Some A-level papers voided for students after exams leaked online
A-level exam papers voided for students after leaks online.
BBC News1 min read
Hammer to re-release 1958 Dracula in UK with long-lost footage added
TL;DR
Hammer Films is re-releasing the 1958 classic Dracula in UK cinemas this October, featuring long-lost footage restored in 4K. The newly discovered material was previously deemed too gruesome and has never been shown in the UK or US.
Key points
- Hammer Films is re-releasing Dracula in UK cinemas
- The film features long-lost footage restored in 4K
- Footage was deemed too gruesome for audiences in the past
- The material was found in a Warner Bros warehouse
- It has never been released in the UK or US before
Mentioned in this story
Christopher LeePeter CushingHammer Films
Dracula
Hammer Films’ horror masterpiece Dracula is to be re-released in UK cinemas in October, including footage believed to have been lost for more than six decades after it was deemed too gruesome for audiences.
The 1958 movie starring Christopher Lee as Count Dracula and Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing has been fully restored in 4K.
The restoration reinstates footage previously seen only by audiences at the film’s original Japanese theatrical release in 1958.
The recovered material, which was discovered in a Warner Bros warehouse, has never been released before in the UK or US, and has never appeared on home entertainment in any territory.
The chief executive of Hammer Films, John Gore, called it “the recovery of a piece of British film history that audiences believed had been lost forever”.
Speaking to Deadline, he explained that censors and distributors had cut the footage after audiences fainted during screenings when Lee’s vampire lunged at the neck of his victims, his fangs dripping with blood. “It was the fangs that scared them,” he said. “People were screaming, which was the point.”
The film changed the landscape of horror cinema, with a famous scene of Lee looming at the top of a dark staircase and declaring: “I am Dracula”.
His performance redefined the on-screen vampire for generations, introducing the bloodshot eyes, predatory fangs and visceral physicality, while Cushing delivered what is widely regarded as the definitive classic screen portrayal of Van Helsing, a fearless, intelligent vampire hunter.
A poster promoting the 1958 film. Photograph: Ronald Grant
“Think of every Halloween, and you see all those fangs, that’s a Hammer and Christopher Lee invention,” Gore said. “It all started when Christopher Lee said ‘I want more teeth with this’, so they came up with something that had some bite.”
Gore said Bela Lugosi had no fangs when he played Dracula in Tod Browning’s 1931 film, and the count in FW Murnau’s 1922 classic Nosferatu “was like a rabbit”, with no bite at all.
Q&A
What new footage is included in the re-release of Dracula?
The re-release includes footage believed to have been lost for over sixty years, originally shown only in the film's Japanese theatrical release.
When will the restored Dracula be released in UK cinemas?
The restored version of Dracula will be released in UK cinemas in October.
Who stars in the 1958 Dracula film?
The 1958 Dracula stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula and Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing.
Where was the lost footage of Dracula found?
The lost footage was discovered in a Warner Bros warehouse.
