Hmm - that was not too helpful. Surely someone must be able to clean that up with today’s technical capabilities.
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I forgive him anything. So so cute.
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I always thought this movie was a joke that the whole cast new about except Kevin Costner.
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Almost as bad as his “southern” accent from Tune In Tomorrow (which is otherwise a delightful film)
https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w600_and_h900_bestv2/cMabi4aTi9mYs29tFS5Bh2DSEPi.jpg
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There are recordings of Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning from around then as well. Presumably they all had to over-enunciate a bit for the machinery’s benefit, and have also put on their public speaking voice.
There are also later recordings of posh Brits who were alive in the 1890s, perhaps most obviously Churchill.
[I too am British, and don’t think Keanu’s accent is all that bad]
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Such a good movie! An adaptation of Aunt Julia and the Scriptwiter, which is also just wonderful.
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Agreed. Back when it came out the phrase we used to discuss his performance in Dracula was “every line like a stone, falling from his lips”, which really was unfair. He’s fine in it, and he’s pretty. Which was why he was there
Welcome to the BBS!
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I never thought it was that bad and we now have two ppl who are British, although one did emigrate.
The trashing of Keanu’s accent in that movie always struck me as USians not understanding that there are a lot of regional accents in Britain, so the ones we are most familiar with are not all of them. Also, I always thought of Keanu as playing a character that is trying so hard to sound upper crust but just didn’t attend the right boy’s school to get it right
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Oldman was amazing in this. Also, let’s not forget Tom Waits as Renfield.
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It’s true. I kept hoping that Harker would do something bold instead of just standing there like a handsome door stop.
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He did an ok southern/hill accent in The Gift.
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Yeh everyone knows he’s American, which is a shame being that he’s Canadian 
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Keanu is a little out of his depth. And I heard a critic speculate that he wasn’t great at re-dubbing his lines in post op. BUT - still an very enjoyable film and love to see the old school visual effects!
When it came out I was turned off by the comic art and collateral for Dracula’s armor. I just didn’t like it. Wasn’t super keen on Dracula’s look in the castle. But now I need to hunt down the comics and like the visuals for the film, including the armor.
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The aristocracy?
Wow! I never knew such old audio recordings existed. Thank you.
There is definitely something different about the way she pronounces “shore”. I can’t write IPL though, so I can’t explain it.
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Yes, I specifically chose Florence because she wasn’t reciting a poem, which is probably a bit more realistic in terms of everyday speech. Although she definitely did have to overenunciate, I’m sure
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I think that there are two things here: Keanu’s accent and the dialogue that he is asked to perform.
I would challenge anyone to deliver:
“For it is Dracula, and he has grown young!” (if my memory serves me correctly)
Whether they be Canadian, American or British in a Victorian period accent and not sound like an arse…!
P.S. Tom Waits’ performance comes from another universe! 
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Welcome to BoingBoing Kiwi
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See also Stephen Boyd’s portrayal of Messala in Ben Hur as a jilted gay lover. Everyone except Charlton Heston seemed to be in on it.
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Personally what I’ll never forget from that movie is Winona in that nightgown 
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And Tune in Tomorrow is great - Barbara Hershey and Peter Faulk - hilarious movie.
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