Nosferatu: The Vampyre/Phantom Der Nacht
starring: Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor, Walter Ladengast
directed by: Werner Herzog
directed by: Werner Herzog
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Werner Herzog's remake of F.W. Murnau's original vampire classic is at once a generous tribute to the great German director and a distinctly unique vision by one of cinema's most idiosyncratic filmmakers. Though Murnau's Nosferatu was actually an unauthorized adaptation of BramStoker's Dracula, Herzog based his film largely on Murnau's conceptions--at times directly quoting Murnau's images--but manages to slip in a few references to Tod Browning's famous version (at one point the vampire comments on the howling wolves: "Listen, the children of the night make their music."). Longtime Herzog star Klaus Kinski is both hideous and melancholy as Nosferatu (renamed Count Dracula in the English language version). As in Murnau's film, he's a veritable gargoyle with his bald pate and sunken eyes, and his talon-like fingernails and two snaggly fangs give him a distinctly feral quality. But Kinski's haunting eyes also communicate a gloomy loneliness--the curse of his undead immortality--and his yearning for Lucy (Isabelle Adjani) becomes a melancholy desire for love. Bruno Ganz's sincere but foolish Jonathan is doomed to the vampire's will and his wife, Lucy, a holy innocent whose deathly pallor and nocturnal visions link her with the ghoulish Nosferatu, becomes the only hope against the monster's plague-like curse. Herzog's dreamy, delicate images and languid pacing create a stunningly beautiful film of otherworldly mood, a faithful reinterpretation that by the conclusion has been shaped into a quintessentially Herzog vision. --Sean Axmaker
Werner Herzog's remake of F.W. Murnau's original vampire classic is at once a generous tribute to the great German director and a distinctly unique vision by one of cinema's most idiosyncratic filmmakers. Though Murnau's Nosferatu was actually an unauthorized adaptation of BramStoker's Dracula, Herzog based his film largely on Murnau's conceptions--at times directly quoting Murnau's images--but manages to slip in a few references to Tod Browning's famous version (at one point the vampire comments on the howling wolves: "Listen, the children of the night make their music."). Longtime Herzog star Klaus Kinski is both hideous and melancholy as Nosferatu (renamed Count Dracula in the English language version). As in Murnau's film, he's a veritable gargoyle with his bald pate and sunken eyes, and his talon-like fingernails and two snaggly fangs give him a distinctly feral quality. But Kinski's haunting eyes also communicate a gloomy loneliness--the curse of his undead immortality--and his yearning for Lucy (Isabelle Adjani) becomes a melancholy desire for love. Bruno Ganz's sincere but foolish Jonathan is doomed to the vampire's will and his wife, Lucy, a holy innocent whose deathly pallor and nocturnal visions link her with the ghoulish Nosferatu, becomes the only hope against the monster's plague-like curse. Herzog's dreamy, delicate images and languid pacing create a stunningly beautiful film of otherworldly mood, a faithful reinterpretation that by the conclusion has been shaped into a quintessentially Herzog vision. --Sean Axmaker
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- magnificently dark and believable
As one would expect from Herzog, this is a version of the Dracula story that is turned upside down:the hero is Lucy (the sister who is turned into a vampire in other versions), who understands what the count really is and seeks to destroy him all alone.Van Helsing in this version must be dragged along to see the truth, as he is a doddering old man at the end of his career and capacities to think.Indeed, he is a useless scientist.The time is also earlier, pre-industrial and with echos of the ... Read More
Rating: - Brilliant remake of Cinema's definitive Vampire Classic.
Herzog's remake of the F.W.Murnau masterpiece of 1922, is one of the most beautifully realized films on the vampire ever made. Alot of the film appears shot for shot, but Herzog adds his own touch to the proceedings that makes the images indelible. Herzog's film lacks the creepiness of the Murnau film and certainly Kinski can not frighten the same way that Max Schreck could in the silent original. This version brings more of a sense of pathos to the vampire and Kinski brings one of his most nuanced ... Read More
Rating: 
- The Vampire According to Herzog
As a youngster, I remember seeing a clip of the original Nosferatu on television - some sort of movie monster documentary, I assume - and I still remember that image of Max Schrek, hunched over and roaming the deck of the ship that brings him to Germany, with his grasping, outstretched claws, and the unreal shade of the sky behind him.In all the years following, I've never tracked down a copy of the whole film - I'm afraid the impression I have from that singular memory of thirty or more years ago ... Read More
Rating: - The OG Vampire
Nosferatu should absolutely be respected for it's contribution to, and advancement of, the film industry and particularly horror movies. The film offers special effects that were cutting edge at the time and still maintain some of their power in creating terror and tension. I had reservations about watching Nosferatu. Since I love movies that make good use of sound, the idea of silent film didn't interest me. I had similar prejudices toward the special effects, cinematography, acting, etc. I figured ... Read More
Rating: - Nosferatu/Herzog
Quick service.Quality item.5 stars.Not Murnau or Browning or Shrek or Lugosi, but it comes together beautifully.
- magnificently dark and believableAs one would expect from Herzog, this is a version of the Dracula story that is turned upside down:the hero is Lucy (the sister who is turned into a vampire in other versions), who understands what the count really is and seeks to destroy him all alone.Van Helsing in this version must be dragged along to see the truth, as he is a doddering old man at the end of his career and capacities to think.Indeed, he is a useless scientist.The time is also earlier, pre-industrial and with echos of the ... Read More
- Brilliant remake of Cinema's definitive Vampire Classic.Herzog's remake of the F.W.Murnau masterpiece of 1922, is one of the most beautifully realized films on the vampire ever made. Alot of the film appears shot for shot, but Herzog adds his own touch to the proceedings that makes the images indelible. Herzog's film lacks the creepiness of the Murnau film and certainly Kinski can not frighten the same way that Max Schreck could in the silent original. This version brings more of a sense of pathos to the vampire and Kinski brings one of his most nuanced ... Read More
- The Vampire According to HerzogAs a youngster, I remember seeing a clip of the original Nosferatu on television - some sort of movie monster documentary, I assume - and I still remember that image of Max Schrek, hunched over and roaming the deck of the ship that brings him to Germany, with his grasping, outstretched claws, and the unreal shade of the sky behind him.In all the years following, I've never tracked down a copy of the whole film - I'm afraid the impression I have from that singular memory of thirty or more years ago ... Read More
- The OG VampireNosferatu should absolutely be respected for it's contribution to, and advancement of, the film industry and particularly horror movies. The film offers special effects that were cutting edge at the time and still maintain some of their power in creating terror and tension. I had reservations about watching Nosferatu. Since I love movies that make good use of sound, the idea of silent film didn't interest me. I had similar prejudices toward the special effects, cinematography, acting, etc. I figured ... Read More
- Nosferatu/HerzogQuick service.Quality item.5 stars.Not Murnau or Browning or Shrek or Lugosi, but it comes together beautifully.
