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Nosferatu, The Vampire

Nosferatu, The Vampire

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bela Who???
Review: That's the question you'll be asking yourself after viewing Max Shreck's performance as the titular character in Nosferatu. A film once nearly lost to us, Nosferatu is perhaps the film that best represents the creepiness and terror of Stoker's Dracula. Murnau successfully utilizes all the tools and techniques at his disposal to create a film thick with atmosphere. What he is unable to do with dialogue, he does with clever special effects and effectively framed shots and sequences.

This DVD presentation of the film is very good. It offers two musical soundtracks. The first is a simple organ meant to show how the audience would have experienced the film 80 years ago. The second is a modern orchestral composition that I feel better serves the film. It has a haunting, gothic feel to it that fits the action on-screen like a glove. There is also a commentary track by noted film historian Lokke Heiss. While Heiss is clearly a very learned scholar, he is one dull commentator. Honestly, I have an appreciation of silent film but his droning on without the benefit of a musical backdrop nearly put me to sleep. Heiss also narrates a much shorter featurette on the present-day sites of the film that is a little easier to swallow.

I urge you if you are either a film enthusiast or a fan of the horror genre to pick up this well done presentations of one of the best films ever (silent or otherwise).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Creepy and creaky
Review: If you can get past the antiquity of this film (it looks like it was made in an Edison lab) you are in for the treat of one of the creepiest vampire movies around. Lots of images that will give you the willies. Director Murnau is in great form here.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Everlasting Life and Greta Schroeder
Review: I bought "Nosferatu" on Halloween night, to screen a double-feature with "Shadow of the Vampire". This turned out to be a terrific idea and caused me to wish, for the first time since childhood and my array of Star Wars costumes, that Halloween came eleven or twelve times a year.

"Nosferatu" may be 80 years old, but its influence is, amusingly enough, going to be eternal. The "Symphony of Horror" special edition DVD is absolutely a must-have, with three audio tracks that basically create three different versions of the film, and with three excellent mini-features.

The basic audio track is an organ score derived from early-19th-century Romantic composers. Married to the film's flickering tinted images, this makes ideal Halloween (or, indeed, any post-midnight) viewing. The second audio score is more experimental, more modern, and much, much more fun. Whereas the organ track basically lies underneath the movie and provides a traditional (if static) experience, the "Silent Orchestra" compositions give the undead film a new life. This rock-jazz-classical track positively breathes in the way that Dracula never could.

The final audio track is the commentary by German film expert Lokke Heiss. Don't be fooled by the man's voice and delivery, which is about as dynamic as balsa wood and interesting as an American cheese sandwich on white bread. He cites both scholarly film treatises and Stephen King as he discusses Murnau's influences, the film's light-dark composition, and the use of mirrors and windows within the movie. This is a terrific commentary track in that it increased my understanding of the move ten-fold. Pity they couldn't have had someone with an actual voice (like Christopher Lee) read Mr. Heiss's words.

The featurettes range from cute to weird. Weirdest is the "Nosfera-Tour", ten minutes worth of home movies narrated once more by Heiss (oy vey) as he presents pictures of what the film's "Wisborg" looks like in the year 2000. The "Phantom Carriage Ride" is very eerie, spotlighting as it does one of the truly *bizarre* moments in the film. Finally, the art/photo gallery is splendid, one of the best galleries I've seen on a DVD. The real treasure comes at the beginnng -- the charcoal drawings that were producer Albin Grau's original renderings of Nosferatu.

The DVD packaging -- cardboard case with plastic snap -- may be cheap, but it contains within one of filmdom's finest moments, and provides far more than just 81 minutes of enjoyment. Highly, highly recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I'm looking for you help!!!!!!
Review: I'm just getting into German expressionist movies, and Nosferatu is by far the most genious movie I've seen thus far. I have to admit that this is the only version and adaption of Nosferatu I've seen. Now I'm looking for the raw, original and untouched version. That means, without recomposed music and without improved images... Does anyone know a way for me to obtain that version? And then I have another question. I read once about 'the first horrormovie ever made'. It was also a vampiremovie and dated back to 1896 and was described in a Amzazon.com review of Nosferatu...but I'm not able to find that review anymore. If there's anyone who's got an idea of how I can get that movie, please e-mail me or something!!!...I will be looking for it my entire life...

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Terrible transfer to tape
Review: This particular version of Nosferatu done by Timeless Video is awful. The soundtrack is not done accordingly to the movie - the songs are just classics, and most of the time, they are really cheerful, which totally ruins the mood of the film. The titles don't fit on the screen, so you miss the last line of most of the titles, plus the first and last words on either side of the screen. I do not recommend the Timeless Video version. I found myself not enjoying Nosferatu as much as I should because the quality of this tape was so terrible.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Blah...
Review: I do not suggest purchasing this DVD. I'm just lucky I only paid $... for it in a bargain bin. Although it's interesting to watch the movie to music by Type O Negative, they destroyed the movie by removing the title sequence, end credits, and "subtitles" and added their own. The movie is NOT in it's original aspect ratio, as the box suggests, and the "trailer" is only an advertisement for the DVD, not the original trailer for the film. Overall, a poor compilation.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: You must buy this one!
Review: The new edition of the restored NOSFERATU is even more improved than the former version. The new transfer is far more crisper, sharper, allows us to explore the visual sensibilities of Murnau's beautifully worked out compositions, the subtle nuances lights and shadows. The intertitles' design is more elaborated and enhance the film's gothic, haunting, yet inteligent and authentic feeling; taking form of a historical record of "the great death of Wisborg in 1843". The Timothy Howard organ score seemed to me perfect for the film, but the new modern score by the Silent Orchestra is also very interesting in exloring another dimention of Murnau's vison of "a symphony of horror". While the organ score enhance the classic horror aspect of fear, the new score freely explores the psychological dimentions of the story, of sex, desire, and frustratrions. Both tracks are on this DVD. The new special features includes series of comparions of the film's scenes and photos of the locations as they look today, guided by Lokke Haas, who also provides an insightful audio commentary (which was already on the former edition). With the new transfer, ofcourse one would see that most of this "German Expressionist" classic was actually, mostly shot on location... Well, now we can compare it with how the actual places look like. No need to say, NOSFERATU is the first film adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel DRACULA, and today still remains the best, and probably even the most modern cinematic vision to this apocalyptic tale. Frankly, the dashing gentleman-vampyre as portrayed by Bela Lugosi et all is not scary at all to contemporary eyes, while Max Schreck's incredible performance as the blood-sucking count, weak at the first sight, victim of his own desire, touches something underneath our mind, the subcontious nerve of fear within us. It may be the dark-side portrayal of our sexy human desire...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Original--Accept No Substitutes!
Review: Max Schreck is the original and ultimate silver screen Dracula. Seeing the grotesque monster figure in black & white, without the benefit of hearing any words spoken, only adds to the terror. As a horror flick, this silent masterpiece stands alone. --Ironically the name "Schreck" translates to "shock or fright" as in "you frightened me!". This film certainly has the power to give you a "schreck"...from beginning to end! Enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Nosferatu looks better than ever
Review: This version of Nosferatu looks as good as the movie ever will. The color tints are done tastfully, without attracting too much attention to them, the score is both effective, yet subtle and the print quality is the best I've ever seen. Part of the appeal of this film, despite the legendary stories behind the making of the film and its infamous cast, is the fact that people and places don't look the same as they did in 1922. No amount of makeup, set design, or costume could ever account for 80 years of history. Something about this movie is and has always been simply captivating.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Nost for me!
Review: DIE Ted Turner!

Ted ruined forever our ability to see some movies as they are best seen and remembered. I don't WANT Nosferatu in color. I want it in B&W. Now i have to look for it (already) in used video stores.

All is Lost

Ricky


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