Drácula

This feels more like a movie and less a filmed stage production , the cinematic equivalent of being given all the answers to the assigned homework. As it is in real life the Spanish version is absolutely visually stunning.

Shot on the same sets and at the same time as Tod Browning's "Dracula" (also 1931) but with a considerably larger duration that allows it to sink in more and appear less rushed, the Spanish-language "Drácula" is one of the finest adaptations of Bram Stoker's classic. Though it's certainly flawed (e.g. the pacing is notably off now and then), it succeeds in conjuring and largely sustaining the menacing, mystical atmosphere one expects, and features lots of great imagery and some chilling moments.

Superior to the 1931 English-language version in nearly every way. Drac feels more dangerous and cunning, and there's a better rhythm to the script and performances that make it more than old-school vamp camp.

It's fascinating to see a doubled-up film before the studios discovered they could re-dub the voices. A lot is the same as the original, and comparisons are inevitable. I like Eva (Mina) and Renfield here. But this version's Dracula and Van Helsing can't quite get their facial expressions correct, and so "scary staredown" turns into "bemused constipation," which winds up turning menace into mirth at the most critical parts.

A versão em espanhol de Drácula estreava há 90 anos em Havana. Soy Dracula! Só eu sei o quanto amo o Tod Browning, mas essa versão também é bem bacanuda, apesar do Carlos Villarías esbugalhar os olhos mais do que deveria. No archive.org

Baffling, really. Who would have thought the Spanish Dracula would be the least sexy adaptation ever filmed?

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As people keep saying about this alternate-language Spanish version of Dracula '31. It's a better shot film then the Tod Browning version, but it's really lacks a real Dracula like Bela Lugosi. So it boils down to if one want a longer, more elaborate and visually detailed story or if you want the magnetism of Bela Lugosi. I think I'm slightly leaning towards Lugosi because of his iconic performance and in the end that's the lasting image I have of Dracula.

The Bela Lugosi Dracula film might be the most celebrated. But surprise, surprise! The Spanish version is superior. The production values were higher with superior camerawork. The actors also perform their roles better, with the exception of Dracula. Bela Lugosi is iconic. However, Carlos Villarias puts his own spin on the count and is very good, as well. If you're one of the many horror fans who loved the American film, check this out.

What you have heard is true, folks: the Spanish version of Universal Studio's classic horror movie, Dracula, is superior to the American version with Bela Lugosi. The acting and cinematography are much better than the American version. I thought it would be distracting with no Bela Lugosi as Dracula, but Carlos Villarias gives a very different performance. He stands on his own as a very different Dracula. There are ways he is even scarier than Lugosi. Highly recommended!

Better than the Lugosi or Coppola's versions, but not by much. Maybe I'm approaching this wrong because at times it seems to be unabashedly playing things for comedy, but even in that case it's wildly inconsistent. The guy who plays Renfield is certainly the high point and Dracula is campy fun but the rest of the acting is mediocre.

Filmed at night on the same sets as the Lugosi version, this Spanish-language adaptation is in some ways better, with more fluid direction and scenes of horror and sensuality only hinted at in the Browning movie. Unfortunately, this long-thought-lost and recently rediscovered curiosity runs too long and Villarias totally lacks the charisma of Bela Lugosi, proving once and for all who the movies' definitive Count Dracula *really* is.

Although lensed simultaneously with Browning's better-known Bela edition, using the same sets and basic script, this Spanish version emerges as a much different -- in many ways superior -- fear film. Melford didn't even speak Spanish. Fortunately, he had a top cast to work with. Villarias makes for a suitably menacing Dracula, while Rubio, as the insect-eating Renfield, goes even further over the top than his Anglo counterpart, Dwight Frye. Far more than a curio, this is a highly effective film

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Better shot than the english version, but many of the spanish actors are goofy, particularly Dracula himself.