English lawyer Jonathan Harker (Reeves) travels to a remote Transylvanian castle to lease its proprietor, one Count Dracula, a dusty old Abbey in London. When the Count (Oldman) spies a picture of Jonathan's fiancée Mina (Ryder), he's even more excited to reach London, as she resembles a lover in his very distant past. Once there, Dracula really paints the town red.

A rare instance when a remake brings with it something new, Coppola's "Dracula" recounts Bram Stoker's oft-filmed tale with a graphic intensity the honored 1931 original can't match. Oldman is a marvel in the title role, changing forms with startling rapidity and his pursuit of Mina and her close friend Lucy (Sadie Frost) contains a blatantly sexual charge, helping earn its "R" rating. Anthony Hopkins is also well-cast as Van Helsing, and look for singer Tom Waits as the fly-eating Renfield. Kudos to Coppola for such a bold, colorful, and kinetic re-invention of this immortal story.