finds a creature who is so strong, but also so monstrous that he files that information for later. Returning to his home, we find that he has a beautiful wife (Gadon) and a well-bred, and unspoiled son (Parkinson) waiting for him to return. Shore allows us to see for ourselves perhaps the reason why Vlad hates the Turks so much as he removes his shirt to reveal horrible scars on his back from the whippings he endured when he was their prisoner.

While he and his family are in the midst of celebrating Easter in his grand hall with both servants and people of his court, Shore  depicts Vlad as a noble and generous prince. The Turks march in and interrupt the feast demanding their tax and levies for their Janissary corps. Janissarys are male children between the ages of 8 and 15 that serve in an elite corps of the Turkish Army. This sets the stage for rest of the film. Vlad is a good person only trying to save his family and his people. He has almost no army, and as he begs Mehmed II to leave his son out this deal, his hate returns with the memories of abuse at Mehmed's father's hands. Dominic Cooper ("Need for Speed," "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter") plays the Sultan Mehmed II who serves not only as the villain, but also as the catalyst that forces Vlad's hand in deciding to turn to the dark side. Returning to the bat cave mentioned earlier, he encounters a very old and ancient evil that may supply him with an answer to his dark prayers. "Game of Thrones" Charles Dance plays the very old Master Vampire. A dark Yoda of sorts, he cautions the young prince on the pitfalls of immortality and the need to feed. Yes, he will become a hero, but many will hate him. Unlike Louis and Lestat in "An Interview with a Vampire," Prince Vlad is given time to decide if he has buyer's remorse. He has three days to defeat the Sultan, however, the need to feed on human blood will become unbearable, but he cannot drink blood in that time. If he does, his change will become permanent. 

What would you do? Would you accept the dark side in order to save your loved ones? Or, would you stay the course and give in to the Sultan and wait until you have built your army? What the film does mention that is more or less historically accurate is that Radu, Vlad's brother, sided with Mehmed during the upcoming battles. From here on out, the "Dracula Untold" becomes a formula action film with somewhat melodramatic bitter sweet doomed romance, and plenty of CGI shenanigans which include Vlad morphing into not just one bat, but into an entire colony of them. The blood and gore is kept to a 21-century minimum, and the horror and thrill are more at an action level rather than going for the paranormal suspense and fear. 

The battle scenes are shot close up in the "Jason Bourne" style of dizzy and frenetic camera work, more of a blur if you will. Luke Evans' acting is stiff at times but conveys the charm of a prince and the brooding weight of responsibility for others. Dominic Cooper's Mehmet isn't around enough to like or dislike the character nor is Cooper's acting is of anything to note. Charles Dance as the creepy and demonic Master Vampire is probably the only real scary part in the whole film. Vlad's son Igneras is just another kid whom the audience are supposed to feel concern over his fate. Unfortunately I didn't. If anything i felt the film was lacking in passion (except for Luke Evans) for the whole film seems to me to be on the same level as Johnathon Harker played by Keanu Reeves, in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula.” The special effects in “Untold,” in some ways overshadow the story, and not in a good way. Watch if you are looking for an average action film  with just a tad bit of history, stay away if you are looking for that special film that you will remember as an important part of the Dracula cannon. If anything I give the director and writer some points for effort. 

"Dracula Untold" opened in theaters on October 10, 2014 and on DVD and Blu-ray on February 3, 2015.

Related

The Literary and Cinematic Origins of Dracula

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, War 
Year: 2014
Staring: Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper, Art Parkinson, Charles Dance
Director: Gary Shore
Producer(s) Michael De Luca
Writer: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Bram Stoker (characters)
Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 92 minutes

Release Date: 10/10/2012

Fury: A War of Contrition

C ivil War General William Tecumseh Sherman once said, "War is Hell." David Ayer ("End of Watch," "Training Day Training Day"), the writer and director of "Fury" wants to show us exactly that. In his new film, set in the last days of World War II Germany, a tank crew fights desperately as they roll into Germany on their way to Berlin. Brad Pitt ("Inglorious Basterds," "World War Z") stars as the leader of a five-man tank crew that has been fighting together since North Africa. While the film draws upon many war films before it, and at times may seem a bit clichéd, it is actually refreshing to have a somewhat realistic film that portrays the horrors of battle and spirit of patriotism, courage, and honor. Be prepared to sit through over two hours of action, the hell of battle, and the triumph of humanity over evil. "Fury" is rated R for violence, grisly images, and plenty of swearing.

In many ways, "Fury" reminds me of the John Wayne films that I grew up on as a kid. Sergeant Don 'Wardaddy' Collier (Pitt) gives the impression to his tank crew that he's not there to win any friends, but to get the job done. Collier's tank, with the words Fury painted onto the side of the Sherman's 75 mm gun is manned by gunner Boyd 'Bible' Swan played by Shia LaBeouf ("Lawless," "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull") who purportedly cut his face to create a scar and removed a tooth for authenticity in this film. Jon Bernthal ("The Walking Dead") plays the loader (sets the timers and loads the shells into the gun) Grady 'Coon-Ass' Travis, while Michael Peña is Trini 'Gordo' Garcia, the tanks driver. Near the beginning of the film, we meet the crew after a disastrous battle where they lost their forward machine gunner. Upon arriving back at camp, we meet the dead gunner's replacement, Norman Ellison played by Logan Lerman ("Noah," "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters") a raw recruit with no experience through whose eyes we see the events of war unfold in front of us. For Norman, this is a coming of age film, that takes place in a matter of days as the war immerses Norman into its tragedy.

Some say the winners write the history, however, after many years of seeing WWII documentaries, and studying WWII, I had to reassure my wife, that much of what we saw on the screen happened. As we see through Norman's eyes, a clerk whose time in the US Army spans only a few months, the war is winding down, and Hitler saw defeat was near, he called upon the German people to fight to the last man, woman and child. Actually forcing them at gunpoint to take up arms. 

After cleaning out the remains of his predecessor, from the machine gunner's seat, we join Norman as Collier and crew take on their next mission of breaking through German defenses and "liberate" the next town on their way to the Elbe River. In "Fury," Norman, just a kid himself, finds himself in moral conflict upon firing upon what he perceives as kids, and the already dead. An encounter with kids dressed as SS soldiers initially wakes Norman up as they fire a rocket into the lead tank. Although Norman saw the enemy in the bushes, in fear, he did nothing. 

"You can't learn the easy way, you'll learn the hard way." John Wayne as Sgt. John M. Stryker (Sands of Iwo Jima - 1949) 


What I found impressive about "Fury" was not only Brad Pitt's performance, but how as a leader, embodied the spirit of John Wayne. After a battle that the "Fury," two other tank crews, and infantry forces, won by strategy and brute force, Wardaddy, wants to teach Norman a lesson. The lesson is either kill or be killed. Collier wants Norman to kill a captured German soldier who clearly has surrendered and is pleading for his life. Now the scene is controversial, in that the years of war have taken its toll on the morale, morals, and conscience of the soldiers. Norman pleads to forfeit his own life instead of having the guilt of murdering a man in cold blood on his conscience. After forcing Norman physically to aim the gun and shoot the man, Norman walks away claiming that because he was forced to do it physically, and because he resisted, and his soul is still clean. While being encouraged by the rest of the crew, we find that the characters of the rest of the tank crew not so shallow. 

LaBeouf's character has the nickname of "Bible." As we see after the battle, he goes to his fallen comrades and prays the Lord's Prayer with them as they lay dying. Yet he has no problem, taking aim and firing on whatever target Collier tells him to. As "Gordo" (Peña) tells Norman, that at one time or other, Collier has saved their lives. Another aspect of the film, that I must note, is that as the end drew near for the National Socialists (Nazis) they went from town to town and recruited from the populace, old men, and young children in the defense of the Fatherland. If they failed to comply, they were tortured and hung up in the town's square as an example of cowardice. I remember a film of Hitler in Berlin days before he commits suicide, reviewing the troops of children soldiers and old men, hungry and frail ready to defend their city. As Wardaddy Collier notes during a brief interlude between battles that, “Ideals are peaceful but history is violent. He also notes that although his job to kill Germans, Collier too struggles to maintain his humanity. Like Captain Miller, in “Saving Private Ryan,” he must take a moment from time to time to collect himself away from his men.  

Ayer tries to show that each member of the crew is multidimensional in some way, Bernthal’s “Coon-Ass” is just that an ass. At times during the film, you find his character so repulsive that you want him dead. However, after a scene where he confesses to Norman, that he acts the way he does as a defense from all the horrors of war that he hates all humanity, but he thinks Norman is all right. “Gordo,” if anything, is loyal. While Hispanics where considered white during the 1940s there was still an element of discrimination. With the crew of Fury, he is a full member of the crew. “Best job I ever had,” he exclaims as the group settles in for their final battle. When LaBeouf’s character quotes from the Bible the book of Isaiah Chapter 6 verse 8, “Whom shall I send and who will go for Us?” not only does Norman replay “send me,” but Wardaddy knows the verse. These men are exhausted but cling to their former selves as much as possible.  

A scene midway through the film may find some controversy. From the beginning of Norman’s initiation as a member of the crew, the guys come off as crude when it comes to German women. “She’ll do you for a chocolate bar,” and comments like that,  but when Collier and Norman meet two women hiding in an apartment out of fear of retaliation by the conquerors, Wardaddy shows them a measure of humanity. Norman, and a cute German girl (Alicia von Rittberg) his age find a moment of peace and pleasure in what could be their very short lives.  Some may argue that in reality many soldiers forced themselves onto the women, or that the girl in the film was compelled to have sex with Norman, but I prefer to see it the way Ayers intended as respite for hate for a moment of love. 

Although some may balk at the final battle at the crossroads, this action comes only three months after Lt. Audie Murphy held off a German force of infantry and tanks with a .50 caliber machine gun until reinforcements came. I liked “Fury” for various reasons. The story is a decent hero on a mission against all odds, a main character who walks the line of morality and duty, a group of actors who work hard to bring some depth to otherwise stock characters, and some decent tank battles. “Fury” doesn’t depict all Germans as Nazis and I think that is fair, the soundtrack is overbearing at times, but the cinematography is in a way gorgeous. If you are a Brad Pitt fan, or a fan of WWII films then “Fury” is a film for you.  

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Drama, War

Year:  2014

Staring: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal

Director: David Ayer

Producer(s): David Ayer, Bill Block, John Lesher, Ethan Smith, Brad Pitt (executive producer)

Writer:  David Ayer

Rating: R

Running Time: 134 minutes

Release Date: 10/17/2014

The Third Day

B lood, Hair, and Eyeballs strewn across the battlefield floor,Arms, Legs, and muskets lying over the dead bodies, gore.Seeing through the haze of smoke, the stench of death rises up.A young boy gazes out vacant, in death’s stare, alone.Burnt flesh, hate, agony, all rolled up as the day ends cold.Glory, Honor, and Country left behind on the battlefield floor.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

The best stories are filled with half truths and half lies!

When watching film trailers, you make a mental note of whether you want to see a picture or not. At the same time the trailer sets expectations in that part of your brain of what kind of experience you should expect from a film. The trailer for "The Men Who Stare" at Goats, sets the viewer up for a satirical look at our military, our pop-culture, and our government. The question is, does the film "The Men Who Stare at Goats," deliver? Think of it this way; when you have Everett (George Clooney, from "O Brother, Where Art Thou?") and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor, from "Star Wars") discussing with "The Dude" (Jeff Bridges, from "The Big Lebowski") and the subject of Remote Viewing (yes it's real), while taking a road trip through Iraq, trying to capture the spirit of Kerouac’s "On The Road," but more reminiscent of a Crosby and Hope's, "On the Road." films, you got to say to yourself, this must be a joke--but who is the joke on? This offbeat, hippy spouting, paranormal-conspiracy, war-comedy takes all of us by surprise.

Our anti-hero, Bob Wilton, from time to time offers a narration during "The Men Who Stare At Goats" like Martin Sheen's Capt. Benjamin Willard narrates "Apocalypse Now," hell, he even semi-quotes the good Capt. Willard with this phrase, "for my sins, they taught me a lesson," well its close enough to the real quote for me. Bob is a reporter for the Ann Arbor Daily Telegram, where he and his wife work. One day the editor sends Bob on a fluff assignment to interview the crazy Gus Lacey (Stephen Root) who turns us on to the concept of remote viewing, the padawan Lyn Cassady (Cooney), and his mentor Bill Django (Bridges). A quick note for you; the writers seem to be referencing Bill's wandering nature, thus giving him the first name of the famous gypsy jazz guitarist, Django Rhinehardt. An epiphanic moment for Bob and his wife Debora is when an extra large co-worker dies leaving his death mask imprinted on his desk table. Debora dumps Bob for his editor, and in typical Beau Geste fashion, Bob joins the army as a free-lance reporter. Arriving in Kuwait, without permission to enter Iraq and capture the war stories that would prove to his ex-wife that he is someone. A chance encounter with Lyn Cassady in Kuwait provides Bob the opportunity to learn the story of the New Earth Army, and a glimpse into how the government wasted our tax dollars during the Reagan era. As the two begin their travels together into Iraq, Lyn tells the story of Bill Django and his teachings while explaining and demonstrating, with a straight face, the concept of the ethos of the warrior-monk, along with the warrior code of peace, love, and understanding. Lyn explains to Bob how as a Jedi he has control of people's mind and can control them. Imagine Everet explaining to Obi-Wan what a Jedi is, and watch Ewan's face when Clooney explains the "sparkle technique." My favorite line form this movie comes when Bob is running narration mentions that there are times when the little voices inside his head, the ones that tell him what to do, tell him to “scream like little girls," prompting Bob to run hands flailing in the air, screaming high pitched, girl like, and highly un-Obi Wan like. Make no mistake, Clooney and McGregor are not afraid of looking foolish, they are paid for it. In one of the many flashbacks that mine this film like IEDs, Lyn tells Bob how he was seduced by the Dark Side, betrayed by one of their own, Lt Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), whom, after he disgraces their commanding officer, Bill Django, the Army forces Bill to take early retirement. Larry becomes a henchman for the new commander in charge of their Psionic Training Division. Larry coerces Lyn to prove his psychic powers by staring at a goat long enough, causing the goat's heart to stop thus defiling the pure nature of the warrior-monk.

Present day--Bob and Lyn are stuck after Lyn crashed and damaged his truck against the only rock in the middle of the desert. Iraqi criminals capture the duo with the intention of selling them to other Iraqi criminals; meanwhile the two captives start a banter that reminds one of Bing Crosby & Bob Hope, and the Jedi references keep this movie form dragging. Based on the non-fiction book of the same title of the movie by Jon Ronson, the film is an attempt to recreate the sense of the Army's experiments into New Age thinking. The movie brings us the concept of torture by the kids show, "Barney and Friends," not necessarily a novel concept; how many of us with small kids have had our minds turn to mush by the oversized purple devil. How many movies have you seen teach us that sheep can be de-bleated? Or the legendary Dim Mak -- the touch of death, one touch and you're dead - in about 18 years! Jeff Bridges is The Dude in uniform, a Colonel with long hair, braided in a ponytail, he stands up for his men, denying charges of using government money for prostitutes; however, he did by drugs for the guys, upstanding guy this Bill Django is.

"The Men Who Stare At Goats" moves quickly so any of the rough scenes don't last too long. The music is passable and, so is the photography, nothing remarkable there. You never truly know where the fiction ends, and the truth is, so the viewer will probably err on the side of fiction. The director made the movie for cheap laughs, a spoof on the actors and their character. The joke is on them, and we are just along for the ride. The ending is ultimately anti-climatic and leaves the viewer wondering if they missed something? Conspiracy theory buffs will get a kick from this flick, and so will you.

Movie Data

Genre:  Comedy, War

Year:   2009

Staring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey

Director:  Grant Heslov

Producer(s)  George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Paul Lister

Writer: Peter Straughan , Jon Ronson

Rating:  R

(We are the) Masters of the World

Flying high

In the sky,

We are the Masters of the World.

Flying Low

Flying slow,

With banners waving and flags unfurled

We are the Masters of the World.

In our terrible machines,

Built so pristine,

We fly beneath the sun.

No sounds are heard

As the fields are burned,

When all was said and done.

In the night

Looking bright

We are the Masters of the World.

We heard the call,

We saw the heavens fall,

We are the Masters of the World.

Over the land

Over the sea

With outstretched hands

We set you free.

To choose a life,

Under the sword and knife,

It doesn’t matter to us at all,

For we have heard the call,

We are the Masters of the World.

Take a look some night,

When all is silent,

And you will see a sight

That will give you a fright.

Fires blazing on the horizon,

A shadow hanging in the sky.

The time is drawing near,

As the world turns and cries.

Fires bringing death,

Between each and every breath,

We are the Masters of the World.

As quiet as mice,

As cold as ice,

You lay there curled

We are the Masters of the World.

No more disease,

No more war,

Praying on your knees,

On the edge of the shore.

To all who hear,

Those far and near,

To the Masters of the World.

You ask why?

What have you done?

To deserve to die

Under the lightning gun.

Was it too much violence?

Not enough silence?

Does it matter anyway?

Does it do any good to stay?

When all is said and done?

Too many victims,

And no one has won.

Was it the sins of the ancients,

Inflicted upon the young?

Time cannot tell

For the hour glass fell

Spilling out all the sand.

No music is heard

Not even a word

All across the land.

Our ship flies straight

Without malice or hate

We are the Masters of the World.

Over the barren ground

Under the sea,

No life was found

By the Masters of the World.

All is quiet.

All is right.

We are the Masters of the World.

© R. A. Barbere