Dracula 3D Blu-ray

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)

English SDH

Dracula 3D

 (2012)

Dracula 3D Blu-ray despite great video and audio falls short as a Blu-ray release
Asia Argento stars in horror legend Dario Argento's sexy spin on the classic tale about the sharp-toothed count who craves human blood.


For more about Dracula 3D and the Dracula 3D Blu-ray release, see Dracula 3D Blu-ray Review published by Casey Broadwater on January 30, 2014 where this Blu-ray release scored 2.0 out of 5.

Director: Dario Argento
Starring: Asia Argento, Thomas Kretschmann, Rutger Hauer, Marta Gastini, Unax Ugalde, Miriam Giovanelli
Composer: Claudio Simonetti

» See full cast & crew

Dracula 3D Blu-ray, Video Quality

   

Dario Argento once closely trailed the forefront of moviemaking technology—see his early use of Steadicam in Phenomena, or the then-primitive CGI in The Stendhal Syndrome—but his 3D debut is less than auspicious. For the film's home video release, MPI has given us the option to view the film in 2D or 3D on the same disc, and it honestly doesn't matter which you choose. The 3D adds nothing substantial to the experience. Yes, there's the expected increase in depth, along with a few moments of jump-out-at-ya projection—the point of a sword jutting through a door, a swarm of flies in the foreground, etc.—but Argento does little with the medium to justify its use. (To be fair, few filmmakers truly have.) If anything, this is a movie that could afford to be a bit more generous with the goofy, effects-shooting-out-of-the-screen showboating. If you're gonna be bad, be really bad.

In terms of general picture quality, Dracula 3D and its 2D incarnation are both well- adapted to Blu-ray, even if they struggle to overcome certain aspects of their low-budget origins. The cinematography is flatly lit and uninteresting, for instance, and the CGI looks like something out of the Playstation 2 era, with poor textures and a noticeably low polygon count. That said, the footage—shot digitally from two side-mounted Arri Alexas—is plenty sharp, with lots of fine detail in faces, clothing, and cobblestone streets. Color is vibrant and contrast consistent, even if the grading can't rescue the boring lighting. Excessive noise and compression issues are avoided, however, and there are no major distractions that aren't a direct result of how shoddily the film was made to begin with.

Dracula 3D Blu-ray, Audio Quality

   

The sound design on the disc's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is just as hokey, although that's maybe just the lingering impression I have of the score, composed by Goblin keyboardist and Argento go-to guy Claudio Simonetti. Rather than the brooding, arpeggiated synth lines of most Goblin scores, this one has a chintzy 1950s sci-fi vibe, almost, filled with minor-key theremin melodies. (Ooooooooo-weeeeeeeeeee-eeeeeewwwwww! ) The music sounds full at clear at a normal listening level, though, and I do have to admit that the film makes decent use of the surround speakers, occupying them with cross-channel and directional effects in many scenes. Wind and leaves blow past us, a dog barks off in the distance, owls screech in our ears and flies buzz all around. It's all decently engaging. Many of the Italian actors are clearly dubbed in English—and badly—but the lame dialogue is at least clear and easy to understand. The disc includes optional English subtitles, which appear in white lettering.