Nosferatu The Vampyre (1979) (Blu-ray Review)
Directed By: Werner Herzog
Starring: Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz
Rated: PG/Region A/1:85/1080p/Number of Discs 1
Available from Scream Factory
It is 1850 in the beautiful, perfectly-kept town of Wismar. Jonathan Harker is about to leave on a long journey over the Carpathian Mountains to finalize real estate arrangements with a wealthy nobleman. His wife, Lucy begs him not to go and is troubled by a strong premonition of danger. Despite her warnings, Jonathan arrives four weeks later at a large, gloomy castle. Out of the mist appears a pale, wraith-like figure with a shaven head and deep-sunken eyes who identifies himself as Count Dracula. The events that transpire slowly convince Harker that he is in the presence of a vampyre. What he doesn’t know is the magnitude of danger he, his wife and his town are about to experience.
Here we have Werner Herzog giving us his take on the 1922 Nosferatu. He smartly casts Klaus Kinski in the role of the legendary and iconic vampire and the rest could be said to be history. It is hard to do business these days and here one man learns that the hard way as he goes to close a deal in an area nobody will travel. That doesn’t turn him away and neither does the site of a man with greay skin, fangs, and long fingers when he opens the door for him. There are some logical moments lost in Nosferatu, but at the same time we have a very Gothic styled film that brings great performances and a very dark tone to the screen. I always found myself more drawn to the Dracula films that show him in this ugly and gruesome form rather than the others of the world that make the man some handsome force. You can appreciate this type of vampire more.
You can also appreciate the performance of Isabelle Adjani. She plays the poor girl who’s husband is in the grips of Nosferatu and ends up pretty much being the only person who is able to try to take a stand against the vampire when he leave the castle and heads into her town. There is a bit of a slower nature to the film and I could make speculation and few trims on the running time could make what you get even better, but if you sit through the sluggish parts you shouldn’t be let down by what you get. When it comes to the look of the Blu-ray, it seems to be a mixed bag in some ways. The first starts off a little spotty with some scenes looking great and other dealing with film print issues I’m sure. The stuff after Nosferatu makes his way to the city looks much much better and does tend to make up for the slow start of the transfer.
– German and English Version
– Commentary with Werner Herzog
– Vintage Making of Nosferatu
– Theatrical Trailer
