MovieChat Forums > Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1969) Discussion > Mistake adds depth

Mistake adds depth

posted 20 years ago by salamanderee
54 replies | jump to latest

Fairly early in the film, the young hero Paul gets into an argument with the Monsignor. Though I don't have the exact quote, Paul says something to the effect of "I'm an atheist! I don't know whether God exists or not."

Now, it seems likely to me that this confusion between "atheist" and "agnostic" is just a slip on Anthony Hinds's part. However, it adds a charming depth to Paul's character. He is a student, after all, and this slip up shows that he is the type of student (probably just as common in the 19th century as in the 21st) who has been educated beyond his intellectual capacity. He wants to be heard using the word "atheist," so people know how smart he is. Paul's real education comes later in the film, and by then, for him, the difference between "atheist" and "agnostic" is rather a moot point.

Sometimes a blunder can be felicitous.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] politicon2003 12 years ago

Hey fellows, how many angels do you think would fit on a pin head? Did any camel ever succeed in passing through the eye of a needle, or walk along the razor's edge without falling into the abyss? I know one female camel called Najat who swears she has managed the feat of passing through a needle's eye but I don"t believe her at all!

[–] Roddenhyzer 12 years ago

... who has been educated beyond his intellectual capacity. He wants to be heard using the word "atheist," so people know how smart he is.

As cute as you may have thought this little jab at atheists to be, it's not a very plausible interpretation of the scene, considering that it doesn't fit Paul's character at all. Absolutely nothing in the movie indicates him to be an intellectual showoff in any sense. It's always other characters who make reference to his academic ambitions. The dinner scene doesn't portray him as particularly proud of his lack of belief either. Rupert Davies' question makes him feel uncomfortable and conflicted between his sense of honesty and his manners, knowing full well that an honest answer would offend the monsignor.

And of course, as others have pointed out, you got the quote wrong to begin with. He does declare a clear disbelief in god.

[–] bastasch8647 10 years ago

He does declare a clear disbelief in god.

Yes, and the film - rightly - does not diss him for that. But he is consistent with his own honor of honesty when at the end he embraces faith. Not by an act of faith, but by direct experience of spiritual/metaphysical good vs. evil. He witnesses vampirism's supernatural evil, but he also witnesses religion's supernatural good via its methods of destroying the vampire. As a "common sense" kind of person, once Paul has verified the existence of the supernatural via direct experience, he accepts faith as a logical consequence of his experience. Paul remains loyal to himself.