Nosferatu [1922] [DVD]

The Eureka edition of Nosferatu includes the following:
a 2 x DVD special edition of the 2007 F.W. Murnau-Stiftung restoration plus original score. This edition of NOSFERATU features Hans Erdmann's original music for the first time since the film's initial release in the 1920s. The original score in paper form has been located (no original recordings were ever made, it was only performed live in the 1920s). A lush, orchestral recording of this original score has been performed by Radio Symphony Orchestra Saarbrücken conducted by Berndt Heller
+ Full-length audio commentary by Brad Stevens and R. Dixon Smith - film historian.
+ A 96-page book containing articles by David Skal (author of Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen); Thomas Elsaesser (author of Weimar Cinema and After: Germany's Historical Imaginary); Gilberto Perez (author of The Material Ghost: Films and Their Medium); Enno Patalas (former director of the Münchner Stadtmuseum/Filmmuseum, where he was responsible for the restoration of many German classics, including Nosferatu); a newly translated archival piece on vampires by the film's producer Albin Grau; notes on the film's restoration; and archival imagery
- 53-minute German documentary about Murnau and the making of Nosferatu complete with fascinating footage of the film's locations today
- Restoration demonstration
there might be a few other extras but nothing confirmed at this time.
The cover art is taken from Albin Grau's poster of the time.
On top of this edition "KINO" films is releasing their own version AND there is a groovy "STEELBOOK" edition available from AMAZON.DE which I have pre-ordered. It boasts amongst other things a picture gallery and a 60 minute documentary by Luciano Berriatúa
about the director FW Murnau called "the language of shadows". The commentary on the 1970s version of Nosferatu by Werner Herzog states Nosferatu as the greatest German film of all time.

This review has been significantly shortened to fit Amazon.UK's 1,000 word limit.

Let's get the most important thing out of the way: this is by far the best looking version of Nosferatu I've ever seen. Most of the scratches are gone, & while this isn't from a 1st generation print, for the first time in my experience the picture is good enough to clearly see the actors facial expressions, which is essential for silent film & just makes Max Shreck even creepier! If it really was Shreck playing this role, it's a shame that he's otherwise considered an unimportant actor with so little (if anything else) remaining on film, as he's the creepiest vampire in film history. The picture is so clear that for the first time in my experience it's apparent in a scene near the end that part of Shreck's (otherwise amazing) makeup is a piece of cotton stuck to an ear. The image is not quite on a par with the restored Metropolis (which is the best looking 1920's German restoration I've ever seen), but it's quite good. In fact, you can compare pre-restoration scenes from the film in the excellent disc 2 documentary with the restored edition on disc 1 to see just how good the restoration is.

For those not familiar with Nosferatu, here's a BRIEF history. F.W. Murnau, one of the great Expressionist German directors filmed this unauthorized take off on Dracula in 1922. Bram Stoker's widow sued, & all prints were ordered destroyed. Fortunately for us, various collector's & export copies survived & since the 1950's(??) there have been various attempts to reclaim & restore a definitive edition. Based on the editions I've seen & reading about the 2002 BFI that I haven't seen, the current version is by far the best we've got. The clarity varies somewhat (as several prints were used), but it's mainly quite sharp & watchable. The restoration was done by noted Murnau scholar Luciano Berriatúa who also produced the excellent documentary that's on both the Kino & Eureka. There is also a restored musical score that was originally composed for the film in 1922. It's quite nice & it works really well with the film. The fidelity of the 2007 full orchestra recording is a little too good for a film this old; it feels a bit disorienting. They used a combination of the original German title cards, & where not available very close facsimiles. Both the titles & some of the book pages are absolutely gorgeous; it makes me wish I could read German & not ruin the artwork with the English subs!

For me there are 3 minor shortcomings to the film & package:
1. The tinting. This has nothing to due with Eureka; but the yellow tinting is much stronger then the other colors, I wish they would have used a weaker yellow.

2. The book is really nice, but the type is just to small for my 50 year old eye, even with reading glasses. I was able to read the entire book, but it was difficult.

3. I'm a collector, & as such I would have liked a lot more info on how they tracked down the prints used in this, why they're the best, if the principles believe there is any chance of ever improving on this edition, etc. There is a comment in the book that (if I remember correctly) some years ago noted Murnau scholar Lotte Eisner told Berriatúa of a French print that was the best existent & where she believed it was; that was the main print used here (& was new information to me), but again I would have enjoyed lots more detail. The commentary also barely touches on this.

The documentary is excellent. Of the information presented, one thing completely new to me is that Albin Grau who was both the film's producer & art director was a practitioner of Black Magic & a peer of Alistar Crowley; that's likely a big part of why this film feels so real. Both Grau's sets & book pages & Murnau's filming are really well done. The book & documentary also describe a story of Grau meeting a Romanian who told a tale of his father being a real vampire... There also is some useful elaboration on the film's budget problems; they made one of the greatest films of all time on what was basically an Ed Wood budget, which is said to be why much of the film is shot in real locations to save cost. In retrospect, the locations are part of the film's strength & atmosphere. I only find 1 scene hokey; they used a hyena as a werewolf. The commentators actually liked that touch, but I think a real wolf would have been a bit scarier! The documentary, commentary & book all also mention Shadow Of The Vampire, a recent semi fictional biopic on the making of Nosferatu. I highly recommend Shadow. Along with Nosferatu & Lugosi's Dracula, it's one of the top 3 vampire pictures ever.

I chose to be wordy on this, because I really think Nosferatu is the best horror film of all time. The bottom line is that this is a superb restoration. To be honest, at times I felt like i was watching the film for the first time; this restoration is that good. It isn't like the Metropolis restoration where the quality just smacked me in the face; I watched this twice (once with & one without the commentary) & it gradually crept up on me just how much better this edition is.

I've seen and owned several copies of Murnau's Nosferatu in my time, and to say that this is the best quality you can find in public distribution would be an understatement. Even compared to the excellent BFI release, which I previously considered to be the best version that I would ever see, this MoC release just blows it out of the water. The scratches and flaws have been digitally removed on the whole, or otherwise kept to an absolute minimum, and it provides (at times) a stunningly clear tinted image that betrays the film's 85 years. But the real beauty comes from seeing how utterly stable the picture is. Still screenshots do this no justice, but the image is no longer jerking around on your screen like the cameraman was drunk.

The music is also a real joy, as it is probably the "definitive" score for the film, the very score that was performed at the movie's premier. You will never get much better than that, and it fits the film wonderfully. While James Bernard did a great job on the BFI release, the Hammer Horror artefacts were too overbearing at times. However, the music on this release is perfectly unbiased and fits the movie like a glove.

The special features are about as good as can be expected for this nearly-lost and mysterious film. On disc two, there is one interesting documentary that delves into the history and background of the film, as well as a brief featurette about the restoration process. The documentary is good, revisiting some of the shooting locations and exploring Murnau's past and the occult background to the film, but if you're hoping for any footage of a non-Nosferatu Max Schreck like I was, then you'll be disappointed! Back on disc one, you can find a useful commentary track that delves into the film's imagery and influence.

The main flaw with this release is that everything except the commentary track is in subtitled german, and that includes the documentary and ALL of the text/intertitles in the film. This does comply with the authenticity of the restoration, and it doesn't bother me, but it could be considered lazy when it comes to the documentary. It's also a shame that the special features weren't more exhaustive. At least one photograph of Max Schreck sans-makeup would have been nice, and some interviews or featurettes on the commercial influence of the film would have been really cool. It was good of them to include a very nice 80-page booklet with the DVD though, which contains a number of nice essays.

If you consider the film alone, the picture and the audio quality make everything worthwhile. This the most watchable and authentic version of the film that you can get your hands on. You really won't regret it!