Production
Roman Polanski talked about production difficulties in his autobiography, Roman: "Our first month's outdoor filming became a series of ingenious improvisations, mainly because the last-minute switch from one location (Austria) to another (Urtijëi, an Italian ski resort in the Dolomites) had left us so little time to revise our shooting schedules. The fact that we were filming in Italy entailed the employment of a certain number of Italian technicians and that, in turn bred some international friction. Gene Gutowski (the film's European producer) rightly suspected that the Italians were robbing us blind."
Cinematographer Douglas Slocombe said: "I think he [Roman] put more of himself into Dance of the Vampires than into any other film. It brought to light the fairy-tale interest that he has. One was conscious all along when making the picture of a Central European background to the story. Very few of the crew could see anything in it—they thought it old-fashioned nonsense. But I could see this background… I have a French background myself and could sense the Central European atmosphere that surrounds it. The figure of Alfred is very much like Roman himself—a slight figure, young and a little defenseless—a touch of Kafka. It is very much a personal statement of his own humor as he used to chuckle all the way through the scenes." This film was the source material for the European stage musical Tanz der Vampire. It is peppered with numerous references to King Richard III of England, who even appears in the ball scene.
When the film was first released in the United States, MGM wanted to market it as a "farce". MGM head editor Margaret Booth and head of theatrical post-production Merle Chamberlain cut 12 minutes' worth of material, and along with adding the animated prologue among other changes, the character of Professor Abronsius was re-dubbed to give him a goofy, cartoony voice that would suit the "kooky" tone of the film. This version was slightly retitled as The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck. This was the version most commonly seen in the US until it vanished from circulation in the mid-1970s. In the early 1980s, MGM unearthed a print of Roman Polanski's original cut and sent it to various repertory & revival houses for screenings. Polanski's cut has garnered new interest and reevaluated opinions from critics and fans of Polanski's work, who have previously bashed the film in its mutilated US cut. Since then, the original version of the film is the one more commonly available today and has been released on VHS, LaserDisc, DVD and Blu-ray, and occasionally airs on TCM.
The Fearless Vampire Killers was Polanski's first feature to be photographed in color using a widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The film is also notable in that it features Polanski's love of winter sports, particularly skiing.
The score was provided by Krzysztof Komeda, who also scored three other films for Polanski, Knife in the Water (1962), Cul-de-sac (1966) and Rosemary's Baby (1968).
