Goodnight, Mr. Renfield: Comparing the Two 1931 Dracula's

This 41-minute video essay uses the two 1931 versions of DRACULA (in English and in Spanish) as a 'natural experiment' to learn about directorial, visual, and editing choices and their consequences.

The author of this video essay is a film scholar and professor, and this video essay is a critical commentary for educational purposes. Almost every frame of the original has been transformed: by adding the timecode, and by juxtaposing the images with other images and with music and audio commentary. As critical, educational, and transformative, this video falls squarely under the Fair Use Doctrine of U.S. copyright law.

This video addresses issues central to the International Baccalaureate on film: notably textual analysis and comparative study.

NOTE: The 1931 Dracula's used very little music, owing to technical limitations at Universal in 1931. There is an excellent score by Philip Glass, but I have not used it here for IP reasons. Instead, I have adapted existing classical music (including Tchaikovsky 's 'Swan Lake,' which IS used in the original film) together with some music of my own. This music is a hybrid: partly intended to support the original film and partly supporting the organization and narration of the current video.

--Edward R. O'Neill