Vampire Film

by Alain Silver, James Ursini

Book by Silver, Alain, Ursini, James

Genres: Horror, Vampires, Nonfiction, Film, Research, Media Tie In

1 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 1976

About the author

Alain Silver has co-written and co-edited a score of books including The Samurai Film, The Noir Style, The Vampire Film, Raymond Chandlers Los Angeles, director studies of David Lean and Robert Aldrich, and four Film Noir Readers. His articles have appeared in numerous film journals, newspapers, and online magazines. He holds a Ph.D. from UCLA and is a member of the Writers Guild of America west and the Directors Guild of America.

Reviews

[Michelle Boyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this on accident, and checked it out from the library in order to review some of the content. Surprise surprise, this book is filled with tons of information about all of the vampire tv and movies that one could ask for. It includes lots of photos as well to guide you. Not necessarily the deepest analysis of any particular film, but overall gives you some good ideas of where to start if you are completing research--or if you're just curious!

[Mizuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of beautiful vampire movies' posters, a lot of photos from different vampire movies, a great deal of information about vampire movies which existence I barely knew, but the analysts parts of different vampire movies aren't finely done, and this leaves a lot of things to be desired.

[Horror DNA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's set the record straight: The Vampire Film: From Nosferatu to True Blood Fourth Edition is not light reading.  It is a serious reference for those interested in the genre. For good and bad, it looks, smells, weighs, and reads like a college textbook.  It's a hearty 488 pages, containing 800 stunning color photographs and a ridiculously impressive 700+ filmography that will quickly become a vampire lovers go-to resource when either studying for their Dracula 101 mid-term at The University of Transylvania or attempting to silence that annoying horror film-loving friend who claims to know it all when it comes to blood suckers, despite still living in his parents basement.

You can read TGM's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.

[Paul Beecher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure why reviews of the latest (3rd) edition of this book (which is viewable with "author unknown" and no reviews on this site) are posted here. In any case, the updated and expanded version with hundreds of color illustrations is, like the first and second editions, the definitive study of this genre. Given the surfeit of cheap mostly awful movies that the new technology has permitted, doubtful there will be a new edition, so read this first then do the research since 2010 on your own. Too bad that some of the obscure but worthwhile movies cited by these authors remain unavailable to stream.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing better than to watch some vampire movie in the cold season. In this volume with many excellent movie stills you read about the sources of vampire lore, historical vampires (e.g. Peter Cushing and Ingrid Pitt), the male vampire, Dracula (House of Dracula, etc...), the female vampire, Carmilla Karnstein, other daughters of darkness, Hammer and Victorian psychology, Bram Stoker's Dracula (Coppola's film), The Lost Boys, Buffy, Countess Dracula and an absorbing filmography. This is the ultimate guide if you want to bite into vampire films. Highly recommended!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10
bleh i vaunt too dreenk yoor blüd

[T.J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like all things vampire, and this "Textbook" on The Vampire Film was certainly informative. However, there were just SO MANY TYPOS...OMG...it was very hard to overlook them because they made my reading of the different sections stilted. I'd trip up on certain things thinking I read it wrong when actually it was written wrong (i.e. "marital" instead of "martial") I know, I know this isn't supposed to be some great and astounding work of fiction, but the typos were just too much. The book was cool, but next time...please edit better before publishing. Sorry.

[Lyric · Rating 4 out of 5]

The definitive guide to vampire films. They seriously do cover everything from NOSFERATU to TRUE BLOOD. If you love vampire films, or are interested in making films, then this book is for you. It gives readers a clear understanding of the early vampire lore and connects it with modern tales, as well as studies how the stories/characters have evolved over the years.

[Jessie B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly comprehensive look at vampires on film, this book gives a good overview of the genre.