$17.99  The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - DVD |
$22.46  Metropolis (Restored Authorized Edition) - DVD |
$7.98  The Golem - DVD |
$26.98  Nosferatu the Vampyre - DVD |
$13.48  Shadow of the Vampire - DVD |
 [Larger view] | Nosferatu - Special Edition
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| The first Dracula | |
| "Nosferatu" is the story of Count Orlock (Max Schreck) and his seige of a small German town in the 1850s. The story is heavily based on "Bram Stroker's Dracula" (and in all but name "Nasferatu" is the first Dracula movie), that is because director F.W. Murnau wanted to make "Dracula, the studio and Stoker's estate couldn't settle on a price. So they come up with a similer idea with a twist; they made the count into a gient ratlike beast instead of a human being. I actaully think it was an intersting idea, and it certainly worked because this film is a classic mostly because of that immortal image of the bat faced vampire. Also intersting is the plauge because of the infesrtation of rats in the ship. It is an old movie, and a silent one at that, so approach this one with care. | |
| Kino: amazing source and restoration; Image: great score | |
| This is one of the great works of silent cinema and Murnau was one of the great directors in all cinema. The film has had a hard life. DRACULA author Bram Stoker's widow obtained a court order to have all negatives and prints of the film destroyed in the 1920s when the bankrupt film company Prana could pay her no royalties, which she demanded when she learned that NOSFERATU was loosely based on her late husband's novel. She never saw the film, by the way. Luckily, prints did survive, though in various states of quality and length.
On DVD, there are two choices: either the Image or Kino versions. Other DVD versions are from poor, usually heavily cut, sources, and must be avoided altogether. It's not an easy choice. The Image version was made from a fair 35mm tinted print in the 1990s and runs 81 minutes, the most complete source to that date. There are two musical scores provided on that DVD: a forgettable one by the "Silent Orchestra," and a brilliant organ score by Timothy Howard--surely the best score that has ever been composed for this film. The Kino version is visually stunning, the only DVD made from a recently discovered 35mm tinted *negative,* the survival of which is an unanticipated, wonderful surprise. Moreover, it runs 93 minutes, partly owing to a slightly slower and more natural projection speed, but also because more scenes survive in this version. It seems that the Kino edition represents the genuine film created by Murnau. Unfortunately, the Kino release is marred by two horrible musical scores: an electronic one that is more noise than music and is physically painful to the ear, and a foolish one that adds comic touches at inappropriate moments. It's a shame Timothy Howard's organ score on Image can only accompany the incomplete 81 minute version. The only solutions are to watch the Kino edition without music, the less complete Image version with the great organ score, or own both DVD editions, each for a different reason. | |
| FIGURING OUT WHICH NOSFERATU TO BUY | |
| OK, Amazon lists a whole bunch of different versions of "Nosferatu". The only problem is, the reviews for the good editions end up on the pages of the cheap ones. There are only 2 good versions of Nosferatu to choose from - The version from Image, and the newer Kino edition (longer running time, bad music). All the other versions are cheap, public domain, fly-by-night crap! Hopefully this review gets spread around like all the other ones.
If this review was helpful, let me know. |
