DRACULA

The BBC's full-cast dramatization of Bram Stoker's classic horror novel has all the promise of a stirring presentation. Not so, however. While the actors certainly present distinct vocal characterizations with the requisite amount of fear and dark sexuality and while most of the technical elements are more than satisfactory, this adaptation is extraordinarily difficult to follow, even for one who knows the story well. The dramatization has a few moments of terror and more than a few moments of hysteria, but in the final analysis it sounds like a film sound track rather than a dramatic presentation designed to be heard. M.R.E. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 06]