Bram Stoker's Dracula

It's called "Bram Stoker's Dracula" but it is very much Francis Ford Coppola's personal take on the classic tale.

True, the narrative structure — indeed, the storyline and the faithfulness to the characters — is more like the book than most "Dracula" films (the screenplay is by James V. Hart, who also wrote "Hook"). But with his over-the-top flourish and the campy attitude that literally runs amok, Coppola has come up with yet another high-priced film that is all style and no substance.

What's more, for all the talk about how this movie would avoid the conventions and cliches, they're all here. In fact, what is perhaps most surprising about "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is how much it resembles so many earlier incarnations.

The film begins by melding Stoker's story with the true history of the man who inspired the character of Dracula, the 15th-century Romanian warrior Vlad "The Impaler" Tepes. The opening prologue has Transylvanian warrior Dracula (Gary Oldman) renouncing Christianity when his true love (Winona Ryder) kills herself, and as some sort of vengeance of God he is turned into a vampire.

Four hundred years later, we are in 1897 London, with crazy old insect-eating Renfield (Tom Waits) locked up in Dr. Seward's (Richard E. Grant) asylum after having helped Dracula secure some London real estate.

Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves) is assigned to take over the real estate sale and travels to Transylvania, leaving his fiance Mina (Ryder again) behind. When he reaches Dracula's castle, Harker is made prisoner and finds himself in reluctant orgies with three half-naked female vampires who drink his blood. (At one point Dracula brings a kidnapped baby to the women, to distract them while he feeds on Harker himself.)

Meanwhile, staid and proper Mina waits for Harker by moving in with her best friend Lucy (Sadie Frost), a wild thing with three suitors, an English gentleman (Cary Elwes), a homily-spouting American (Bill Campbell) and the aforementioned Dr. Seward.

It isn't long, of course, before Dracula comes to London, makes Lucy a blood-sucking disciple and then goes after Mina, whom he recognizes as the apparent reincarnation of his long lost love.

Enter vampire killer Dr. Van Helsing, played by Anthony Hopkins as a wild-eyed goof. And when Hopkins and Oldman go up against each other as Van Helsing and Dracula do battle, the ham does fly.

Despite the bevy of accomplished actors in his cast, Coppola makes sure no one doubts this is a director's movie, throwing his bag of technical tricks on the screen as if he might never get another chance to show his stuff.