By Patrick Omari
Vampire films are extremely popular with the cinema-going public of the world. Film-fans can’t seem to get enough of the fear and fangs that vampire movies inflict upon their audience. Throughout the years since the first vampire film in 1913, various incarnations of the famous blood-sucking creatures have hit the silver screen with relatively erratic success.
The most famous vampire to have been immortalised on the big-screen, in a number of guises and roles, is Dracula. Created by Bram Stoker in 1897, the character of Count Dracula has appeared in numerous films, TV shows and even cartoons in the last 120 years. In 1922, Max Schreck played a renamed Count Orlick, an unauthorised adaptation of the Bram Stoker story.
Shreck’s portrayal of Dracula appeared in Nosferatu, a silent movie that would heavily influence the genre and films for years. Shadow of the Vampire, released in 2000, imagined a story where Schreck was a real-life vampire, 78 years after the film’s original release.
The most famous, and official, version of Dracula appeared in 1992 when Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola attempted to interpret the novel. With a cast of many big-name stars, expectations were high for the film that would go on to gross over 200 million dollars worldwide. The film proved to be fairly-decent, although Keanu Reeves’ wooden performance would also be widely-criticised for his attempts at an English accent.
Vampires and Dracula are popular choices for horror-films as the audience understands their motives, weaknesses and strengths immediately. This understanding enables the film’s writers and directors to move the setting from its traditional place to modern-day with little or no problem. Contemporary vampire films have proved to be as popular as the older versions, some proving even more popular.
One of the best films of the vampire genre features Wesley Snipes as a half-vampire, half-human vampire hunter named Blade. The opening scene of Blade is one of the most memorable of the vampire genre, where a man is led to a club by an attractive girl, only to find it full of vampires. A great start to a great film, with Snipes fitting the role perfectly as the dark, stern-faced superhero.
Other modern versions have included the Tarantino-Rodriguez collaboration From Dusk Till Dawn. This film begins as a straight-up gangster road-movie before turning into a vampire-led bloodfest. George Clooney received rave reviews following his switch from the ER and would go on to perform in several more critically and commercially-acclaimed films.
In 1987, The Lost Boys hit the cinema screens across the world and would change the way people looked at vampire movies. Placing the vampires in a quiet, American town made them more real to the audience, and led the way for the vampire movies of the later 80s, 90s, 00s and beyond.
A recent blockbuster vampire film which again evolved the concept was 30 Days of Night. Starring Josh Hartnett, the film centres around an Alaskan town that has no sunlight for a whole 30 days. During this time, vampires arrive to feed off the townsfolk and take advantage of the lack of sun. The vampires are quicker, more brutal and scarier than previous movies, perhaps suggesting a new direction for vampire movies in the future.
Despite the amount of movies made with vampire-themes, the genre continues to evolve and develop with no ideas brought by every writer, director, actor and special effects people. As the vampire movies continue to attract audiences, they will have to adapt to the latest trends in order to remain fresh and modern.
Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Stansted hotels, Heathrow hotels and Heathrow parking.
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Exploring The Fascinating Origin Of Superheroes
By Andrew Wills
It must be the fantasy, right along with the action and the science fiction concepts, which has created a vast love of our superheroes. The admiration stems back decades. Those superhuman abilities are admired and even coveted, although how to obtain such powers is well beyond our means at this time, unfortunately.
All superheroes originated within the mind of some creative person, wishing to help others escape from a humdrum existence - just like they did when imagining their superheroes’ feats and accomplishments.
But then how did they communicate their story? For us older folk, we have no problem remembering the comic books, read quietly in a corner on a late afternoon. We recall the old Saturday Movies with the thrill and adventure of our heroes saving the day.
But the younger crew may not have had the pleasure to crack open these colorful magazines, experiencing the adventure from the pages of a well-worn comic book. They didn’t sit back enjoying the black and white, but still exciting, action on a small screen with scratchy sound. Many times their introduction was at a comfortable theater with brilliant color, special effects and surround sound.
Where did some of our favorites have their beginnings? First we look at The Adventures of Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel came to life first as a comic book character in Fawcett Comics. In 1941 the comic was adapted into a Saturday movie serial for kids, the first superhero to have such an honor. Then other superheroes followed suit, coming to the big screen and bringing their bravery to life. In 1967, Marvel Comics developed their very own Captain Marvel.
Superman first appeared as a comic book character in June 1938 in Action Comics #1. He went on to appear in radio serials, television programs and films. A true leader for other superheroes, he paved the way to success. Eventually the television series began, the famous ‘Adventures of Superman’ starring George Reeves. Then in 1978 came the first epic superhero feature film, ‘Superman’. The sequels followed, and who would ever fail to catch each one in the theater!
We can’t forget Spider-Man, of course. First appearing in Marvel Comics in the Amazing Fantasy issue 15, he showed character to which young readers could identify. Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spider-Man) was particularly lonely and often felt inadequate and rejected, and the teen readers could understand and relate to him. From the 1990s to the present, the films of Spider-Man are blockbusters.
So, as these were born of the comic book world, there were many more: Batman, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, X-Men and the Fantastic Four. The list goes on. All these began with comics in book form, finally coming to life in action films that opened on the screen with huge profits. And of course, more to come.
The popularity of the superhero genre has spawned more superheroes, notable beings that have come to entertain and engage. Many of these have been born on the screen, never touching the pages of the comics. Some examples are RoboCop, the Incredibles and yes, even Hancock.
The superhero genre is so popular, such an escape from our sometimes very down-to-earth lives where strength of character and heroism are all too often absent, that the superhero is a concept that will never die out. The more the merrier! Bring them on!
The author is the Admin of www.Herobits.com, where you can read about super heroes and buy the latest toys, videos, comics, and games. This article can also be found on our Heroes Blog.
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