1979 ‘Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht’ Directed by Werner Herzog
Jonathan Harker, a real state agent, goes to Transylvania to visit the mysterious Count Dracula and formalize the purchase of a property in Wismar. Once Jonathan is caught under his evil spell, Dracula travels to Wismar where he meets the beautiful Lucy, Jonathan's wife, while a plague spreads through the town, now ruled by death.
Klaus Kinski Isabelle Adjani Bruno Ganz Roland Topor Walter Ladengast Martje Grohmann Carsten Bodinus Beverly Walker Jacques Dufilho Clemens Scheitz John Leddy Rudolf Wolf Štefan Husár Lo van Hensbergen Johan te Slaa Jan Groth Bo van Hensbergen Claude Chiarini Margiet van Hartingsveld Tim Beekman Roger Berry Losch Rijk de Gooyer Dan van Husen Werner Herzog
Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night, Nosferatu de Vampier, Upír Nosferatu, Nosferatu: O Vampiro da Noite, Νοσφεράτου: Το Φάντασμα της Νύχτας, Το Σπέρμα του Βρυκόλακα, Νοσφεράτου: Ο Δράκουλας της νύχτας, Nosferatu, fantôme de la nuit, Nosferatu, vampiro de la noche, Nosferatu, el vampiro, Nosferatu - Il principe della notte, Nosferatu, o Fantasma da Noite, Nosferatu, fantoma nopții, Носферату: Призрак ночи
Letterboxd can be a lonely place sometimes. When I first watched Aguirre: The Wrath of God, I was underwhelmed beyond belief. Here, supposedly, was a masterful film about the descent into madness; and I was left cold. Amateurish camerawork, lazy editing, and one great performance by Klaus Kinski equals an experience that left me saying; "really?"
Now, let me preface this review by saying that Werner Herzog's filmography is hit/miss with me. Rescue Dawn and Grizzly Man blew me away on their respective viewings, and I already mentioned how I feel about Aguirre: The Wrath of God. So, I went into Nosteratu The Vampyre with level expectations.
Well, I shouldn't have worried, because this film is utterly incredible.
This is…
As a society we should be working together to prevent the circumstances that could create a man such as Klaus Kinski. But I'm no pie in the sky idealist. I've seen who you idiots vote for. I know we're not gonna do that any time soon. So in the meantime I concede that our next best option as a global community is to dress these men up in bald caps and finger extensions and let them play Draculas. I hope Eggers casts a real life serial killer in his version. Sure people will whine, but these people are going to whine no matter what, just like how serial killers are going to serial kill. It's just nature, like the plague rats in this movie. You can even execute the serial killer right after shooting wraps. "That's a wrap on Mitchell Patrick Cameron, everybody!"
Sorry if that's a real guy's name.
"Do you think we've all gone mad, and that one morning we'll all wake up and find ourselves in straight-jackets?"
Yes.
An excellent movie! Directed by Werner Herzog and staring the legendary Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula and featuring the famed actress Isabella Adjani as Lucy! The movie starts out the typical way most tales of Count Dracula are told. Then becomes a very symbolic artistic interpretation which I won’t spoil the ending but ends like no other tailing. It is a must see! Check it out!
Breathtaking cinematography capturing the wretched, tortured soulless creature Dracula (Klaus Kinski) in full blown melancholy due to loneliness and wish to escape his immortal imprisonment!
The strangest thing about Werner Herzog's Nosferatu is that I consider it a perfect remake of the original Nosferatu as well as easily the best vampire movie I've ever seen, but despite all that it still somehow doesn't live up to the promise made by the absolutely incredible opening credits. The movie begins with footage of real life mummies and incredibly creepy orchestral music. It brings into focus the ideas of death, the afterlife, eternity, and the undead, all of which will form one of the many thematic kernels of the forthcoming narrative. It gave me chills. The music is brought back later and overall I absolutely loved the movie, but there's something truly haunting about this opening which is…
How do you become Werner Herzog?
There are many ways, and Herzog, being the actual man himself, obviously has done them all, but one of those ways is to set out to remake one of the greatest films of all time some fifty-seven years after the original dropped and then you fucking nail it.
Another way is to release 11,000 rats all at once and make sure the camera is rolling (actually I think he only got 5,000 rats released because Herzog is a narcissistic asshole who was commonly cruel to animals for his art during this period of his career, and he managed to accidentally kill more than half of his stock through mis-care before he even got the…
Amazing how much more sensitive I get to certain things as I get older. When I saw this at age 13, I didn't have any reaction at all to the images of mummified corpses in the opening credits. Now? They really creep me out! This whole movie is insanely spooky. It just makes you sit in these images of rot and abjection. There are some funny moments, but no camp. It takes vampires seriously, and wants us forget we've seen Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee or their many imitators.
This was my first Werner Herzog movie, and I rented it assuming it would be an ordinary horror movie. I didn't know who Herzog or Klaus Kinski were at the time.…
what a full blown homage to the original, to the genre, to german expressionism, to film in general. might be Herzogs best. wasn't aware how good his gothic ride actually is.
sets, decoration, framing, score, lighting - everything is absolutely stunning. some of the most impressive images and filmic moments I've seen in a while. breathes pure love for the art form. what a master Herzog was (/is). a true craftsman taking on big tasks, as we all know, but here his whole sketchbook really comes together.
the stiff endeavors of the rest of the players - slightly comedical - highlight even more the exhausted, overwhelmed, existentialistic act of Klaus "born for this role" Kinski. set into the right light…
Unexpectedly haunting. It takes the guts of a very brave and visionary auteur to do a handful of things implied in the act of resurrecting an immortalized horror icon through literature and cinema:
-Incorporate Herzog's immaculate, auteuristic arthouse perspective into a retelling of a famous horror legend
-Make Isabelle Adjani seem angelical in every physiognomic expression and reaction she has on screen
-Solidify Klaus Kinski's reputation as one of the most gifted actors in cinema to depict evil and madness
-Incorporate a haunting, unforgettable, poetic and beautiful soundtrack that had to include Richard Wagner and Popol Vuh
The opening terrifies the soul for life. The narrative is poetically swaying. The cinematography is almighty. The writing pays the proper literary respect…
