The Romance of Dracula [Paperback]

A really great read.A must for any Dracula fan or vampire buff.Well researched and detailed its a delight to read .It could be a set text for any media course featuring the count .The amount of research is impressive ,little known and interesting facts are crammed on almost every page yet anything less like a dry text book would be hard to find.Its unique I think in covering not just movies that span genres and time but also spanning non English speaking movies.
Witty and well written it is truely a fine romance.

Being a classic movie buff, I couldn't wait to finish reading The Romance of Dracula: a Personal Journey of the Count on Celluloid.

Many people, such as myself, love to write or read about vampires. Many though, especially those in the younger age group, have never sat down to read Bram Stoker's fascinating novel. If Dracula hasn't been in your reading repertoire, you need to add it FAST! The book is a classic and, if you're into a little bit of voyeurism, Dracula is for you. Written as a diary, the reader is drawn into the macabre world of the undead.

The fascination with Bram Stoker's book brought entranced readers the world of the movie vampire, which has thrilled and fascinated everyone since the beginning of the last century.

Mr. Butler's The Romance of Dracula accomplishes the same fantastic feat!

Reading Mr. Butler's book, I found myself spending time on the computer hunting down each of the flicks that he mentioned. Many are back on my purchase list, and I'm eager to see the films through the author's descriptive eyes.

In the past 15 years, the world has begun to think of vampires as exotic, handsome men and women that have the capability to make their victims bare their throats with an eagerness that rivals anything imaginable. In the past, both in the world of the movies and Stoker's novel, things were a wee bit different.

For one, the past was filled with vicious but entrancing bloodsuckers that had one intent in life...to drain a person dry. There wasn't any forever romance, all-consuming love, or a vamp that could grace the cover of a GQ magazine. Butler, blissfully, ignores the vampires of today and focuses on the traditional, when vampires were in a league of their own, and intent on making the world suffers for their immortality.

Butler's book is an insightful and in-depth review of Stoker's demon, filled with facts around the formation of this iconic character that has entranced the public beyond the written word. I've read Dracula, but Butler brings to the forefront so many facts that I had overlooked or forgotten, especially the slew of historical and character notes. Did you know, or have you asked? ---

The count and Van Helsing are the only two characters described in the entire book.

Why was Harker visiting the count?
Exactly who was Renfield?

Neither Mina nor Lucy had true definition. Everything about the two ladies is assumed

The count is abusive toward everyone, especially women--far from the loving image of Edward

Children are out-right delicious.

In addition, women don't ever fall madly in love with him!

In The Romance of Dracula, the author goes into fantastic detail about the legend behind the story and the evolution of the bloodthirsty count. In the past, such as in the 1922 German-made movie Nosferatu, Count Orlock (the vampire) is ugly beyond all imagination. For some reason, though, the charm is there, as well as the chill. For fans of classic movies, Nosferatu is a must to see!

Mr. Butler continues The Romance of Dracula, and the thrill that the ultimate bad boy of the world has had on cinemagoers for over a century, with delightful insights into the various movies produced. I enjoyed his commentaries and his systematic walk-throughs on each film and the character's behavior throughout his analytical reviews, as well as the mistakes that he captured in each of the films. Precisely research, magically in-depth, The Romance of Dracula is a must have for any vampire fan!

5 awe-struck stars!

Mr Butler's addiction to vampire movies is only slightly less than the blood-lust of his hero Count Dracula but has a lot more research going for it. His summaries and commentaries on Dracula films from silent Nosferatu to Technicolor Hammer horror via Louis Jordan and (wait for it!) Jack Palance are detailed, loving and always interesting. If Bram Stoker and Christopher Lee are the leads in this long-running story, there is also a fascinating list of bit-part players from writer James Le Fanu to actor Henry Irving. It's a read full of great flavour if not always good taste. It should both please the fans and seduce the neutrals, rather like the Count himself.