Blood for Dracula

Starring: Joe Dallesandro & Udo Kier Director: Paul Morrissey

DVD Features:

Audio:

• Mono - English

Additional Release Material:

• Audio Commentary - Paul Morrisey - Director, Udo Kier - Star
• Alternate Audio Track - Recollections from Paul Morrissey

Text/Photo Galleries:

• Photo Stills

Description by OLDIES.com:

Director Paul Morrissey (Heat) upends the horror genre with the grisly, hilarious, and strangely poignant story of Count Dracula (Udo Kier), forced to vacate his home and family to search for the blood of noble Italian virgins. He gets more than he bargained for with the Di Fiore family, whose patriarch (legendary director Vittorio De Sica) schemes to pawn off one of his daughters to the count in order to revive the estate's crumbling fortunes. Meanwhile, the communist gardener (Joe Dallesandro) satisfies his urges with the young daughters, turning the Count's quest into an ordeal of thwarted bloodlust. One of the most popular cult films of all time, this witty collision of high art cinema with outrageous sex and violence is presented in its original, full-length, uncensored version with a brand-new high-definition transfer.

Product Description:

Andy Warhol collaborator Paul Morrissey followed up on the international success of FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN with his unique interpretation of another classic movie monster. In this version, Dracula travels to Italy in search of a virgin bride. The great Udo Kier plays the count as a sickly and hypersensitive shut-in who stumbles across the supposedly virginal DiFiore family with the help of his domineering assistant, Anton. Unfortunately, the DiFiore daughters are less than virginal thanks to the determined efforts of servant Mario Balato (Joe Dallesandro). While the sets and cinematography are elegant and evocative, Morrissey brings his shambling, Warholian style to the script (which was written as the film was shot) and the acting (each actor has a different accent and most lines are read in a slow and drawling deadpan). The sex and violence are tinged with ironic humor as Kier goes from one daughter to the next, desperately seeking the virgin blood he needs to save his life. Some not-so-subtle social commentary is interwoven as the DiFiore parents care less for their daughters' future-well being than for the survival of their own wealth and palatial estate. The shocking sex- and gore-filled ending neatly closes Morrissey's newfangled monster diptych and cements his status as one of independent cinema's most original voices.

Plot Synopsis:

Andy Warhol's campy tribute to the Transylvanian legend is distinguished by its overt acknowledgment of the sexual metaphor of vampires. Young Dracula craves the blood of virgins in a house full of the promiscuous daughters of a country nobleman. The humor is mixed with liberal quantities of blood and sex.

Plot Keywords:

Campy | Cult Film | Horror | Theatrical Release | Vampires

Production Notes:

• Theatrical release: November 27, 1974
• BLOOD FOR DRACULA started filming on the same day that Paul Morrissey finished FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN and featured virtually the same cast and crew.
• Vittorio de Sica's part in the film is so small because there was only room in the budget to hire him for three days.
• Udo Kier was asked by Paul Morrissey to lose 15 kilos for the part of Dracula.
• BLOOD FOR DRACULA was filmed over the course of three weeks in Italy for under $300,000.

Cast and Crew: