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Summary: Nosferatu ( Alpha Video release )
Review: This dvd has my favorite soundtrack for this film, however, it is out of sync with the video! (which basically ruins it )
The chapter selection is flawed also: there are only 4 chapter selections to choose from; chapter 2 is labeled chapter 1, and so on... so there is no selection for chapter 1.
The title menu is also extremely cheap, showing a small photo of the cover of the dvd case on a background closely resembling the old windows 95 'blue sky with clouds' background image.
Last, and certainly not least, the video quality is terrible.
This one probally isn't worth getting unless you're planning on remastering the dvd with the soundtrack in sync with the video for personal use, and with a decent chapter selection menu. I hope to find that someone has already put a nice version together with this soundtrack on dvd ( I know it exists on vhs ).
Rating: 
Summary: This is an unnacceptably horrible version of Nosferatu
Review: Amazon is doing its customers a great disservice by mixing the reviews with this version of Nosferatu with those of the superior version. DO NOT buy the one with the tinted green picture of Nosferatu coming out of a coffin with the bloody pink font. This has horribly incorrect title cards, Count Orlock is referred to as Dracula and there appears to be missing scenes. Just a big waste of money. Don't get the cheapo version!
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Summary: "Is this your wife? What a lovely throat."
Review: The horror of F.W. Murnau's "Nosferatu" springs from its atmosphere. This was a film made before excessive gore and audience manipulation tricks were employed to produce cheap thrills that passed for fright. This is a vampire flick made before the vampire itself became a cliché. So pure is this vision of darkness that its sense of dread continues to be palpable with each new viewing. A real estate agent in Germany named Knock (Alexander Granach) tells his employee Hutter (Gustav von Wangenheim) to pay a visit to the reclusive Count Orlok (Max Schreck), who has expressed an interest in purchasing a new house. Hutter travels to the Carpathian Mountains and encounters nervous villagers and oddly behaving animals before finally meeting the Count. It does not take long for Hutter to realize he is in danger and soon he finds himself racing Orlok back home to ensure the safety of his beloved Ellen (Greta Schröder). The imagery of "Nosferatu" still retains its ability to haunt one's dreams. Seeing the Count's fast-motion carriage, the ghost ship making its way into the harbor, and the emergence of the Count from his coffin can still send chills up one's spine. Schreck's performance is the total antithesis of Bela Lugosi's famous incarnation of Dracula. There is no glamour to his vampire and there is no charm in his mannerisms. Orlok's persona exudes evil and his features manifest the terrible notions of decay, disease, and death. His character is truly at home in a film that feels so much like a dreadful nightmare.
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Summary: Kino Video DVD is the Superior Version of Nosferatu.
Review: Almost needless to say, F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu is one of the most highly regarded German expressionist silent films, and it is also considered to be one of the greatest adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula. It is also in the public domain, and even the best prints of Nosferatu leave much to be desired. Therefore, there are countless versions of the film on DVD and VHS where the quality ranges from fair to poor and running time varies. I've seen many of these versions and I truly can say that Kino On Video's restored authorized DVD is FAR SUPERIOR to that of any other version I have ever seen. The picture quality is as good as we may ever expect this film to be, the color tinting is appropriate and not over saturated, the croping is fine, projection speed not too fast and not too slow, the intertitles with new translation are excellent considering they were made just for this DVD, and finally the music scores provided are just as effective as any other score for this film I have heard. Nosferatu not only being an excellent film gets its best treatment on this Kino DVD. If you must buy any version of this film, this one is highly recomended and really the only one to buy. Also check out the excellent remake by Werner Herzog and staring Klas Kinski.
Rating:
Summary: The Ancient One
Review: We are accustomed to LISTEN movies. Bad habit. New soundtracks are superfluous for genuine silent film. You've seen NOSFERATU before and were not impressed enough? Really? Turn sound off. Try again. You'll be chilled with the difference.
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Summary: Bets "Dracula" movie ever!
Review: This is the first and the best, but not for the casual viewer. The later version from the 1930's with Bella Legose is awful, and will induce gaging.
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Summary: Which Version Should You Buy?
Review: There are a number of versions of the original Murnau film "Nosferatu" floating around out there, and as a big fan of the film, I've bought most of them and will discuss them so that you don't have to waste time and money trying to decide which to buy. Unfortunately, I am only going to compare the current DVD releases however, and only those in my part of the globe - Region 1. By all means, avoid the embarrassingly bad VHS version with the modern score by "Type-O-Negative". This is a black & white silent film for those who don't know. Sound wasn't invented for another five years after this film was made and color wasn't introduced for another ten to twelve after that. Bram Stoker's widow successfully had most copies of this film destroyed by infringement of copyright during the twenties, so the few existing prints today are sadly in poor condition. Most films in the silent era were color-tinted, and rarely viewed as pure black & white (so don't put all the blame on Ted Turner for starting that trend). As there was no soundtrack in those days, live orchestras performed the music behind the film. Today, if the original score is not known, (as is the case with Nosferatu), then we try and "fake it" with a modern composition recorded onto the cassette, laserdisc, or DVD. Some modern scores are fitting and appropriate, while others just stink (such as the Type-O-Negative score). The other problem with older films is that projectors weren't standardized yet, so people produced films at all sorts of different "running speeds". Today, all film is photographed at 24 frames a second, but back then it was 20, 18, 30, whatever...this is why many films of that era, when translated to present day film, run speedy like a bad episode of the "Keystone Cops". Basically, there are only two DVD versions available that you should consider if you are at all serious about adding this legendary classic to your home collection. First, there's the IMAGE Entertainment version, which has two musical scores: one score is kind of lame and silly, while the second organ score is the better of the two. The DVD in tinted brightly as well. The real gem on this version is an outstanding commentary soundtrack by a German film expert that is so educational. Second, is the best version available, which is produced by Kino. This version has the sharper picture, a slightly better running speed and contains a few scenes not seen in other version (Kino's is also the longest running version available). The Kino version also comes with two scores. The first score is my favorite available and would be perfect if not for a few "vocal" improvisations of a woman gasping when the actress onscreen is scared. It's embarrassing and cheezy. The second score is a completely inappropriate "techno" version that sounds more like a cheap Nine-Inch-Nails rip-off and doesn't fit the film at all. (I don't understand why people insist on giving this film a modern musical score to emphasize it's horror aspects when all they do is demean it). The Kino version sadly does not have a commentary track or it would be perfect. The Kino version is also color-tinted. I would personally like to see a version without color-tinting as I just find that annoying. But as of this date, June 2003, the Kino version of the original 1922 Nosferatu is the one to buy. But if you want the wonderful commentary soundtrack, then go with the IMAGE Entertainment version instead.
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Summary: SILENCE IS STILL GOLDEN
Review: Silence is golden, and no one proves that more that Kino, the most important leader in silent films on video. Now available is this great masterpiece of the German Expressionism that has been digitally remastered from 35mm archival materials and that features new period subtitles.
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Summary: Setting the Record Straight...
Review: I've seen this film a number of times on the big screen but not on VHS or DVD, so can't comment on the quality of any of these "at-home" releases, although I'm familiar with the very fine work done by Kino in restoring and releasing classsic films, and so will purchase theirs when I finally do buy (a class act all the way, they and Criterion are the way to go if you can spend more on your collection). This is a great film, and there's little I can add to the other reviews posted. However, I should point out to some previous reviewers--as well as for the benefit of future viewers/purchasers--that the tinting of certain scenes is NOT a gimmick devised by contemporary video producers.
To the best of my knowledge, this film was, if not initially then very soon afterward, released with specific scenes tinted in order to lend atmosphere (I not only remember reading this, but have yet to view an untinted print). Tinting of negatives, while not the rule of thumb, was not an uncommon practice during the early days of motion pictures; Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera is a case in point (although I think its color segments might have been early Technicolor), and I believe Griffith's Broken Blossoms also has tinted scenes. As a matter of fact, Turner Classic Movies occasionally runs a lovely montage of the first 100 years of film that opens and closes with hand-tinted silent footage. So rest assured that if the Nosferatu you purchase is tinted, you're seeing what Murnau intended you to see, although I can't guarantee that the tints you'll see are the "correct" ones (depending on whose release you purchase). Regardless, I can't imagine anyone's not enjoying this film--it's a must-see!
Incidentally and for what it's worth, I also love Herzog's remake--comparing the two represents a delightful use of viewing time.
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Summary: GOOD AND ORIGINAL 'RE-RELEASE'
Review: Instead of 5 stars i give 3 to this edition, and here's why: I am a fan of the original stuffs, in this case, i bought this edition thinking about the entire classic movie, with a new and improved transfer and without modifications, you know what i mean, just THE apropiated subtitles, additional opcional bg music and the DVD original special features.
I have to tell you that this is transfer of a 'colored version' of the movie. Sometime long ago, someone gave color to the movie: instead of the original black & white, there's black & red when the scene happens during the afternoon, black & yellow in the morning, black & blue in the night...etc.
Another thing, for example: when a caracter reads a letter , this edition replaced the original close ups of the letter and it's contents for a computer generated draw of the letter and its's content, as you can imagine, with funny word fonts in english. This makes a great contrast between the really old movie and the clear old-simulated texts. I think this is a lack of good taste. If you don't care about this little details, just buy it, it's a good and improved editon. A really new way to see and apreciate this classic.
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