| Nosferatu | 
 enlarge | Director: F.w. Murnau
Actors: Max Schreck, Greta Schroeder, Ruth Landshoff, Gustav Von Wangenheim, Alexander Granach
Studio: Image Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $6.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  199 reviews
Sales Rank: 12896
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 81
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 277
UPC: 014381027723
EAN: 0014381027723
ASIN: B000055ZB8
Theatrical Release Date: June 3, 1929
Release Date: January 2, 2001
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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Amazon.com essential video
As noted critic Pauline Kael observed, "... this first important film of the vampire genre has more spectral atmosphere, more ingenuity, and more imaginative ghoulish ghastliness than any of its successors." Some really good vampire movies have been made since Kael wrote those words, but German director F.W. Murnau's 1922 version remains a definitive adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Created when German silent films were at the forefront of visual technique and experimentation, Murnau's classic is remarkable for its creation of mood and setting, and for the unforgettably creepy performance of Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a.k.a. the blood-sucking predator Nosferatu. With his rodent-like features and long, bony-fingered hands, Schreck's vampire is an icon of screen horror, bringing pestilence and death to the town of Bremen in 1838. (These changes of story detail were made necessary when Murnau could not secure a copyright agreement with Stoker's estate.) Using negative film, double-exposures, and a variety of other in-camera special effects, Murnau created a vampire classic that still holds a powerful influence on the horror genre. (Werner Herzog's 1978 film Nosferatu the Vampyre is both a remake and a tribute, and Francis Coppola adopted many of Murnau's visual techniques for Bram Stoker's Dracula.) Seen today, Murnau's film is more of a fascinating curiosity, but its frightening images remain effectively eerie. --Jeff Shannon
Description
The greatest horror film of all! A long time ago in middle Europe, a decrepit, forbidding castle stood. Casting an ominous shadow over the townspeople who dare not look upon it, the unholy dwelling is home to one Count Orlok (Max Schreck), an undead night creature with a taste for human blood. Showcasing the extremely eerie Schreck, "Nosferatu" is the first screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic novel "Dracula," stylistically directed by the legendary F.W. Murnau. Now available in this gorgeous newly remastered and rescored by The Silent Orchestra in 5.1 audio.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 194 more reviews...
 Nosferatu Needs A Careful Watching to Appreciate November 18, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Ironically, for a film that is 86 years old, "Nosferatu" starts off, like a bad, self-produced YouTube video.
Thankfully, it improves.
I've always wanted to watch the first vampire movie ever made and the one that is often considered the greatest adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula." Recently, I was able to. It's an unofficial version and Stoker's estate actually sued German Director F.W. Murnau over it. All copies of the film were ordered destroyed.
Obviously, it survived.
Murnau, who died in a car crash at age 43, didn't even try very hard to disguise the movie: naming Harker Huffer and Count Dracula Count Orlok, leaving little doubt about the source material.
It's difficult for a generation weaned on special effects, surround sound, and the miracle of HD-TV to really appreciate "Nosferatu" (1922) without boredom setting in (even at a short 80 minutes). The pacing is arduous and editing reflects the limited technologies of the day.
"Nosferatu" is black-and-white (and most versions, including the one I watched, are scratchy and a bit faded on the edges). It's also a silent film, the narrative constantly interrupted by written dialog boxes.
There's also a lot of overacting employed by actors of the day (after all they needed to convey in action what is now done through speech). But to modern audiences the exaggerated facial expressions get tiresome rather quickly.
Yet if you settle into the right frame of mind - there's a lot to admire in "Nosferatu." The highlight is actor Max Schreck as Count Graf Orlok. He's simply repulsive. Unlike the modern versions of vampires as charming seducers, Schreck's Orlok is a monstrosity. He's a hideous skeletal being with long bony fingers, ears like a bat, and fangs that look like they belong on an oversized rodent. There's nothing enchanting about him.
He's creepy. Very creepy. The famous shot of him rising up out of coffin - filled with soil from the graveyard of Black Death victims - his body stiff and straight - and it's easy to understand why the film has lasted more than eight decades.
Murnau accomplished a lot with his limited resources. He expertly uses light and shadow. In fact, Schreck's shadow could be considered another character in the film. And there are marvelous symbols scattered throughout the film: from a skeleton clock to the Venus Fly trap eating a bug. Murnau is able to cobble together a compelling narrative with few dialog cards, allowing, for the most part, the action to unfold.
But like any horror movie, the real question is: Is "Nosferatu" scary?
The answer, unfortunately, is: hardly.
By today's standards, the film would have a difficult time scaring a five year old. It has eerie moments - and Schreck is in most of them - but it's a tame ride for anyone who has watched John Carpenter's "Halloween" or Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining." Amazingly, the film was banned for "excessive horror" in Sweden until 1972.
"Nosferatu" remains an oddity, a film any serious horror aficionado should watch in order to understand the origins of the genre. The film's greatest impact may have been in bringing the world the concept of sunlight killing vampires. "Nosferatu" is the source material for that bit of legend.
Watch it, but don't expect too much. The hype and the legend around "Nosferatu" are much better than the actual film.
Like literate blather about films? Then shuffle on over to the Dark Party Review and we'll give you what you need: [...]
 The Best Nosferatu edition available on DVD November 8, 2008
Kino entertainment releases the frequently issued DVD of the German silent vampire classic,Nosferatu(1922) in a beautiful two disc special edition,worthy of the film's classic status.
The print has been cleaned up to almost pristine quality,better than there previous release of 2002,and the original score for the film is available fnally.
The score adds immeasurably to the film,creating the atmosphere and emotion and epic scale that few of the earlier releases could come close to.
The second disc features lots of extras including a filmography of the film's director,F.W Murnau, an excellent documentary on him and stills from the film.
If your a fan of cinema,and especially,a student of the horror genre,than you should already own this masterpiece.
Time for an upgrade?
YEAH.
Get this DVD....now.
Note:Keep the main menu on and watch Nosferatu's face.
It's kind of creepy.
The Great Dracula Movie! October 20, 2008
This is by far my favorite Dracula movie. It was not copyrighted and was ordered to be destroyed in 1923. It didn't happen for many copies. This is a great movie and it would have been a tragedy to lose. Way back in the day when 8mm home movie projectors were in vogue and my mother was a public librarian, my brother and I used to take the 8mm version of the movie and play and play it again. We loved it and I continue that infatuation with the movie to the day. This is great DVD version with tinting, wonderful music and a wonderful print. The extras are terrific too. I'm glad I got this DVD.
 Creepy.... Creepy I tell ya October 14, 2008
Great acting, great scenery and chilling story; Dracula, the master is back
The movie was released in 1922, but in 1994 it was named one of the top five German films of all time.
That just goes to show you that great work goes stronger with time. The greatness of silent movies originates from the difficulty of telling the story and in this silent great work, terror is a mission greatly accomplished.
Just a side note; the music wasn't good, but knowing that it isn't the original music of the movie, that just doesn't count.
The Plague Bearer July 16, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Nosferatu is one of the few silent movies enjoyable by those who don't like silent movies. The vampire theme lends itself perfectly to grainy black and white and tinted film, atmosphere building organ music and cheep, crude special effects. Nosferatu is easily the best Dracula movie. Bela Lugosi was memorable but Max Schreck is instantly iconic.
Innovative director F.W. Murnaw makes ingenious use of location shooting, clever camera tricks and his star, Max Schreck, to craft a creepy, unconventional gothic horrorshow. Schreck himself was reputed to have been a very strange man who enjoyed playing grotesque characters in a series of horror movies. Here he is perfect as makeup and flappy ears are added to his angular face to give him a disgusting white bat look.
The film's money scenes are the meeting between the naive real estate agent Hutter and the ghoulish Count Orlock and the scenes aboard the boat as the vampire rises from hois mouldy coffin in the belly of the ship and decimates the crew. Murnaw expertly combines his filmmaking instincts with Bram Stoker's expertise in gothic horror and barely repressed homoeroticism. Nosferatu is one of those one-of-a-kind movies that everyone should see at least once in their lives.
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