1979 was a wonderful year for Dracula. No less than 5 films were made that year, inspired by Bram Stoker’s character, and having as main hero either Dracula himself or one of his descendants. Of all, the most remarkable is ‘Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht‘ directed by Werner Herzog, probably one of the best films out of the nearly 200 Dracula-related movies listed by IMDB. Here’s a character who can be said to have become a movie genre. The English title is ‘Nosferatu the Vampyre‘ – notice the misspelling, Tarantino didn’t invent anything with his ‘basterds’. The film pays homage to F.W. Murnau‘s other great German ‘Nosferatu‘ from 1922, but its tone is different, using the story already known to speak to the modern viewers about the roots of horror and evil. Rare are the cases where a ‘remake’ is approaching or even equaling the original. This is one of them.
Today’s viewers of the film have two alternatives. If they have recently seen or seen again Murnau‘s film, they will recognize many quotes and will take delight in examining and discussing the differences from the classic version or from Stoker’s novel. However, this is not mandatory. Werner Herzog‘s film ‘stands on its own’ as a stand-alone work, one of the most interesting horror films ever made, which also offers an excellent opportunity for some exceptional acting. Herzog and Klaus Kinski‘s Dracula is a lonely damned man who is ready to sacrifice his eternity for a few moments of tenderness. Isabelle Adjani besides talent has the perfect physique for the role of female victim in horror films. I always see with pleasure and thrill (artistic, not of horror) Bruno Ganz, and the role of Jonathan Harker, one of first half of a remarkable career , did not disappoint me. Finally, viewers will hardly forget the interpretation of Roland Topor, who brings in this film something of the style of German classic films, which is all the more remarkable for this Frenchman of Jewish origin, an artist with a biography as interesting as the film itself. Using non-professional actors to interpret the peasants and the Roma encountered by Jonathan along the road added authenticity.
‘Nosferatu the Vampyre‘ is a great film from the cinematography point of view, although it was produced and filmed with modest means and with a small technical team, like many of the German films of the 1970s. The nature filmed by Werner Herzog is threatening, with dark colors and covered with mists. The castle scenes masterfully use the labyrinths, cellars and stone walls of a medieval fortress. The city, with its neat houses filmed in the dark of night or in a metallic daylight, seems to hide behind every corner terrible dangers for its bourgeois inhabitants. Animals also play an important role, making us forget that Herzog used in those times when computers were not yet involved in the creation of movie graphics a few procedures for which today the animal protection societies would have sued him. A final recommendation – pay close attention to the generic. There are a few minutes of exceptional cinematography here, although not directly linked to the action, and in addition, there are no credits in the end. The movie ends without being marked with ‘Ende’. Or maybe it doesn’t end.