View source for Dracula: Dead and Loving It

{{Short description|1995 film by Mel Brooks}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Dracula: Dead and Loving It
| image          = Drac_dead_and_loving_it.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Mel Brooks]]
| producer       = Mel Brooks
| screenplay     = {{Plainlist|
* Mel Brooks
* [[Rudy De Luca]]
* Steve Haberman
}}
| story          = {{Plainlist|
* Rudy De Luca
* Steve Haberman
}}
| based_on       = {{Based on|''[[Dracula]]''|[[Bram Stoker]]}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Leslie Nielsen]]
* [[Peter MacNicol]]
* [[Steven Weber]]
* [[Amy Yasbeck]]
* [[Lysette Anthony]]
* [[Harvey Korman]]
* Mel Brooks}}
| music          = [[Hummie Mann]]
| cinematography = Michael D. O'Shea
| editing        = Adam Weiss
| studio         = {{Plainlist|
* [[Gaumont (company)|Gaumont]]
* [[Brooksfilms]]
* [[Castle Rock Entertainment]]
}}
| distributor    = [[Columbia Pictures]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-22-ca-16729-story.html|title=MOVIE REVIEW : Brooks' 'Dracula' Parody: Dead or Undead?|date=December 22, 1995|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=May 30, 2022}}</ref> (through [[Sony Pictures Releasing]]; United States and Canada)<br />[[Gaumont Buena Vista International]] (France)
| released       = {{Film date|1995|12|22|United States|1996|04|10|France}}
| runtime        = 90 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 90:30--><ref>{{cite web|title=''DRACULA : DEAD AND LOVING IT'' (PG)|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/dracula-dead-and-loving-it-1970-4|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131015093036/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/dracula-dead-and-loving-it-1970-4|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 15, 2013|work=[[PolyGram Filmed Entertainment]]|publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=April 23, 1996|access-date=October 14, 2013}}</ref>
| country        = {{Plainlist|
* United States
* France
}}
| language       = English
| budget         = $30 million
| gross          = $10.7 million
}}

'''''Dracula: Dead and Loving It''''' is a 1995 [[Comedy horror|supernatural horror comedy film]] directed by [[Mel Brooks]], from a screenplay by Brooks, [[Rudy De Luca]], and Steve Haberman, and based on a story by De Luca and Haberman. The film stars [[Leslie Nielsen]] as Dracula and Brooks as Van Helsing, with [[Steven Weber]],  [[Peter MacNicol]], [[Amy Yasbeck]], [[Lysette Anthony]], [[Harvey Korman]], and [[Anne Bancroft]] in supporting roles. Although the film is primarily a parody of the 1897 novel ''[[Dracula]]'' by [[Bram Stoker]], it follows ''[[Dracula (1931 English-language film)|Dracula]]'' (1931) in its deviations from the novel. It also parodies, among other films, ''[[The Fearless Vampire Killers]]'' (1967) and ''[[Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 film)|Bram Stoker's Dracula]]'' (1992), while the visual style and production values are reminiscent of the [[Hammer Film Productions|Hammer Horror]] films. 

''Dracula: Dead and Loving It'' was theatrically released in the United States on December 22, 1995, to critical and commercial failure, grossing $10.7 million against its $30 million production budget. The film is Brooks' last directorial effort to date.

==Plot==
In 1893, solicitor [[Renfield|Thomas Renfield]] travels from [[London]] to "[[Castle Dracula]]" in [[Transylvania]] to finalize [[Count Dracula|Dracula]]'s purchase of Carfax Abbey in England. Renfield meets Dracula, who unknown to Renfield, is a vampire. Dracula casts a hypnotic spell on Renfield, making him his slave. They soon embark for England. During the voyage, Dracula kills the ship's crew. When the ship arrives and Renfield is discovered alone on the ship, he is confined to a lunatic asylum.

Meanwhile, Dracula visits an opera house, where he introduces himself to his new neighbors: Doctor [[John Seward|Seward]], the asylum's administrator and head psychiatrist; Seward's daughter, [[Mina Harker|Mina]], and her fiancé, [[Jonathan Harker]]; and family friend [[Lucy Westenra]]. Dracula flirts with Lucy and later that night, enters her bedroom, and drinks her blood.

Mina discovers Lucy still in bed late in the morning, looking strangely pale. Seward, puzzled by the odd puncture marks on her throat, calls in Professor [[Abraham Van Helsing]]. Van Helsing informs the skeptical Dr. Seward that Lucy has been attacked by a vampire. Seward and Harker allow garlic to be placed in Lucy's bedroom to repel the vampire, though Seward remains skeptical. After a failed attempt by Renfield to remove the garlic, Dracula uses mind control to get Lucy out of her room and kills her.

Van Helsing meets Dracula and begins to suspect him of being a vampire after the two argue in [[Moldavian dialect|Moldavian]], each attempting to have the last word. Lucy, now a vampire herself, rises from her crypt, drains the blood from her guard, and tries to attack and seduce Harker who is keeping watch over her tomb to see if there is any truth in Van Helsing's belief about Lucy now being a vampire Van Helsing arrives soon after and instructs Jonathan to lay Lucy's soul to rest by driving a stake through her heart.

Dracula preys on Mina, wanting her to be his [[Brides of Dracula|undead bride]]. Dracula spirits Mina away to Carfax Abbey, where they dance, and he drinks her blood. The following morning, Mina tries to seduce Harker. Dr. Seward assumes Jonathan to be seducing Mina and orders him to leave. Van Helsing notices a scarf around Mina's neck and removes it, revealing two puncture marks. Though she lies about how she got them, Van Helsing confirms she has been attacked by a vampire by placing a cross on her hand, which burns a mark into it.

Van Helsing devises a plan to reveal the vampire's secret identity. Both Dracula and Renfield are invited to a ball, where Van Helsing has placed a huge mirror, covered with a curtain, on one of the walls. While Dracula and Mina perform a dance routine, the curtain over the mirror is dropped, revealing that Dracula has no reflection. Dracula grabs Mina and escapes out of a window.

Van Helsing deduces that Renfield is Dracula's slave, and thus might know where he has taken his coffin after a search of Carfax turns up empty. Dracula locks himself in an abandoned church to finish making Mina his bride. His pursuers break down the door, and fighting ensues. Van Helsing, noticing sunlight creeping into the room, opens the blinds. As his body begins to burn, Dracula then attempts to flee, but is inadvertently killed by Renfield.

With Dracula dead, Renfield falls into despair with no master to serve and scrapes Dracula's ashes into the coffin. Seward tells him "you are free, now" and Renfield seems relieved. Dr. Seward calls for Renfield to follow him out of the church, and he follows, responding "yes, master". Van Helsing opens Dracula's coffin and yells in Moldavian to ensure that he has the final word between himself and the count. After the end credits roll, Dracula responds in Moldavian, giving him the true final word.

==Cast==
{{colbegin}}
*[[Leslie Nielsen]] as [[Count Dracula]]
*[[Mel Brooks]] as [[Abraham Van Helsing|Professor Van Helsing]]
*[[Peter MacNicol]] as [[Renfield|Thomas Renfield]]
*[[Steven Weber]] as [[Jonathan Harker]]
*[[Amy Yasbeck]] as [[Mina Harker|Mina Seward]]
*[[Lysette Anthony]] as [[Lucy Westenra]]
*[[Harvey Korman]] as [[John Seward|Dr. Seward]]
*[[Anne Bancroft]] as Madame Ouspenskaya ([[Romani people|Gypsy]] Woman)
*[[Ezio Greggio]] as the coachman
*[[Megan Cavanagh]] as Essie
*[[Chuck McCann]] as Innkeeper
*[[Mark Blankfield]] as Martin
*[[Clive Revill]] as Sykes
*[[Gregg Binkley]] as Woodbridge
*[[Rudy De Luca]] as Guard
*[[Avery Schreiber]] as Male Peasant on Coach
*Cherie Franklin as Female Peasant on Coach
*[[David DeLuise]] as a student in Van Helsing's demonstration
{{colend}}

==Production==
[[Principal photography]] began in May 1995 and wrapped in September 1995. Filming took place from May 8 to July 26, 1995 at [[Culver Studios]], California, United States.

==Home media==
===Soundtrack===
{{Infobox album
| name         = Dracula: Dead And Loving It
| type         = Soundtrack
| artist       = [[Hummie Mann]]
| cover        = 
| alt          = 
| released     = 1996
| recorded     = 
| venue        = 
| studio       = 
| genre        = [[Film score]]
| length       = 36:09
| label        = [[Castle Rock Entertainment]]
| producer     = 
| prev_title   = 
| prev_year    = 
| next_title   = 
| next_year    = 
}}

A [[soundtrack]] titled ''Dracula: Dead And Loving It'' was released 1996 on [[Compact Disc|CD]] by [[Castle Rock Entertainment]].<ref name="Soundtrack">{{cite web|title=Soundtrack Information|url=http://www.soundtrack.net/album/dracula-dead-and-loving-it/|publisher=soundtrack.net|access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="Soundtrack 2">{{cite web|title=Dracula Dead and Loving It (1995)|url=http://www.soundtrackinfo.com/tracks/draculadead/|publisher=soundtrackinfo.com|access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref>

# "Main Title" (2:20)
# "Faster Horses" (1:07)
# "Too Dark.. / Limping Shadows / The Web / Hypnotizing Reinfield" (1:35)
# ""Vampires?" / Gypsy Woman / Dracula's Castle" (2:21)
# "Reinfield Bleeds / Dracula's Women" (1:55)
# "Striptease / Bat Flies To Window / Dracula Bites Lucy" (2:00)
# "Lucy In Bed / Bite Marks? / 3 Tiny Puncture Marks / I Remember Nothing" / Emergency" (3:01) 
# "Dracula In The Garden / Dracula Files, Reinfield Doesn't!'' (2:31)
# "Dracula Attacks Lucy / Funeral / Never Give Up!/ To The Crypt / Lucy Bites Sikes / Concern / Jonathan To The Crypt" (3:11)
# "Lucy Reacts To The Cross / Dracula Hypnotizes Mina & Essie" (1:16) 
# "To Carfax Abbey / El Choclo" (2:18)
# "Van Helsing Sees The Mina's Bite" (1:27)
# "The Kaminsky Two-Step" (1:27)
# "Hungarian Dance #5" (3:21)
# "Escape / In Pursuit Of Reinfield / Fight! / Jonathan On The Floor / Attempted Escape" (4:59)
# "Ucipital Mapillary / Romantic Moment / Finale" (3:30)

===DVD===
 {| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="background:#fcfcfc;" | Release name
! style="background:#fcfcfc;" | Region 1
! style="background:#fcfcfc;" | Region 2 
! style="background:#fcfcfc;" | Notes
|- style="text-align:center;"
|| ''Dracula: Dead and Loving It''
||29 June 2004<ref>{{cite web|title=Dracula: Dead and Loving It DVD|url=http://www.blu-ray.com/dvd/Dracula-Dead-and-Loving-It-DVD/72562/|publisher=blu-ray.com|access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref> <br /><small>(Canada)</small> <br /><br /> 14 February 2006<ref>{{cite web|title=Dracula - Dead and Loving It|website=Amazon |date=February 14, 2006 |url=https://www.amazon.com/Dracula-Dead-Loving-Leslie-Nielsen/dp/B0001ZX0O2|access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref> <br /><small>(United States)</small>
|| 14 April 2005<ref>{{cite web|title=Dracula: Dead and Loving It DVD Denmark|url=http://www.blu-ray.com/dvd/Dracula-Dead-and-Loving-It-DVD/114822/|publisher=blu-ray.com|access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref> <br /><small>(Denmark)</small> <br /><br /> 7 May 2011<ref>{{cite web|title=Dracula: Dead and Loving It DVD Spain|url=http://www.blu-ray.com/dvd/Dracula-Dead-and-Loving-It-DVD/58488/|publisher=blu-ray.com|access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref> <br /><small>(Spain)</small> <br /><br /> 7 February 2012<ref>{{cite web|title=Dracula mort et heureux de l'être|url=https://www.amazon.fr/Dracula-Mort-Et-Heureux-De-LEtre/dp/B005HHUB4G|publisher=[[Amazon.fr]]|access-date=7 January 2017}}</ref> <br /><small>(France)</small>
||Commentary by director/co-writer [[Mel Brooks]], co-stars [[Steven Weber (actor)|Steven Weber]] and [[Amy Yasbeck]]<br /> and co-writers [[Rudy De Luca]] and Steve Haberman. <br />  Also theatrical trailer and subtitles. 
|}

===Blu-ray===
 {| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="background:#fcfcfc;" | Release name
! style="background:#fcfcfc;" | Region 1
! style="background:#fcfcfc;" | Region 2 
! style="background:#fcfcfc;" | Notes
|- style="text-align:center;"
|| ''Dracula: Dead and Loving It''
|| 23 November 2021
||
||Audio commentary by director/co-writer Mel Brooks, co-stars Steven Weber and Amy Yasbeck and co-writers Rudy De Luca and Steve Haberman, "Mel Brooks on Dracula: Dead and Loving It" featurette, "The Making of Dracula: Dead and Loving It" featurette, Theatrical trailers and TV spots
|}

==Reception==
===Box office===
The film debuted at #10.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dutka |first=Elaine |date=1995-12-27 |title=Weekend Box Office : 'Exhale' Blows Down the Competition |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-27-ca-18149-story.html |access-date=2012-06-03 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> By the end of its run, ''Dracula'' grossed $10,772,144.<ref name="mojo">{{mojo title|draculadeadandlovingit|Dracula: Dead and Loving It}} Retrieved October 14, 2013</ref>

=== Critical response ===
Critical reaction to ''Dracula: Dead and Loving It'' was overwhelmingly negative. {{Rotten Tomatoes prose|11|3.2|37|Lacking any of the comedic bite that audiences have come to expect from a Mel Brooks farce, this vampire parody just plain ol' sucks.|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Dracula: Dead and Loving It|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dracula_dead_and_loving_it/|access-date=July 10, 2020|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|publisher=[[Fandango Media]]}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemascore.com|title=Find CinemaScore|format=Type "Dracula Dead and Loving It" in the search box|publisher=[[CinemaScore]]|access-date=April 7, 2021}}</ref>

[[James Berardinelli]] of ''ReelViews'' wrote: "''Dracula: Dead and Loving It'' doesn't come close to the level attained by ''[[Young Frankenstein]]''. It's a toothless parody that misses more often than it hits. ... Given the comic turn his career has taken since the early '80s, it's hard to believe that Leslie Nielsen was once a serious actor. These days, thanks to the [[Zucker brothers]] ... he has become an accomplished satirical performer. His sense of timing is impeccable, and this asset has made him a sought-after commodity for a wide variety of spoofs. Here, Nielsen takes on the title role, but his presence can't resurrect this stillborn lampoon. Unless you're a die hard Mel Brooks fan, there's no compelling reason to sit through ''Dracula: Dead and Loving It''. The sporadic humor promises some laughs, but the ninety minutes will go by slowly."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/d/drac_dead.html |title=Dead and Loving It - A Film Review by James Berardinelli |publisher=reelviews.net |access-date=2012-02-11}}</ref>

Joe Leydon of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote: "Leslie Nielsen toplines to agreeable effect as Count Dracula, depicted here as a dead-serious but frequently flustered fellow who's prone to slipping on bat droppings in his [[Baroque architecture|baroque]] castle. ... Trouble is, while ''Dead and Loving It'' earns a fair share of grins and giggles, it never really cuts loose and goes for the belly laughs. Compared with the recent glut of dumb, dumber and dumbest comedies, Brooks's pic seems positively understated. Indeed, there isn't much here that would have seemed out of place (or too tasteless) in comedy sketches for TV variety shows of the 1950s. ... As a result, unfortunately, ''Dead and Loving It'' is so mild, it comes perilously close to blandness. ... The only real sparks are set off by MacNicol as Renfield, the solicitor who develops a [[Entomophagy|taste for flies and spiders]] after being bitten by Dracula."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117910573?refcatid=31 |title=Dracula: Dead and Loving It - Review by Joe Leydon |publisher=variety.com |date= 1995-12-17|access-date=2012-02-11}}</ref>

Mel Brooks said that he met critic [[Roger Ebert]] after Ebert had given ''Dracula: Dead and Loving It'' a negative review, and lashed out at him, saying, "Listen, you, I made 21 movies. I’m very talented. I’ll live in history. I have a body of work. You only have a body."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Meyers |first=Kate |date=June 28, 1996 |title=10 Smart Questions for Mel Brooks |url=https://ew.com/article/1996/06/28/10-smart-questions-mel-brooks/ |access-date=2024-06-06 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref> Roger Ebert wrote that he was "saddened" by the encounter but had to be honest that the movie "just didn't work."<ref>{{cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=July 21, 1996 |title=Movie Answer Man (07/21/1996) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/answer-man/movie-answer-man-07211996 |access-date=2024-06-06 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]]}}</ref>

Bruce G. Hallenbeck defended the film in his book ''Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914-2008'', saying it "ranks with [[Roman Polanski|Polanski]]'s ''[[The Fearless Vampire Killers]]'' as one of the greatest vampire comedies ever made." He praised the dry wit, strong performances of all the cast members, and the way the film acts as an affectionate homage to the classic vampire films rather than purely a spoof. He attributed the film's negative reception to its being so targeted towards hardcore enthusiasts of vampire films that general audiences would not pick up on most of the jokes, and to the inevitable comparisons to Brooks's seminal ''Young Frankenstein''.<ref>{{cite book |title=Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914-2008 |url=https://archive.org/details/comedyhorrorfilm00hall|url-access=limited |last=Hallenbeck |first=Bruce G.|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|year=2009 |isbn=9780786453788|pages=183–186}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Speculative fiction/Horror|Film|Comedy}}
* [[Vampire film]]
* ''[[Young Frankenstein]]''
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://www.warnerbros.com/movies/dracula-dead-and-loving-it Official website]
* {{IMDb title|0112896|Dracula: Dead and Loving It}}
* {{mojo title|draculadeadandlovingit|Dracula: Dead and Loving It}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|dracula_dead_and_loving_it|Dracula: Dead and Loving It}}

{{Mel Brooks}}
{{Dracula}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dracula Dead And Loving It}}
[[Category:Dracula films]]
[[Category:1995 films]]
[[Category:1995 comedy horror films]]
[[Category:1990s parody films]]
[[Category:1990s satirical films]]
[[Category:American comedy horror films]]
[[Category:American parody films]]
[[Category:American satirical films]]
[[Category:American vampire films]]
[[Category:French comedy horror films]]
[[Category:English-language French films]]
[[Category:French parody films]]
[[Category:French vampire films]]
[[Category:1990s German-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Mel Brooks]]
[[Category:Films produced by Mel Brooks]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Mel Brooks]]
[[Category:Films set in 1893]]
[[Category:Films set in London]]
[[Category:Films set in Transylvania]]
[[Category:Films set in castles]]
[[Category:Films shot in California]]
[[Category:Brooksfilms films]]
[[Category:Castle Rock Entertainment films]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:PolyGram Filmed Entertainment films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Hummie Mann]]
[[Category:Vampire comedy films]]
[[Category:American slapstick comedy films]]
[[Category:Parodies of horror]]
[[Category:Films about hypnosis]]
[[Category:French satirical films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Rudy De Luca]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]
[[Category:1990s French films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy horror films]]