it having a very limited video release outside of the US. Video recolouring The 1979 theatrical version looks noticeably different from later prints. When the film was reissued for a widescreen laserdisc release in 1991, the director chose to alter the colour timing, desaturating the look of the film. John Badham had intended to shoot the film in black and white (to mirror the monochrome 1931 film and the stark feel of the Gorey stage production), but Universal Studios executives objected. Cinematographer Gilbert Taylor was prompted to shoot the movie in warm, "golden" colours, to show off the distinctive production design. The original version has not been widely screened since the 1980s. Other than an occasional broadcast, such as on TCM in a pan and scan format, the movie has effectively been out of print. In 2018 a 2.35:1 aspect ratio fan edit restored the theatrical colour timing based on the original laserdisc and VHS releases, as well as set photography and reference materials prompting an official release the following year. A July 2019 Shout! Factory announcement revealed that the movie had been licensed to release the original 1979 theatrical colour version of Dracula on blu-ray; it was released in November 2019. This is the first time the original 1979 Dracula has been made commercially available since first being released on VHS and laserdisc in 1982. It also includes the previously available desaturated version on another disc. In November 2020, Black Hill Pictures and KOCH Media released a newly restored "cinema edition" featuring the 1979 colour version of Dracula on Blu-ray (Region B/2). This is the second time the original 1979 version has been made commercially available making use of higher quality source materials after the release of Shout! Factory's more aged uprint. See also Vampire films References External links Dracula films 1979 films 1979 horror films American supernatural horror films American vampire films British vampire films British supernatural horror films 1970s English-language films Films scored by John Williams Films directed by John Badham Films produced by Walter Mirisch British films based on plays American films based on plays Films set in 1913 Films set in Whitby Films shot in Buckinghamshire Films shot in Cornwall Films shot at Shepperton Studios Romantic horror films Universal Pictures films Films with screenplays by W. D. Richter Films based on adaptations Films based on multiple works 1970s American films 1970s British films Films based