Directed by:
Werner HerzogScreenplay:
Werner HerzogCinematography:
Jörg Schmidt-ReitweinComposer:
Popol VuhCast:
Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor, Walter Ladengast, Jacques Dufilho, Attila Árpa, Clemens Scheitz, Werner Herzog, Jan Groth (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Werner Herzog's remake of F.W. Murnau's classic gothic horror Nosferatu. Estate agent Jonathan Harker (Bruno Ganz) arrives at Count Dracula (Klaus Kinski)'s castle in Transylvania to complete the sale of a property in Wismar. Despite having been warned that the Count is a vampire, Jonathan remains skeptical. His haunting stay at the castle rids him of any doubt, however, and in an attempt to escape he injures himself and ends up in hospital. Meanwhile, Dracula moves to Wismar where he preys on Jonathan's wife Lucy (Isabelle Adjani). (British Film Institute (BFI))
(more)Reviews (6)
This mirroring of the great Murnau is spiritual, melancholic, and almost lazy, but at the same time absorbing. The atmosphere is almost palpable, while the music could move mountains. This new take on the German version of Bram Stoker's eternal book is inward-looking yet affectionate. It expands and shifts to other meanings the expressionist view of this perfect work of modern literature. Years ago I brought back the lovely edition from Arthaus in Leipzig, and today I finally saw it on screen. I don't think it would have been impossible for it to go further, but it is the peak in terms of the optics of the time. Greta Schröder has not yet found a better successor than Isabelle Adjani.
()
I’ve changed my mind. After repeated screenings, I have to admit that here more than ever you have to accept the author's rules of the game and take into account his entire body of work. What may seem like ridiculous mannerisms on Herzog's part is actually a bold creative move; I now see the previously perceived weakness and hesitancy of the protagonist with the pointed fangs as the sad tragic fate of a creature who understands his sad fate as the years pass. The only thing that has remained the same from all those years ago is the heady surrealistic atmosphere of the story. And I applaud Klaus Kinski, his demonic bald Nosferatu can evoke strong emotions despite the small space he gets.
()
Massive surprise! I’ve never been able to get around Murnau’s classic and Coppola’s Dracula pissed me off, but Herzog’s version has an incredibly beautiful atmosphere that I savoured every second. In the first half, in particular, I was completely thrilled, I loved the gloomy mountain landscape and the old castle. By the way, this is the only horror film besides Hostel where I recognised the shooting location, Pernštejn castle in this case.
()
The return to expressionism is, more than a remake, the retelling of the story of the mysterious Count Orlock in color and sound. And oddly enough, the suggestiveness of the original did not suffer in any way, only it is more than in masks set in scenery, sounds and new moments (such as the plague Danse Macabre at the end). The end of the film, in which the vampire wins and not the woman, is also very different. Werner Herzog made a great horror film that, like Murnau's Nosferatu, far exceeds the standard of the genre both in its visuality and in perfect personification of evil and decline. A daring filmmaking experiment crowned with success.
()
Herzog's fairy tale shrouded in a dreamlike haze is magical in two ways. First, through the shifting moods, which never go too deep but ensure the enchantment of the whole, whether through the music or the cinematography that knows how to highlight chosen locations, moments of homage to Murnau's classics, and complete ordinariness (the spellbinding Isabelle Adjani behind the window pane, the reflection of an approaching carriage on the water’s surface). Second, by avoiding horror except for the initial minutes with Mexican mummies, yet still confronting terror. I couldn’t help but notice that Klaus Kinski's count with latex ears visually reminded me of Alan Harper from Two and a Half Men. That loneliness, that posture evoking sympathy. It's popular in society like a plague, and when love finally arrives, something worse than dawn occurs.
()
Another adaptation of the classic monster Dracula, which is again different and exceptional in some ways. The first few minutes, which feature shots of mummies, had a rather depressing effect on me, which returned several more times (with less intensity) throughout the film. The demonic Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula was indeed a casting coup, and Bruno Ganz was also great. I mustn't forget the amazing soundtrack, which perfectly completed the oppressive atmosphere of the film.
()
Ads