Nosferatu: The Masters of Cinema Series

Introduction

Of all the films based on books, I can't find any that come close to the sheer number directly or indirectly based on Dracula by the Irish novelist Bram Stoker. With nearly one hundred films with 'Dracula' in the title, and countless others inspired by his vampire lore, the vampire is one of the most enduring cinematic creations of all time.

When Freidrich Wilhelm Murnau decided to adapt Dracula into a feature film, he didn't have the rights so took precautions to avoid possible legal action, changing the locations so London becomes Bremen and the characters so Count Dracula becomes Graf Orlok, Harker becomes Hutter and Mina becomes Ellen (though in some versions, in the intertitles she is called Nina). The rest of the story is similar to Stoker's gothic tale, an estate agent is despatched to meet a reclusive Count to finalise a property deal and, whilst there, the vampiric nobleman develops an interest in the wife of the estate agent. In the title role, Max Shreck has a striking look that is far removed from the character described by Stoker - he has rodent-like teeth, a bald head and pointed ears - and there is nothing remotely attractive about the creature.

Although many prints from the silent era were used and then disposed of, Murnau's film is generally regarded as the first film adaptation of Dracula and the first vampire movie yet, if Stoker's widow's successful legal action had been completely implemented, all copies of Nosferatu would have been destroyed and the film would have disappeared without trace. Fortunately, some copies were hidden from the authorities and Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens went on to become one of the most revered films of the Expressionist movement.

Video

Despite the inevitable print damage that comes with an eighty year old film, Murnau's direction and the cinematography is still fantastic. His use of shadow and foreboding sets still creates a sense of unease and great attention was paid to the set design, with door frames seemingly designed to mirror the shape of Shreck's head, emphasising his other-worldly and creepy appearance. This version has been restored and much of the print damage has gone; it also is presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.37:1.

Films from the silent era generally had several colour tints: sepia for day, blue for night and purple for an 'odd' occurrence and these tints have been restored for this version. Whether you like them or not, and I do, it gives you the opportunity of seeing Nosferatu as it was in the early 1920s.

The intertitles are those from the original film, in German with optional English subtitles, and where they were too badly damaged, they have been painstakingly and lovingly recreated.

Audio

Every version of Nosferatu seemingly has a different musical score, some with ill-fitting piano music but this has the original orchestral score by Hans Erdmann. It is a tremendous piece of music which perfects fits the mood and creates suspense and is available in 5.1 surround or 2.0 stereo.

Extra Features

The commentary by R. Dickson Smith and Brad Stevens is interesting, though there's surprisingly too much dead air, as I thought these academics would have plenty to say. What they do say is informative and worth hearing.

The second disc contains a German documentary called The Language of Shadows, which covers Murnau's upbringing and career, featuring contributions from his niece and experts on his life and work.

There is also a short piece showing how much time and effort went into the restoration process.

By far the best piece of the package is the accompanying 80-page booklet, which is the sort of thing you would buy separately. The only downside is that it's crammed inside the Amaray and would have been better placed outside the box in a slipcase.

Conclusion

Of the many silent horror films and versions of the Dracula story, Nosferatu stands as my favourite in both camps. Although not the iconic version of the vampire Count, Max Shreck's portrayal of Count Orlok is thoroughly creepy, with his long limbs and fingers, bald pate and rat-like appearance, standing as the most sinister of all the movie vampires. He is a plague, a predator pure and simple rather than a dapper aristocrat who moves in high society whilst preying on young women.

I have a great deal of time for the Dracula films of Tod Browning, Terrence Fisher, John Badham and Francis Ford Coppola but the one that stands out above the rest and has unsurprisingly stood the test of time, as unsettling a adaptation of Stoker's novel as has ever been made. Full of startling imagery, Nosferatu is a shining example of the best of German Expressionism and silent horror. Although the Eureka version that I have is very good, with both monochrome and sepia tinted version and a different set of extra features, this Masters of Cinema release is superior in terms of the AV quality and I didn't mind splashing out for the quality.