NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE (Germany 1979)
A film review by Mike Watson Copyright 1999 Mike Watson
Rating: 5 out of 5
This extraordinary re-telling of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" by German filmmaker Werner Herzog deserves the most prominent of places in cinematic vampire lore. Inspired by F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent film of the same name, Herzog's film is a work of exquisite bleakness, an oddly touching tragedy with a beautiful and uniquely haunting quality that lingers long afterwards.
The original full-length English and German language versions of NOSFERATU have at last received a video release by U.S. distributor Anchor Bay Entertainment, and in gorgeous widescreen prints. Until now only a shortened English language version of the film was available on video, and only in Europe. Both of these re-releases restore the film to its full length, but viewers should still be wary of the English version due to its often stilted dialogue. Apparently the English dialogue coach Herzog had on the set during filming was incompetent, and some of the voices also seem to be dubbed. The German version with English subtitles remains the definitive one.
Everyone knows the story of Dracula. Or do they? His story has been so bastardised on film over the years that a brief reminder of the basic plot certainly won't hurt.
Jonathan Harker is a young lawyer sent to the gloomy castle Dracula in Transylvania to do business with a creepy count (played by Klaus Kinski) who wants to buy a house in Harker's hometown. Upon seeing a photo of Harker's wife (the radiant Isabelle Adjani) he instantly falls in love with her. Locking Harker up in his castle, he sets off on a long journey to meet this woman whose beauty so bewitches him. Upon divining his identity as a vampire, Adjani seduces the count and lures him to his death one morning as the sun rises.
That is a story familiar to millions, but Herzog has elevated Stoker's tale into the realm of - and I use this term a tad reluctantly - cinematic art. NOSFERATU is as much a meditation as it is a film, shot through blue-ish and white filters and peopled with characters who perform as if they were half hypnotised. The film's surreal, dream-like quality is utterly mesmerising. There is much to enjoy, but I'll limit my praise to a few key points.
Holding the film together is Kinski's remarkable performance as Count Dracula. Past screen portrayals, including Bela Lugosi's famous turn, have largely been one dimensional and tended towards camp. But Kinski...oh boy, this is something far more compelling. Aided by a startling make-up job, he portrays Dracula's vampirism not simply as pure evil but as some sort of loathsome disease. This man is dreadfully lonely. He lives in utter solitude, shunned by the locals for his hideous appearance and reputation for bloodlust. Kinski's portrayal of the Count is both creepy and deeply affecting. When he dies, you almost feel as if this man's tortured soul has been freed at last.
Then there's the unforgettable soundtrack, largely composed by German group Popul Vuh. It is so eerily beautiful and evocative that it's quite impossible to imagine the film without it. Popul Vuh are longtime Herzog collaborators and play an ancient-sounding kind of spacemusic using piano, chants, and exotic instruments. When I first saw this film some years ago I was so impressed I tracked down and bought a number of their albums. The one I still listen to the most is "Tantric Songs", from which most of the music in NOSFERATU is taken. It's a testament to the music's depth that it is as powerful without the pictures as it is with them. The album is still available on the highly respected ambient and world music label Celestial Harmonies.
This is a timely re-release by Anchor Bay. After Francis Ford Coppola's unscary and woefully overblown version of Bram Stoker's tale in 1992, it is a joy to go back to Herzog's film and see the amazing things he has done with what is now a century-old story. To some aficionados, NOSFERATU is quite simply the greatest vampire film ever made. Without a doubt, it is an unmistakable classic of the genre. Don't miss it.
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