Shadow of the Vampire

Rating:
Summary: Unsatisfying
Review: Intriguing and stimulating, but ultimately disappointing and unsatisfying. The opening credits are beautifully filmed with patterns of intricate designs, and the sound track, the camera work, and the acting of Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich is great. The storyline (a director hiring a real vampire to act the part of a vampire) is very convincingly presented. I especially enjoyed some of the comic scenes between the director (Malkovich) and the vampire (Dafoe). However, the second half is boring.

The DVD does come with plenty of extras, including interviews, trailers, and commentaries. Particularly interesting is a trailer of "Begotten," another movie by E. Elias Merhige, the director of "Shadow of a Vampire."

Rating:
Summary: THE CURSE OF NOSFERATU LIVES ON!
Review: When a German avante-garde movie director in the 1920s named F.W. Murnau sets out to make the ultimate vampire movie, only the supreme "method actor" Max Schreck can be the titular leading man for "Nosferatu," destined to be the seminal vampire film. At first, Schreck's fellow performers think the ugly old man is merely eccentric, but when cast and crew start to disappear mysteriously, they begin to wonder just what Murnau has invited into their midst.

Shadow of the Vampire is an endlessly clever and innovative picture about what might have happened if the now legendary Murnau had shot his vampire masterpiece with a real vampire in the lead. John Malkovich is totally believable in his role as the marginally sane film maker, capturing the full essense of intermingled genius and madness perfectly. Likewise, Willem Dafoe is a splendid nosferatu, at once ogre, cartoon, and hapless victim. Certainly, Dafoe's Max Schreck (who, so far as we know, achieved his immortal performance solely on the basis of his natural acting abilities, and not because of any supernatural qualities!), is a much more sympathetic being than Nosferatu's Count Orlock was ever made to be. Indeed, the entire cast is exceptional, lending an air of authenticity to what could have been a completely farcical fantasy.

Filmed in shots of surreal, dream-like scenes of lingering shadows and intimate close-ups, Shadow of the Vampire is a beautiful viewing experience and a captivating look at the (dysfunctional) artistic ambition. Though perhaps not as exciting as say, John Carpenter's Vampires, Shadow of the Vampire lingers in the imagination longer because of its greater depth and irresistible humanity. A unique film, one that at once harkens back to a grander age of movie-making and makes us more cognizant of those mortal elements that are ever and always a part of our being. Not your typical vampire flick by any means, this is a mature piece of cinema art that I believe Murnau himself would be proud of.

Rating:
Summary: Max Schreck would be very disappointed!!
Review: I'm sorry, but as a fan of the original German expressionist film, this has little in common with F.W. Murnau's vision and it has done a very poor job at encapsulating the time & the place. Those who enjoyed this film obviously know very little about German expressionism or the famed movie itself. I was one of the first people in line to see this movie, and I was severely disappointed as it congealed into a morbid, stupid, laughable joke of a film.

I thought Willam Defoe did one of his worst performances (and normally I like Willam Defoe). The makeup was dreadful - I could see that his glued on nails were glued on. He looked nothing like the real Max Schreck/Nosferatu/Orlock. I think the only reason he was nominated was because of the uniqueness of the character. So what, he was bald with pointy teeth, there was far more to the original makeup than that!! He just looked like Willam Defoe in bad makeup. And that fake German/Transylvanian accent, whatever it was, was too contrived. I thought he'd be better off doing a comedy skit on the "Carol Burnett" show with that accent. Max Schreck as Count Orlock/Nosferatu put out a far superior performnce, and eminated a far more frightening character. However, the real Max Screck was not a vampire, he was really an actor, with a wife, family, and a normal life.

The movie pretty much fell apart, and even if it was fantasy, it was morbid to make a comical character into a blood sucking vampire murderer. The ending was extremely disappointing as well. All I can say is that if Max Schreck were alive today, he'd be very disappointed at the portrayal of his character, if not his genuine persona!!

Rating:
Summary: Funny and scary in turn, this is a wonderful film.
Review: Shadow of the Vampire has an interesting premise, even though it takes enormous liberties. It is based on the making of the classic 1921 German vampire movie, Nosferatu, and gives it a fascinating twist by having Max Shreck, the actor who played Nosferatu in the original film, as a real vampire. This is a fun idea and it is effectively carried through, especially as William Dafoe convincingly recreates the Max Shreck role. The film director, F. W. Murnau, is obsessed with finishing his film regardless of the number of his own crew who 'mysteriously' disappear, victims to the vampire's relentless hunger. "You and I are not so different," says the vampire to Murnau at one point.

A study of the early years of filmmaking and of the obsessive and ruthless pursuit of obsession, this film captures both perfectly. It is both funny and scary in turn. John Malkovich excels, as usual, as the film-director, F.W. Murnau.

Rating:
Summary: Best suited for true movie lovers
Review: If you're a hardcore horror movie fan, forget Shadow of a Vampire. But if you are looking for something clever and amusing, this one's for you. The movie takes a real life event, German director F. W. Murnau's filming of his classic vampire movie, Nosferatu, in 1921, and weaves a fantasy based on this question: What if Max Shreck, the bizarre actor who played the vampire, really was a vampire? Though it lags just a bit at times, the movie is often entertaining and sometimes quite funny. For those who are into actors and acting, Willem Dafoe's performance alone is a good enough reason to watch it.

Murnau [John Malkovich] is portrayed as a control freak and as someone who cares little about anyone but himself. He considers himself a visionary, and, in real life, he truly was a gifted pioneer in the fledgling art of film making. He plans to film most of Nosferatu on location, a cumbersome and tricky thing to do eighty years ago. His party-loving leading lady [Catherine McCormick] is appalled. She would prefer to stay at the studio because she can go to cabarets and be her Bohemian self after work. What no one but Murnau knows is that having to rough it in rural Germany is the least of the cast and crew's problems. They are about to meet Max [Dafoe], who only films at night and who comes to work already in costume. He doesn't need makeup. He looks the part because he is the part. His payment? The leading lady, of course.

The movie is cleverly photographed. When we see the crew filming a scene, the film goes from color to black and white, making it look much like the original Nosferatu. This technique gives modern audiences a good idea of what viewers way back then were seeing. These scenes really are more ominous in black and white.

The supporting cast is quite good, but this is Dafoe and Malkovich's movie. They are spectacular in their scenes together. They show us that, while Shreck is a monster because he sucks people's blood, Murnau is equally evil because he knows how to suck people's souls. The movie wisely uses humor for the most part to make this point.

As I mentioned before, the picture may seem a bit slow at times. Movies about making movies often seem this way, because watching the actual process is not that interesting to many people. So, Shadow of the Vampire is best suited for those audience members who love movies passionately. For the rest, it should prove mildly diverting.

Rating:
Summary: the story of one of the greatest vampire movies of all time
Review: A movie about making a movie - a vampire movie, to be precise. And not about any vampire movie, but one of the all-time genre highlights, with a real vampire instead of an impostor. That sounds like an interesting plotline. And yes, it is - highly enjoyable, superb executed, and with such great actors like John Malkovich as the manic german director F.W. Murnau and accompanied by Willem Dafoe as the real vampire/actor Max Schreck. If you've ever seen the origin (and which devotee of vampire movies has not?), you will sure as hell be delighted about this new angle.

Rating:
Summary: Shadow of the Vampyre
Review: Interesting and inventive spin on the Nosferatu mythos. A black comedy and film-within-a-film, Shadow of the Vampire is certainly worth a look, but by the end you feel that theres something lacking. Though his make-up is really good, Dafoe doesn't really resemble actor Max Schreck. (They don't even have the fangs in this film!). The cast are very good however and in time it may become a minor cult classic, although it isn't very memorable.

Rating:
Summary: The Show Must Go On
Review: Movie Summary: F.W. Murnau is an obsessed movie director working in the year 1922. His current obsession is to make a film version of the novel Dracula. But he is unable to obtain the rights to the novel so he is forced to make an imitation. He gathers a great crew and cast. Everything is a little weird to begin with but when the extremely strange Max Schreck finally appears to play the part of the vampire count, things get out of hand.

My Opinion: The story was interesting in this art house film but it lacked any type of depth. The single premise was stretched pretty thin by the time the end of the movie rolled around. You basically knew what was going to happen, but were forced to sit and wait for the gruesome details. I fear that the filmmakers may have spent too much time making sure the sets and costumes were historically correct, and neglected the script. Both Malkovich and Dafoe give great performances and are the best things in the movie. I couldn't even tell that it was Dafoe under all that ghoulish makeup. But in the end two great performances and a thin story do not make a great movie. I was left wanting something with a little more bite.

DVD Quality: Video: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Sound: DD5.1 Extras: Commentary, Featurette, Photo Gallery, Nicholas Cage interview.

What You Should Do: Rent this if you are into artsy movies because you like to be different. It is even worth a rental for the performances of Malkovich and Dafoe if that interests you. This is not a mainstream movie by any means. It is not a horror movie either. The best description might be a dramatic what if type historical recreation.

Related Movies To Check Out: Being John Malkovitch, Platoon, The Lost Boys

Rating:
Summary: Shadow of Nosferatu
Review: SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE is like a documentary of the making of the 1922 vampire classic NOSFERATU. and sure to be a classic its self. John Malkovich stars as the director F.W. Murnau, that wants to make the very best Vampire movie ever. And think's who would be better to play a vampire on film then a real vampire. So Murnau makes a deal with Max Schreck a real vampire played by (Willem Dafoe) That if Max plays the vampire Count Orlock in Murnau's film NOSFERATU. that at the end of the film he can drink the blood of his female co-star. But no one else that are working on the film knows about the deal or that max schreck is a real vampire they are all just told that max schreck will always stay in character. They are all freaked out by Max Schreck but don't know anything is up until Max starts attacking and killing other members of the film cure and Murnau just keeps filming
SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE is a very good dark and spooky movie
and Willem Dafoe is great as the very spooky Max Schreck aka Count Orlock

Rating:
Summary: Eerie, Dark and Inventive
Review: The movie took me by surprise, I wasn't expecting Nosferatu to be real. The darkness of the film and the poetry used to set the tone worked for me. The acting was very good, especially William Dafoes. The way he would tap his long nails together and pull his face in so it looked like he was sniffing was fascinating. The greediness of the director and the need to get his picture as real as he could makes you wonder if directors are really like this. His obession of getting all the carnage on film makes you think he is a human monster, using dracula as his weapon to inflict death on the innocent. Although, the main actress still feels the need to play out her part even in the throes of her deathbed. The narcisstic need to be a legend still is a consuming passion. Wow, what some people will do to achieve fame. Well, the movies depth and style caused me to give it 4 stars.

Lisa Nary