New ‘Dracula’ documentary looks at the man behind the bloodsucker

Bram Stoker’s Dracula has entranced audiences for more than 100 years. The original novel, which is the author’s most famous piece of literature, is a bona fide classic deserving of study and discussion. The many cinematic interpretations over the years have either been faithful or radically liberated from the prose. Much like the seminal text, Dracula usually commands attention when he appears in the media or on movie marquees.

Recently, Walking Shadows and Virgil Films released a DVD documentary looking at the phenomenon of the bloodsucking story. Dracula: The Vampire and the Voivode is a smart, academic look at Stoker’s life and literary career. It differentiates between Dracula, the character, and Vlad Tepes, the real-life inspiration. Along the way, it successfully grounds the book and its later incarnations in an historical perspective.

Stringing together interviews with Stoker specialists, the film first starts in the writer’s native Dublin. We snake our way around the storied halls of Trinity College, a venerable institution that formed the creative mind of the writer.

From there, we travel to London and Whitby, England, all in the pursuit of discovering more about the man who held pen to paper.

These early scenes are interesting and information-heavy. They could have been spruced up a bit with more visual documentation. As it stands, the first part of the movie features talking head after talking head. It’s never boring, but it also doesn’t enthrall.

It’s not until we land in Transylvania that the story takes off. Here, in modern-day Romania, we learn of  Vlad Tepes (known as the Voivode), Stoker’s inspiration for the character, and the continual tourist attraction around the vampire myth.

Officials with The Transylvanian Society of Dracula, who also helped produce the documentary, offer much-needed historical advice on Stoker’s book. We learn that the Irish writer never set foot in eastern Europe. Also, Vlad was never a vampire. And, except for the name Dracula, the entire fictional story is, as it turns out, fiction.

Still, for enthusiasts, this shouldn’t dampen the mood. Romania, likely for financial reasons, has embraced its image as a faraway locale with mysterious undertones. Dracula memorabilia is sold in the streets, and Stoker pilgrims make their way to Castle Bran, coined Dracula’s castle (even though it has nothing to do with Vlad Tepes).

In some ways, Romania has received the short end of the vampire stick. One novel from an Irish writer has forever changed the impressions of the country for Western travelers. Many people might be surprised at the natural beauty of Transylvania and the rich traditions and folklore that still inform the collective memory of its people.

Dracula: The Vampire and The Voivode, written and directed by Michael Bayley Hughes, is a success because the movie sheds some realistic light on a region that is too often seen through fictional eyes.

• Dracula: The Vampire and the Voivode

• 2011

• Written and directed by Michael Bayley Hughes

• Running time: 84 minutes

• Not Rated

• Rating: