Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht

(1979) ****1/2

The first series of shots in this film are completely appalling but it takes a few seconds for the realization of what you're looking at to sink in. They look like old mottled puppets. That the first few you see are small reinforces this appearance. Then you see one that's much taller, and it's naked and its genitals are moldy and misshapen. And that's when it dawns on you that what you're looking at is a roomful of petrified corpses -- and those first few are kids. The one on the left appears to be an infant. Ladies and gentlemen, Werner Herzog* would like you to know he's not fucking around.


Herzog's** Nosferatu is an homage to the F.W. Murnau original. Herzong*** copied the look of Count Dracula (named Orlok in the original) and several of the more memorable shots. Even the stuff that isn't directly quoting Murnau is reminiscent of the original style -- a lot of sharp-angle camera work and lighting, casting twisted shadows everywhere.

But there's a lot more detail in the remake because it's longer and there's actual sound and dialogue. Herzong uses the extra space to more fully flesh out the story and the characters. In doing so, he sacrifices much of the sheer weirdness and spine-tingle of the original. On the other hand, the added detail fleshes out ideas that were present in the original, but easy to overlook.


The most significant development is the more complete characterization of Dracula himself. It's easier to read the motives of the modern Count. The original Orlok was mostly an evil cipher -- you look at him and you cringe, but other than that he's weird looking, you never know much about him. He's got a whole history and identity here. This is as much an improvement in make-up artistry, as it is clearer (and colored) picture, and Klaus Kinski being a better, more subtle actor. You can see the identity in Dracula's eyes, so it's easier to connect the twisted figure desperately trying to suck blood from Jonathan Harker's thumb at the dinner table, with the powerful nobleman he once was.


Another area in which this version is more fleshed out is in the onset of the plague of Wismar. Murnau's version doesn't even bother to cover any of it. Plague deaths all over the place and yet none of it causes as big a stir as Orlok's lackey Renfield escaping from the asylum.

Herzong devotes a good 10-15 minutes exclusively to the effects of the plague. One great sequence shows a massive cortege of hundreds of coffins being carried through a town square. Thousands are dead, and the ones who are living but are afflicted throw a delirious party in the streets.

Where the Murnau version invoked Evil as a driving force for the story, Herzong relies more on Insanity and Desperation. The emotional force isn't as instinctual, but it's just as effective.


The movie does hit snags in certain spots (Jonathan Harker's hike up to Dracula's castle, for example, lasts a couple minutes longer than it needs to). But even when the movie's dragging, it's still pretty great to look at. All that slower movement is offset by beautiful camerawork and good music, so even at its slowest spots the pace feels meditative, not boring. It's at least a worthy tribute to the original film. At best, it's an improvement on the original in almost every way.


* - I friggin spelled it "Herzong" on the first pass - again.
** - again
*** - I give up