May 28, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 25 Classic vampire tale receives above average retelling by Dennis Seuling Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” has been adapted countless times for both the big and small screen. In 1973, director Dan Curtis (“Dark Shadows”) joined the crowd with a TV movie that received theatrical release in Europe. This “Dracula” (MPI) stars Jack Palance. The twist here is that this Dracula is the undead incarnation of the real 15th century warlord, Vlad Tepes, who travels to England from his native Transylvania to be reunited with the rein- carnation of his long lost love. Much of the film adheres to Stoker’s original story and it boasts some impressive production values. Palance’s performance is uneven. He is supposed to be a sympathetic charac- ter, motivated by love, but his over-the- top expressions often give him the air of a teenage trick-or-treater rather than a love- lorn count. The character of Van Helsing, the film’s source of exposition, is played by Nigel Davenport, whose deadly seri- ous delivery gives the picture an air of Old World class. The rest of the cast is above average, with Penelope Horner (Mina), Fiona Lewis (Lucy), Simon Ward (Lucy’s fiancé Arthur) especially effective. At 98 minutes, this is one of the shorter adap- tations of “Dracula,” but screenwriter Richard Matheson’s version is fast-paced, Jack Palance stars in ‘Dan Curtis’ Dracula.’ suspenseful, and a worthy entry into the cinematic vampire canon. Special features on the Blu-ray release include interviews with Palance and Curtis, and outtakes. “Gambit” (Sony) is a remake of the 1966 Michael Caine/Shirley MacLaine caper film. The new version, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, updates the story to contemporary Texas and England. Harry Deane (Colin Firth) and P.J. Puznowski (Cameron Diaz) join forces to trick Har- ry’s bully of a boss, rich British art collec- tor Lionel Shahbandar (Alan Rickman), into buying a fake Monet made by a skilled forger (Tom Courtenay). Everything that can go wrong does go wrong in a series of farcical episodes involving Harry’s comic humiliations. The major flaw is the lack of chemistry between Firth and Diaz. They often seem to have wandered in from other movies. Firth tries hard, but never gets into the proper groove. He looks uncomfort- able and seems a poor fit for the farcical situations. Diaz looks beautiful as always, but lacks any iota of subtlety in her perfor- mance. There are no extras on the Blu-ray release. “The Color of Lies” (Cohen Media Group), directed by Claude Chabrol, is a murder mystery set in the small fishing village of St. Malo. A 10-year-old school- girl is raped and murdered in the woods. The new female chief inspector Frederique Lesage (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) focuses on the mentally unstable artist Rene Sterne (Jacques Gamblin), the girl’s private art teacher and the last person to see her alive. Rene becomes increasingly unsettled by (continued on Crossword page)