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Blacula By Sean Axmaker
William Marshall, a Shakespearean actor with a rich baritone voice,
enriches this otherwise bland blaxploitation
vampire film with his strong, seductive performance. He's Manuwalde, a
European-educated 18th-century African prince who appeals to the Count
Dracula for help in ending the slave trade. Dracula, never known as a
great emancipator, puts the bite on Manuwalde's troubles, dubs him
"Blacula" (the only time the name is uttered in the film), and
imprisons him in a casket. Stirred to life, so to speak, centuries later
in Los Angeles by gay antique hunters, he steps into the soulful Super70s
and splits his energies between feeding his bloodlust and wooing a young
beauty (Vonetta McGee), a dead ringer for his long-dead wife. Thalmus
Rasulala (Friday Foster) is
a modern medical professor turned urban Van Helsing, and Elisha Cook Jr.
has a bit part as a coroner with a hook for a hand. The potential for a
clever urban black twist on the European vampire myth is lost in this
dull, thoroughly conventional tale. Marshall is under enough sloppily
applied facial hair to make him a wolfman, and his victims walk around
with a plastic blue pallor. But despite the limitations, Marshall creates
a magnetic, aristocratic character and infuses his monster with a sense of
loss and sadness in the climax. It was followed by a sequel, Scream,
Blacula, Scream, and inspired Blackenstein. For a more
interesting and thoughtful African American take on the vampire legend,
look to Ganja and Hess.
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Your Memories Shared! |
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"I love this Movie !!
I first saw Blacula , on the 11:30pm late movie, on TV. I really liked the black take on the classic vampire story. William Marshall's voice was incredible. It commanded your full attention. Along side some of the vampire's best actors (Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Jonathan Frid & Frank Langella) Marshall can stand tall." --Michael C. |
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FILM
FACTS |
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|  | Director: William Crain
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| | Stars: William Marshall, Denise Nicholas
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| | Released: August 25, 1972
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| | Availability: DVD VHS CD | | |
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