With Nosferatu the Vampyre (aka Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht), Werner Herzog‘s allegiance to F.W. Murnau‘s 1922 silent feature Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens makes it even more intriguing than it would be were it wholly original. Murnau’s film is striking for its imagery to the point it owns what may be the most iconic horror villain of all-time, even for those that have never seen the movie, as Max Schreck‘s spindly figure rises from the shadows as Graf Orlok (a variation on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”). Murnau’s Nosferatu, however, can be a bit of a challenge to get through, even at 94 minutes, while Herzog’s adaptation brings new life to the story, with frequent nods to the original and more than enough to make it all his own.
Herzog, of course, was able to make his film without worry over the rights to Stoker’s novel as it had entered the public domain by the time he made it, which meant he didn’t have to make the same story concessions and alterations Murnau made. This, however, doesn’t stop him from recreating several of the scenes from Murnau’s classic almost exactly as well as basing the look of Klaus Kinski as Dracula on Shreck’s haunting appearance.
The movie begins in Wismar, Germany with Jonathan Harker (Bruno Ganz), a real estate agent called upon by his boss Renfield (an over-the-top Roland Topor) to head for Transylvania to help close a deal for a residence in Wismar for Count Dracula (Kinski). On his way into the Carpathian Mountains, Harker stops at a small village where the locals warn him to return and not journey any further. No one will loan him a horse or coach, forcing him to walk the rest of the way.
Harker eventually comes upon Dracula’s castle where he meets its primary resident for the first time, a bald man with pointed ears, pale skin, rodent like teeth and eyes sunken deep into his skull. As Dracula, Kinski embodies a man I’d like to think not many would ever find comfort in his company. Herzog lets the camera linger on his image, his breathing constantly rasping into the ear of the audience like nails on a chalkboard.
As Harker’s stay in the castle continues he begins to experience night terrors, as does his wife Lucy (Isabelle Adjani) back home while Renfield goes completely insane. All is connected, of course, and for anyone vaguely familiar with the story of Dracula or its many cinematic adaptations there won’t be many surprises in terms of story. The intrigue here is in Herzog’s treatment of the story, his approach to the imagery, the performance of Kinski, his homage to Murnau, the soft and frequently raw cinematography of Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein and, as always, the score from Popol Vuh.
Having watched Murnau’s Nosferatu recently on the newly released Blu-ray, what stood out for me most was the use of color. It really stood out for me fort the first time as Harker leaves the small village on a walking trail, splitting a grass field. The scene isn’t particularly “cinematic” and is quite plain. The image isn’t over-saturated so as to make the green grass “pop” and the trees and mountains in the background are merely a part of the landscape. As Harker’s journey continues into the mountains the image becomes darker and colder and the imagery from inside Dracula’s castle couldn’t be any more suffocating and coldly oppressive.
Before seeing Nosferatu, I’d only seen clips of Kinski’s performance and it looked ridiculous to me and not so much an homage, but an imitation. In the context of the film it is so much more, he elevates Shreck’s performance as necessary for a film shot with sound and color, but he doesn’t overplay his hand.
The one performance I did feel was overplayed was Topor as Renfield, his insanity is almost too ambiguous even though we know the reasons. And his laugh, his laugh is so hysterical I found it to be just too much, which I’m sure some will argue is Herzog’s intent and I can’t deny that may be the case, but I couldn’t stand it. I wouldn’t have only put him in a straight jacket, but I would have muzzled him for good.
I also must mention the above screenshot as Harker leaves on his journey and says good bye to Lucy. Throughout the entire scene the image of a horse’s backside is in the frame. I still can’t tell what Herzog’s intention here is outside of assuming he’s blatantly calling Harker a “horse’s ass”. The only other explanation I can think of is he’s simply presenting the scene as it might otherwise be seen if it was shot as a modern day scene and instead of a horse we’d see the boot of a car and think nothing of it. Still, the duration of the scene and the placement of the horse had me laughing and looking for reason.
The film was shot in both English and German simultaneously and while I used the English title for this review’s headline, I watched only the German version, Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht, while only watching snippets of the English version. My decision was based primarily on preferring to watch actors perform in the language they feel most comfortable and the only reason Herzog shot an English version was at the request of 20th Century Fox. It is certainly preferable to listening to a dubbed version, but for my taste I’ll take it the way I presume Herzog would prefer it.
While adaptations of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” are a dime a dozen, Herzog’s Nosferatu sets itself apart due to it not only being an adaptation of Stoker’s novel, but an homage to Murnau’s feature, which never obtained the rights to Stoker’s novel, giving a whole new meaning to the word “remake”. Through sound, color and performance, Herzog gave new life to a silent classic while making it his own, not an easy task and further proof of his mastery as a filmmaker.
Nosferatu the Vampyre is available on Fandor.com right now in its English language version and German language. It is also available on Blu-ray right now and will be included as part of a new, limited edition set of Werner Herzog films, releasing on July 29, 2014. For purchasing information click here.
