Character Analysis Count Vlad Dracula The Man example essay topic
Jonathan Harker first arrives at the Romanian castle and is greeted by this creepy, cryptic, and subtlety intimidating old man. He is garbed in royal red satin as if he still rules this land and its... people. Though visually ancient, his eyes seem much younger than his body and skin present them to be; and his smile - his features crinkle up to this... hideous grin. In the world of makeup design, this version of Count Dracula is quite complicated; the film didn't win an Academy Award for Best Makeup for nothing! Gary Oldman sat in the makeup chair for a long time for this role.
In analyzing his visage, we can see that the ancient face of the Count is aged very carefully by the extensive use of latex. The natural wrinkles of Oldman's face were heightened drastically. The skin tone itself was of a sickly white - not albino, just white enough to be really old and still slightly human. Oldman's eyebrows were completely covered (with the latex) and were replaced with slight strands of white hair.
His cheekbones, bones on the top of his eyes, and chin cleft were nicely accentuated. Due to their dark and sunken nature, his eyes themselves are quite focused on and almost hypnotic - a well-known characteristic of the Count. Though he is very VERY "up there" in age, his weathered look gives him a sense of his struggling history and inner strength. Every bit of him seems very particular and almost finely chiseled. Though a strong supernatural being, he still (at times) retains his human qualities and visual emotion is strong within him. The character of Count Dracula is one of the most recognized literary characters in the world - through film, television, merchandise, and of course, novels themselves.
The vision depicted in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is one of many; in my opinion, it's one of the most intricate, most three-dimensional, and most visually stimulating fictional individuals in existence. Thankfully, with many variations of the Count, the more different deviations of makeup and characterization there would be to further complicate and solidify his dark and mysterious being.