It has been quite a long time since the last documentary on Bela Lugosi was made. Forrest J. Ackerman made a pretty good one on Lugosi in the early 1990s.
However, Bela Lugosi historian Gary Rhodes has gone further by presenting the ultimate tribute to the horror film icon.
Released to critical acclaim, "Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula" is a well-balanced account of the actors life and career. His theatre and film work from his career in Hungary and Germany is discussed in detail, along with Lugosi's early work in America.
Naturally, once the stage production of "Dracula" is mentioned, the documentary gets down to more familiar territory.
Lugosi's decline and drug addiction isn't side- stepped by any means as it is part of the Lugosi story, sadly.
Overall, a thoroughly fascinating and professionally made documentary. Using some of the music from the 1931 "Dracula" film really adds to the occasion.
The only slightly disappointing thing for me, was that the running time is under an hour. An icon of Lugosi's calibre is deserving of a feature length documentary - nearer an hour and a half.
Even so, there are loads of special features on the DVD - additional interview footage, some trailers from various Lugosi films, along with rare footage of the man himself being interviewed. Altogether, the total running time is nearly 2 hours.
Watch this and enjoy!
