Smashbomb

This was a surprise treat for me in the early weeks of lockdown, and my first win of anything in the suburb Smashbomb giveaways. It was a very welcome distraction, and a very fun thing to do in a blitz over the course of one evening.

The DVD presents the episodes as three feature length chapters, as opposed to the six episodes as shown on the BBC.

The look of it all is superlative for the budget, and I would praise the production design, music and visual style above anything else. Claes Bang as Dracula is a revelation, at once funny and terrifying in just the right balance.

However, the adaptation, and attempt to update the story somewhat, doesn't always work. It begins very well indeed, the first hour being far more moody and of a high quality than I had expected. And then slowly, as it strays from the classic elements of the story into camp and unnecessary modernity it loses its bite!

The quality curve goes completely the wrong way, with all the best bits up front and the worst bits at the climax. Close, but nothing more than a disposable curiosity in the end.

Regardless, many thanks to Smashbomb for the giveaway! Appreciate it!

Kudos

Butch Vig recommended Harvest Moon by Neil Young in Music (curated)

Harvest Moon by Neil Young

1992 | Rock

(0 Ratings)

Album Favorite

"This is a record my mum loved so it was played in our house all the time when I was growing up. Harvest was a huge commercial success for Neil Young but the songwriting is also unbelievable. It's as good as any album that Bob Dylan ever put out or anything The Beatles did. To me it's one of those iconic records that will always stand the test of time - it's as good as it can get. There's not really one bad song on the record, it's almost so stripped down and gradual sounding at spots. There's nothing in the way - the production is spot on. Neil's singing is so beautiful and fragile at the same time. I really think it’s a perfect album. I recently saw a BBC session, I can't remember where, but Neil Young was playing at the Round House and there's this amazing performance. He's playing a lot of songs from ‘Harvest’ before it came out and he's just so comfortable - it's just him and either a piano or an acoustic guitar, and it's so unbelievable. When you can tap into songs that simple, without the need of any production or band or anything, you realise how good the songwriter is. That's why the record sounds so good - because the songs are flawless."

Source

Kudos