Ronan Vibert, Vibertology, Dracula, Vampires
Rear Window
n. Dracula ~ the Undiscovered Country
~ UK TV Documentary Series (C4) 1993: 
appx 40mins    Ronan content:  100% (audio) 15% (visual)
Wri: no credit      Dir: Sue Clayton     SeriesProd: Tariq Ali 
Availability: n/a
Plot/Comments:

T his documentary on the history of the vampire myth balances Anne Rice goth 'tragedy' and pose with plenty of Hammer Horror cheese.
         As well as the rather lyrical lit-crit soundbites discussing the enduring appeal of the myth, the programme uses a lot of seemingly historical Eastern European records to give a real sense of the folklore origins.
        While not always successful (too much terrible Hammer acting is used to illustrate a very serious script while there's not nearly enough use of the incredible Near Dark), it's a very comprehensive collection of sources, clearly showing how our attitudes to the myth have changed over the centuries and decades.
A lone, ashen-faced figure in a modern black suit sits at an antique, tome-laden desk in a medieval cellar/library: it is Ronan Vibert in semi-Vampire Lestat fig; all red-rimmed eyes, pale skin and enigmatic manner (though without the fangs).

His mysterious, rather doomed voiceover accompanies the old film footage, and it is especially effective when the telling of the ancient European folklore is combined with footage from b/w documentaries of local ceremonies, and (coincidentally) Nosferatu (see Shadow of the Vampire).
The programme frequently cuts back to the darkened cellar, where Vibert sits, directly addressing the camera, which is often set at odd horror-flick angles, or in extreme close-up.
      As the programme progresses, he is shown in varying states of depression, dishevelment and roguishness: clean-shaven/stubble; drinking/smoking; intense/mischievous; dark and more than vaguely psychotic.
     It ends on the 'who would choose eternal life?' note, with Vibert delivering some poetic closing lines sounding  numb, isolated, and dejected.
     He gives an enigmatic  performance. 
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VIBERTOGRAPHY
Vibert played Lestat in a Without Walls documentary on Anne Rice: it should be very promising, based on this performance.
(please email if this is in your possession).
Typical Quotes:
  • "They were not evil, just unwilling to go, and driven to hunt those they loved. They became known as Vampyr"
  • "But the vampire was transformed from a twighlight soul, trapped between life and death into a monster"
  • "Boundaries between mind and body, man and animal, reason and passion, became less certain"
  • "Total Loving, 1978" <lascivious grin>
  • "Vampires always offered an escape from the burden of time. But who is interested enough in the future to want eternal life?"
Trivia: n. Thanks to Rachel Dittrich for unearthing and loaning.